parents Archives

Christmas/Winter Break for Parents Under the Utah Code

Christmas/Winter Break for Parents Under Utah Code § 30-3-35 or (§ 30-3-35.5 for a child 18 months and older) If your Christmas/Winter break starts December 17, 2021 and ends January 2, 2022 (i.e., school starts back up on Monday, January…

How to Explain to Your Kids You Are Getting Divorced (Guest Post)

June 24, 2021

Divorce Utah

Co-parenting, Coping With Divorce, Divorce, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Men's Divorce Issues, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Women's Divorce Issues

child, children, Children in Divorce, divorce, family, father, mother, parents, team, trauma

Author Bio: Cristin Howard runs Smart Parent Advice, a site that provides parenting advice for moms and dads. Cristin writes about all of the different ups and downs of parenting, provides solutions to common challenges, and reviews products that parents need to…

After a divorce, should my kids be with me or with the mom?

June 1, 2021

Divorce Utah

Abuse, Addiction, Adoption, Best Interest of the Child, Business Interests, Child Abuse, Child Custody, Child Custody Modification, Child Neglect, Children in Divorce, Coping With Divorce, Court Orders, Court Rules, Custody, Custody Evaluation, Dirty Tricks, Divorce, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Divorce Procedure, Domestic Violence, Emotional abuse, Equity, Evidence, Family Law, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Joint Legal Custody, Joint Physical Custody, Judges, Justice and Equity, Legal Custody, Legal System, Men's Divorce Issues, Modification of Child Custody, Modification of Decree of Divorce, Modification of Parent-time, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Motion Practice, Noncustodial parents, Parent Time, Physical Custody, Sole Custody, Unwed Parents, Utah Code, Utah Law, Women's Divorce Issues

child custody, fathers, joint custody, joint equal custody, legal custody, mothers, parent, parents

First, you need to understand that you’re asking the wrong question. Child custody is not a zero-sum game; otherwise stated, when parents divorce, or when unmarried parents separate, where you get the idea that the children must be in the…

How do I console a father who has lost custody of his child?

April 27, 2021

Divorce Utah

Child Custody, Child Custody Modification, Custody, Custody Evaluation, Divorce Court, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Lawyers, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Family Law, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Legal Custody, Legal System, Men's Divorce Issues, Parent Time, Parental Alienation, Parental Fitness, Parental Rights, Parenting Plan, Personality Disorders, Petition to Modify Decree of Divorce, Physical Custody, Utah Law, Women's Divorce Issues

adversity, alienated, between, bitterness, blind, child, consolation, Dad, damage, damaged, deep, deprive, ex-spouse, exclusion, father, good, grief, happy, heal, injustices, Jesus Christ, kids, life, lost custody, miserable, negative, never found, overwhelming, pain, parent, parents, permanently, positive, right, rise above, satisfaction, scars, suffer, time lost, truth, wounds, wrongs

How do I console a father who has lost custody of his child? “He’s [the father who lost custody] permanently damaged.” That’s what someone else wrote in response to your question. It’s true. Time lost between a parent and child…

Good news, for parents deserving of joint equal physical custody

April 13, 2021

Divorce Utah

Best Interest of the Child, Child Custody, Child Custody Modification, Children in Divorce, Coping With Divorce, Custody, Custody Evaluation, Dirty Tricks, Divorce Court, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Family Law, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Joint Legal Custody, Joint Physical Custody, Legal Custody, Legal System, Men's Divorce Issues, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Noncustodial parents, Parent Time, Parental Fitness, Parental Rights, Parenting Plan, Physical Custody, Separation, Sole Custody, Termination of Parental Rights, Unwed Parents, Utah Law, Visitation, Women's Divorce Issues

2021, 2021 legislative session, basis, change of an existing custody award, children, criteria, deserving, effect, fighting, fit, good news, joint equal physical custody, May 5, new Utah Code section. § 30-3-35.2, parents, unfair, uphill battle, Utah Legislature

Good news, apparently, for parents deserving of joint equal physical custody of their children but who have, up until now, been fighting an unfair, unnecessarily uphill battle. The Utah Legislature passed, during the 2021 legislative session, a new Utah Code section.…

How exactly does shared custody work? Does the child end up being like that kid from Jacqueline Wilson’s “The Suitcase Kid”?

How exactly does shared custody work? Does the child end up being like that kid from Jacqueline Wilson’s “The Suitcase Kid”? The child certainly can be like the child (Andrea) from Jacqueline Wilson’s “The Suitcase Kid,” if under a shared parenting arrangement…

How does emancipation of a minor child work in Utah?

January 21, 2021

Divorce Utah

Child Custody, Uncategorized

16 years old, 16 years or older, capable of living independently, Chapter 6., child, emancipation, guardian, minor, parents, Title 78A, Utah code

How does emancipation of a minor child work in Utah? Utah law provides a way for a minor child (a child under the age of 18 who is not yet a legal adult) to acquire the rights of an adult and to…

Do GALs or custody evaluators do a better job of interviewing children than judges do?

