Legal Help Blog

Christmas Holiday Parent Time is the most confusing of all holiday parent time. This article will help you understand how to determine who gets time when, and how long it should last. 1. When does Christmas Holiday Parent Time begin and end? The answer to this question is simple, but you wouldn't think so based on how many statutes you have to read. The simple answer is that Christmas break, for purposes of parent time, begins the day they get out of school for break, and ends the evening before they go back to school. 2. How Long is the Break for Parent Time Purposes? For the purposes of parent time, you start counting from the day they get out of school and count all the way to the day before they go back. This is the total amount of days, and is an important number to help you determine how long and when each parent should exercise parent time. 3. How Long Is Each Parent's Chunk of Christmas Holiday Parent Time? Once you have the total number of days, divide i

A protective order is one possible way to protect yourself from further abuse. In order to get a protective order, you will need to do a few things. This article will focus on what you need to know and do to get a protective order. It will also help you to know what you need to do if you are served with an order. A protective order can be the first step towards taking back control of your life. 1. Prerequisites for a Protective Order The first thing you need to know is that a protective order is only available to individuals who have been abused or subject to domestic violence, or who were placed in a situation where they reasonably feared that they would be abused. If you are a victim of domestic violence, you may be reluctant to admit that you are a victim. The courts are looking for physical abuse, however. If your spouse is causing you emotional abuse, this is not the proper avenue for protection. Domestic violence opens the door to other potential abuses, including felo

Alimo ny is an important part of any divorce. In my experience, alimony is often misunderstood by the spouse who is going to pay, and the spouse who needs support. The paying spouse often perceives alimony as the greatest injustice a court can inflict. The spouse who needs support often does not want alimony because they don't want to be unfair to the other spouse, or they seek an unreasonable amount. Whether you are paying alimony, or receiving it, this article will help you determine what is fair, and when it is even warranted. 1. The Court Sees Your Income as Belonging to Both Spouses. A typical marriage has one person working and another person staying home. Sometimes both parties work, but often one spouse works and makes more than the other. The court sees your marriage as a legal partnership, and income of one spouse belongs to both partners. Unless you have some agreement stating otherwise, the court will want to make sure that the other spouse is taken care of. The

A petition for divorce or custody is the gateway to getting your decree. If you want child support or a set schedule to see your children, you will need a decree. This guide will focus on parenting issues. You can find information on real property, personal property and alimony in their corresponding articles. What follows is 5 Tips For your Petition and navigating your divorce. 1. Go For the Status Quo on Custody. Do you want your divorce to go fast? Do you want to save money? One question you will have to answer when drafting your petition is whether you want sole or joint custody of your children. In Utah, Custody is split into two types: Physical, and Legal. Simply put, physical custody dictates how often each parent has the children residing with them. Legal custody governs decision making and access to records for your child. In Utah, courts will default to joint legal custody, unless you can show a good reason why not. As far as physical custody goes, the courts will often

If you were recently charged with a misdemeanor, a court date is not far behind. Speaking in court is intimidating, and you may do something you regret. These tips are designed to put you on the right path to help you get the best deal possible. People have come to me in the past and told me that they wished they had known these things before they plead guilty to their misdemeanor. Before the next court date, consider these tips to help you. 1. Consider Not Pleading Guilty When you first go to court, it's called an arraignment. You will have an opportunity to plead guilty at that hearing to terms set by a judge or a prosecutor. You don't need to plead guilty. If you plead not guilty, the only thing that will happen is that they will set a pre-trial conference. This will give you time to either hire an attorney or further consider your options. It may also get you a better deal. In Utah, speeding tickets are misdemeanors. When you show up for court, you will be asked to p

Serving court documents is extremely important to your case. You have filed your petition for divorce or custody with the court. Now you need to serve that petition on the other side (i.e. your current spouse, or the father/mother of your child). This is called service of process in legal terms. Here are some important tips to properly serve your documents: Who should be serving court documents? Never serve the petition and summons yourself. You can have anyone over the age of 18 serve the other person as long as they are not a party to the case. This can be a friend or a neighbor. Putting it in the mail is not OK. The best way to do it is to have someone personally deliver it. Although it is not recommended, you can have a mail carrier do it if they get a signature from the person receiving it. Be sure that you have some proof of what documents were delivered to the other side. If you choose to have a 3rd party do it, make sure they write down when and how they delivered it, a

If there has been a substantial change in circumstances, you may have a case for decree modification.  This process can be a big waste of resources and time if you don't plan carefully. You may also want to consider whether you can solve the problem through mediation. Decree Modification Requires a Substantial Change in Circumstances You must show that there is a substantial change in circumstances. This is perhaps the most important preliminary question to consider. If your divorce decree is only a few months old, it is unlikely that the court will find there was a substantial change in circumstances. Your case will be much more difficult to prove the sooner you bring it after your divorce is finalized. There may be a situation, however, in which a substantial change in circumstances has occurred, even though a small amount of time has passed. If you are in doubt, you should consult with us or another attorney to determine the strength of a decree modification. Here are

You can set aside your divorce or custody decree shortly after its signed. This process is complicated, and you should consider speaking to an attorney. For your personal information, however, the following information can help you decide if you need to set aside your decree. There is a Typo or Some other Error in the Decree If you receive your decree and there is a typo or error in the document, you may have grounds to have the decree set aside. If a crucial part of your decree is missing, or says something different than you had agreed, you can have the court make a correction through motion. I Made a Mistake or Found Something Out Too Late A mistake in judgment may be enough to set aside your decree. However, this does not guarantee success, and your mistake will need to be a significant one. Feeling bad about your decision is not enough. If you have more questions, you should speak to an attorney about your situation. If you are surprised by some new fact after your