What does Sole Custody Look Like in Utah? There’s more to sole custody than the “sole”. The term “sole custody” can be confusing. A lot of people think it means that the person with sole custody – the custodial parent – gets the children 100% of the time and the other parent gets to see the children only at the…
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New Rules for Motions Before A Court Commissioner
Notice Requirements Have Changed for Commissioner Hearings Rule 101 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure has changed to give more time for hearings on motions before a court commissioner. The rules have changed for motion practice before court commissioners, specifically Rule 101 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. One of the important changes is the previously short time…
The Good Divorce – Making Divorce As Painless as Possible
Trend Toward a “Good Divorce” Recently some high profile celebrity divorces have raised some attention to what has been called the “good divorce,” that is, a divorce where the former spouses stay friends, continue to spend time together as a family, and otherwise make the transition from married to divorced as smooth and painless as possible. For example, Ben Affleck…
Christian v. Christian – Imputation of Income Analysis
What Is Imputation of Income? The Utah Court of Appeals decided Christian v. Christian and once again addressed the proper analysis for determining an imputation of income. In that case the wife argued on appeal that the trial court had improperly imputed to her income and asked the court to reverse the trial court’s decision. Although the court did not…
6 Lessons Learned from a Bad Marriage
I read an interesting article today posted in the divorce section of the Huffington Post. The author posted an explanation of the 6 most important lessons learned from a divorce. The author is not listed as male or female so the perspective seems to be mostly gender neutral. The 6 lessons learned from a bad marriage shared by the author in…
Utah Changes When A Parent Must Take the Divorce Orientation Class
Utah Code § 30-3-11.4 has governed when a parent must take the divorce orientation course for some time. Specifically, it requires the petitioner in a divorce action to take the divorce orientation course without 60 days of filing the divorce petition, and it requires the respondent to take the class within 30 days of filing his answer. The problem with…
Rising Economy Results in Rising Divorce Rate
There is an interesting trend happening nationally with regards to the divorce rate. As the economy has slowly been inching its way back from the recent recession, so too has the divorce rate continued to increase along with it. Many people incorrectly assume divorce goes up when a recession hits. Wile it is true financial problems are some of the…
France Considers Permitting Divorce Without Judges
Over the last fifty years or so obtaining a divorce has become much easier in Western countries. In the United States most states began permitting “no fault” divorce based on the irreconcilable differences standard. Prior to “no fault” divorce you either had to have a very good reason such as abuse, impotence, etc. and in many cases getting a divorce…
Tips for Speaking with Kids About Divorce
Last week, KSL ran a story titled “Talking to children about divorce.” The story included several tips we consider to be great for all parents going through a divorce or other family law related matter involving children. Many parents ask us questions related to when and how they should speak with their children about a pending divorce. We have summarized…
A Reminder from Commissioner Patton in Provo
Yesterday in the Fourth District Court in Provo Commissioner Patton gave the parties in our case some good advice and a good reminder for any lawyer or party involved in a divorce action. He wanted to remind our clients that it really doesn’t make a lot of sense to fight over every little thing because ultimately divorce cases are guided…