This post is the tenth in series of 15 posts on the subject of custody evaluations and the appointment of guardians ad litem (“GALs” for short) in Utah child custody cases when the judge could simply interview the children instead.…

What is the best case law to cite about parental alienation?

What is the best case law to cite during a high conflict custody battle where parental alienation has been occurring? If you know of any, please let me know. My e-mail address is eric@divorceutah.com. Courts are, in my experience, very reluctant…

Does having the judge interview the children traumatize the children?

December 23, 2020

Divorce Utah

Abuse, Child Abuse, Child Custody, Child Custody Modification, Child Neglect, Children in Divorce, Court Orders, Court Rules, Custody, Custody Evaluation, Divorce, Divorce Attorneys, Divorce Causes, Divorce Mistakes, Emotional abuse, Family Law, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Firing a Divorce Lawyer, GAL (Guardian ad Litem), Judges, Justice and Equity, Juvenile Court, Legal Custody, Legal System, Modification of Child Custody, Modification of Parent-time, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Noncustodial parents, Physical Custody, Preparing for Divorce, Utah Code, Utah Law, Utah Supreme Court Decisions

§ 30-3-10(5), $10, $3, 000, better, child abuse, child witness, children, custody evaluator, different, effectively, free of charge, functionally, GAL, guardian ad litem, hearsay, interview, judge, LCSW, less time, mental health professional, on the record, parents, Psychologist, second hand information, skilled, spending, thousands, trauma, traumatize, Utah code, Utah Legislature

Does having the judge interview the children traumatize the children? This post is the second in series of 15 posts on the subject of custody evaluations and the appointment of guardians ad litem (“GALs” for short) in Utah child…

What are ways divorcees reach a mutual agreement when splitting up their assets?

What are ways divorcees reach a mutual agreement when splitting up their assets? What they often do (but shouldn’t): rationalize and justify their greed and pettiness in advancing their “arguments”* for why they should get what they want. This results…

What are ways divorcees reach a mutual agreement when splitting up their assets?

December 9, 2020

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

agreement, arguments, assets, ationalize, claims, dividing, division, divorce, divorcees, effort, false, fatuous, gift, greed, justify, lopsided, marital property, money more trouble than the property is worth, parents, pettiness, petty, self-defeating, separate property, splitting up, time, want, wasting

What are ways divorcees reach a mutual agreement when splitting up their assets? What they often do (but shouldn’t): rationalize and justify their greed and pettiness in advancing their “arguments”* for why they should get what they want. This results…

Would a child deal better with constantly fighting or divorced parents?

July 9, 2020

Divorce Utah

Divorce Causes, Divorce Fears, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness

better, child, children, constantly arguing, constantly fighting, divorce, divorced, input, parents, worse

“Do you think a child would deal better with constantly fighting parents or divorced parents?” I have been asked to answer this question, but as a divorce lawyer (not someone who is divorced himself), I did not want to answer…

Can a mother keeping the children from the father work against in custody litigation?

Can a mother not allowing the father to see his child without reason work against her in litigation for joint custody? Would the father having children from another relationship living in the home as well impact the decision for joint…

Should we award custody to the parent who is a lower risk for COVID-19?

Should we award custody to the parent who is a lower risk for COVID-19? Is it reasonable to give custody to the parent who is a lower health risk to the child during the Chinese coronavirus pandemic? It is reasonable…

Would you consider the family law system a current political issue?

Would you consider the family law system a current political issue or problem? Yes, in fact the institutional defects and injustices in family law and the family law courts throughout the country are a perennial hot-button topic in state legislatures.…

What is the “right of first refusal”? Is it a statutory right in Utah?

What is the “right of first refusal”? Is it a statutory right in Utah? Many of you dealing with child custody disputes may have heard the time “right of first refusal” in the context of child care. This “right of…

How can parents be so unloving that make their own child homeless by kicking him or her out?

November 16, 2019

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

children, kicked out of home, parents, self-reliance, tough love

I presume this question pertains to an adult child. Homelessness is not the most important thing in one’s life. Self-reliance and basic dignity are more important to the adult child (and will solve the homelessness problem to boot). If an…

How does a “baby prenup” work and is it effective?

October 4, 2019

Divorce Utah

Child Abuse, Child Custody, Child Support, Children in Divorce, Parental Fitness

baby pre-nup, baby prenup, child, children, duties, father, mother, obligations, parent, parents, rights

For others reading this answer to your question who do not know what a “baby prenup” is, let me first describe it: What a “baby prenup” is not A “baby prenup” is not, as the name might connote, a small or…

Can CPS take your kids for missing two dental appointments?

August 30, 2019

Divorce Utah

Child Protective Services

abuse, child protective services, children, CPS, DCFS, division of child and family services, government, parental rights, parents, power, state

Can child protective services take your kids for missing two dental appointments? Yes (and well they should), if the dental appointments are necessary to protect the child from disfigurement, from death or serious risk of death or harm, from superfluous…

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