Legal Help Blog

The UCCJEA is a complicated set of Utah Statutes that govern divorce and custody matters that cross state-lines. At this point, every state in the union has adopted this set of rules in some form. The first question that gets asked in such a case is whether Utah has jurisdiction to hear the case. Let's go over the most important things: Where Does The Child Live? In Utah, there are three ways to get initial jurisdiction. The easiest way to determine whether Utah has jurisdiction over the child is to see where the child lives. In order to proceed in Utah (except under some limited cases we will cover later), Utah must be the home state of the child. To get a home state designation, the child needs to have lived in Utah for at least 6 months. Taking a vacation out of state during that 6 months does not count against the total. If the above does not apply, you'll need to make sure that another State does not have jurisdiction (such as where the child hasn't lived anywhe...

Choosing the best attorney to represent you is an important decision. You likely have no experience with legal matters and similarly little experience with attorneys. What you already know is that they cost a lot of money. You may have considered handling your legal problems on your own, but found that it was too complicated. So you are now ready to trust your problem in the hands of a professional, but you have no idea what to expect, and what is a worthwhile use of your time. This article will help you find the best attorney for your money: General Things You Should Expect Of Your Attorney 1. The best attorney should be in regular communication. Attorneys work for you, so you should expect that they will keep you in the loop. Your attorney should be regularly contacting you, or letting you know that you will not hear from him for a set time for a specific reason. You shouldn't expect daily contact or contact multiple times per week, but you should be in regular contact wit...

Child support is not meant to be static. Just like incomes are expected to increase over time, so too is child support. Conversely, if you are experiencing tough times, you're going to want to reduce child support. This article will help you understand how to modify child support. How to Start In order to get child support changed, you will need to request a change from the court. You can do this either through a motion or a petition. Motions are cheaper and faster, but are only available under certain circumstances. Motion or Petition? Motions are preferable to petitions because there is no filing fee, you don't need to wait for the opposing side to answer, nor do you need to engage in discovery. The process of a motion can be handled in less than a month. In order to qualify for a motion to modify child support, the following must be true: At least 3 years have passed since the last order; There is either a 10% increase or decrease in one parties' income; The...