I recently accompanied my boss to the trial of a divorce case. If I had had to place a bet on what the judge was thinking at given moment or what the rulings would have been during the trial or at the end, I would have left the courtroom much poorer. One of the things that struck me most about trial was my inability to determine the importance a judge gives to the evidence and to witness testimony. I could not consistently predict which way the judge was leaning at any given moment. But it’s not solely a matter of my inexperience with the legal system. My boss (who has considerable trial exper ..read more

Talk to a good (a good) lawyer about whether you even have the right to “inherit” from your ex-husband’s brothers. Unless there are bizarre circumstances at work here, odds are you have no rights to your ex-husband’s brothers’ decedents’ estates. Talk to a good lawyer who handles wills and probate matters to find out. Heck, bring your husband along to the meeting, so that he learns first-hand from the lawyer himself (that way he can’t tell you that “you don’t understand” if you come back from the lawyer’s office by yourself and tell your husband what the lawyer told you). As for a husband who ..read more

State v. Arce – 2024 UT App 43 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, Appellee, v. JOSE FELIPE ARCE, Appellant. Opinion No. 20220006-CA Filed March 28, 2024 First District Court, Logan Department The Honorable Brandon J. MaynardNo. 191100762 Freyja Johnson, Emily Adams, and Hannah Leavitt-Howell, Attorneys for Appellant, assisted by law student Ryder Seamons[1] Sean D. Reyes and Marian Decker, Attorneys for Appellee, assisted by law student Rebecca Barker JUDGE DAVID N. MORTENSEN authored this Opinion, in which JUDGES RYAN D. TENNEY and AMY J. OLIVER concurred. MORTENSEN, Judge: ¶1 &nbs ..read more

If you can get a no-fault divorce, meaning that you can just walk away from a marriage because you don’t want it anymore, why could that same person seek alimony? You have a right to rescind the marriage contract. But with rights come responsibilities. The right to walk away from a marriage on no-fault grounds must entail the corresponding responsibility to take the bitter with the sweet. No more marriage means no more spouse, and no more obligation of your ex-spouse to support you financially. Isn’t rescinding the marriage contract on no-fault grounds and still demanding that the other party ..read more

2024 UT App 40 – State v. Heward THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS, STATE OF UTAH, Appellee, v. BENJAMIN LEE HEWARD, Appellant. Opinion No. 20221055-CA Filed March 28, 2024 Fourth District Court, Provo Department The Honorable Robert A. Lund No. 201400462 Scott F. Garrett and Jessica Griffin Anderson, Attorneys for Appellant Sean D. Reyes and Andrew F. Peterson, Attorneys for Appellee JUDGE DAVID N. MORTENSEN authored this Opinion, in which JUDGES MICHELE M. CHRISTIANSEN FORSTER and RYAN M. HARRIS concurred. MORTENSEN, Judge: ¶1        Benjamin Lee Heward pled guilty ..read more

Sorensen v. Crossland – 2024 UT App 41 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS CANDICE CROSSLAND SORENSEN, Appellant, v. STEVEN G. CROSSLAND AND LORI A. MAY, Appellees. Opinion No. 20220756-CA Filed March 28, 2024, Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Mark S. Kouris No. 180902903 Ralph C. Petty, Attorney for Appellant Matthew N. Olsen and M. Tyler Olsen, Attorneys for Appellees JUDGE DAVID N. MORTENSEN authored this Opinion, in which JUDGES GREGORY K. ORME and MICHELE M. CHRISTIANSEN, FORSTER concurred. MORTENSEN, Judge: ¶1 A father and mother stole from their daughter by taking set ..read more

Without knowing more about your criminal record, I can still safely predict that having almost any kind of chronic or significant criminal record reduces your chances of being awarded custody of a child simply because having a criminal record indicates some kind of character flaw or moral failing, and good character and morals are a factor in determining parental fitness. The kinds of crimes that have the greatest impact on the child custody analysis and award likely come as no surprise to anyone: child abuse (physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological and emotional abuse), child neglect, phy ..read more

Many people ask what the benefits of a legal separation are. Aside from the obvious “it gives us the option of staying together, if we want to,” are there other reasons the average person might want to separate but not divorce immediately? I have the same conversation with potential clients who ask whether they “need” or “should get” a legal separation or temporary separation order instead of/before seeking a divorce. I tend to agree with you, i.e., that I see no benefits to legal separations for the majority of people. I’m sure that there is the occasional couple who might benefit from a lega ..read more

Are the court proceedings in your kind of case open to the public? If so, then the grandmother, being a member of the public, may have a right to be in the courtroom during the proceedings, as long as 1) there is no law that allows her to be excluded and 2) she is not disrupting the proceedings by being present during the proceedings. Juvenile court proceedings are closed to the public in Utah. District court proceedings are open to the public in Utah. That stated, it’s very easy for a Utah district court to exclude members of the public from the courtroom in certain kinds of cases ..read more

Yes. Many women (not all, but many more than we’d like to believe unquestionably lie and make outright false or grossly exaggerated domestic violence claims. The temptation to tell such lies is just too great for many women when they see the leverage and advantage it gives them in divorce and child custody cases, the immediate “temporary” custody of the children and associated child and spousal support and possession of the marital home, and the money to be had by being awarded sole or primary child custody and/or alimony in part due to making claims that the husband/father is a spouse and/or ..read more