Utah Child Custody Legal Questions

In theory, if you successfully complete any reunification plan, you stand a chance of regaining custody. What you really need to do is to retain an attorney to assist you. If there are problems with non-compliance with visitation orders, then an attorney could assist you in having the same brought to the attention of the court, and perhaps ensuring compliance.  ... Read More

I am very sorry to hear that your sister is having such difficulties and problems with her husband and in her home. From what you say, there are no orders in place (no divorce has been filed, or anything like that), which means that both your sister and her husband are custodial parents of the children. Unless there is some order defining specific custodial arrangments either parent can travel with the children -- and no kidnapping charges can be prosecuted. So, yes, your sister can travel with the children, but it sounds like she has, and will continue to have, problems with her husband. You sister should start thinking about what she wants to do about those problems, and whether she wants to continue living with the problems. Should your sister want to talk about her option, I can help. David R. Hartwig 801-486-1715... Read More

First and formost, you should get an expericned attorney to assist you. You describe domestic violence, and the same in front of your child, which is child abuse. You state that your lawyer made some offer, but you do not know what it was. You have the right to know, and if your lawyer is not helping you, or explaining things to you,  you should move. on. There are many things you may be able to do to obtain full custody. But you need to act quickly and assert your rights. I offer a free 1/2 hour consultation, should you want. No matter what you do, you need to get an experienced family law lawyer to protect your daughter's, and your, rights. David R. Hartwig 801-486-1715... Read More

No. Others could apply to the court to be the child's guardian or to terminate your parental rights and to adopt the child. If the mother dies and you were not already deemed to be "next in line for custody" in the court's original paternity case order, you'll need to go to court and secure your custody rights.... Read More

Your finacee has to obtain orders concerning custody and parent-time. That is the only way she can attempt to control the father's access -- through going to court and obtaining court orders. She needs to quit waiting and get moving in order to protect her daughter. Why she did not do it in the past is beyond my understanding; but, if she is concerned now, she needs to move now by hiring an attorney and getting her case filed with the court. I can assist her, should she wish. David R. Hartwig 801-486-1715... Read More

From what you say, you separated but never obtained any orders concerning custody of the children. That was an error, as you are currently learning. You raise a number of questions, particularly who moved, as in you are in Hawaii and she is in Utah. That could be of consequence for jurisdiction of the children. You need to move forward and get a divorce or separation action filed, so that you can proceed to obtain custody orders. And yes, you may have to fly back here to pick up the child if your are successful. If you want help, I may be able to assist you. David R. Hartwig 801-486-1715... Read More

That all depends on what the decree of divorce says about transportation. You say that she moved 2 hours away. Does that equate with her having moved more that 150 miles away? If so, you need to modify the decree. Even if it is not more that 150 miles away, you may be in a position to attempt to change the decree; depending on the reason for her move and such similar factors. Whatever you do, you need to get moving forward. I can assist, if you wish. David R. Hartwig 801-486-1715... Read More

Your daughter needs to obtain court orders concerning custody, parent-time, and child support. That is the safest, and only, way to control access to the child, and the parents' responsibilities and rights with the child. I can assist, should you be interested. I offer an initial 1/4 hour consultation for free, or a 1/2 hour consultation for $50. The consultation can be handled by telephone. David R. Hartwig 801-486-1715... Read More

You need to take your copy of your divorce decree and have it reviewed by an experienced family law attoreny. The decree is the first place to start in determining your rights and abilities. Then we need to look at the actual facts: You say "kids", plural; so are you visiting the other children? When is the dance, and how long does it last? Did your ex give you any notice of the dance? What kind of dance is it? Depending on the answers to these questions, your ex may be acting wrongfully and you might be able to seek a finding of contempt against her, and maybe obtain makeup visitation. If you go down this road, you might even be able to recapture the costs for the additional travel involved in a makeup visit. You really should review all of this with an experienced family law attorney. I could assist you, if you so desire. David R. Hartwig 801-486-1715... Read More

If your ex has sole custody, do you mean sole legal and physical custody? If the ex truly has sole legal and physical custody then yes, she can take the children out of the country. If do so causes you problems, then you really need to get moving and take some action to see if you can change the orders to required your permission. To do that, you need some good reason and you need to go to court to get the orders changed. You should move now, and you should move quickly to retain an experienced family law attorney to review your case. I am available to assist, should you so desire. David R. Hartwig 801-486-1715... Read More

If she's graduating from high school in the spring of 2016, and if there is no emergency, such as child neglect or abuse, you may not have time enough to file a motion and litigate it to conclusion, given the caseload and scheduling of your particular court. If she's currently has another year or so before she graduates, and, again, if there is no emergency, you will need to file a petition with the court to modify the custody orders in your divorce decree or current custody orders.  You may want to check the Utah court self-help forms to get a feel for what would be required:  https://www.utcourts.gov/selfhelp/ Cathy Naugle, MERRIS & NAUGLE, PLLC, Boise ID.    ... Read More

Good question. The answer to your question lies in Utah Code 30-5a-103, aptly titled Custody and visitation for persons other than a parent. We'll assume the statute is good law for our purposes today. 30-5a-103 starts out stating that it is the public policy of this state that parents retain the fundamental right and duty to exercise primary control over the care, supervision, upbringing, and education of their children. There is a rebuttable presumption that a parent's decisions are in the child's best interests. Utah Code 30-5a-103 provides that a court may find that this presumption is rebutted and may grant custodial or visitation rights to a person other than a parent who, by clear and convincing evidence, has established all of the following: the person has intentionally assumed the role and obligations of a parent; the person and the child have formed an emotional bond and created a parent-child type relationship; the person contributed emotionally or financially to the child's well-being; assumption of the parental role is not the result of a financially compensated surrogate care arrangement; continuation of the relationship between the person and the child would be in the child's best interests; loss or cessation of the relationship between the person and the child would be detrimental to the child; and the parent is absent or is found by a court to have abused or neglected the child.... Read More

Sorry, but without seeing the original orders, or the new orders including the modification, I am unable to answer your question. But, I do wonder why you agreed to modify the original order, and if all aspects of the changes were fully reviewed and implemented. You really should sit down with an experienced family law attorney to review your documents, and see what the full impact of your actions might be. I can assist in such a review, should you desire.... Read More

OK, even considering the source of this opinion (I am a man, not divorced, but I am a man), I can still give you my honest, objective opinion as an attorney with 19 years' experience: Men generally have a much harder time winning custody than do women, even drug abusing women. Judges and commissioners will never admit it publicly, but it's so obvious that many believe men don't love their kids as much as the women do, believe that men who seek custody are doing so just to avoid paying child support, or seek custody as leverage to negotiate other issues in divorce. By the way, all of that is true for some men (some women too, but courts rarely, if ever, publicly acknowledge that), yet courts often paint all men with the same false broad brush. Men are slowly getting treated better in divorce. The stereotypes of men generally being clods and women being saints So can you win custody if your wife is a drug addict? Her drug abuse certainly doesn't strengthen her case, but by no means does it make your case a slam dunk.... Read More

You do not state that you have any orders addressing custody or parent-time. Based on that assumption, yes, dad can seek custody and fight for custody. You really need to get with an experienced family law attorney and take this matter very seriously. If you do have custody orders, then you need to review those orders with an experienced family law attorney to see what your rights and options are. Just because the children have been with you, and the facts you cite, those are no direct reason why he could not gain custody. It is a dangerous area, where you could get into deep trouble. You need to associate with an experienced family law attorney you feel comfortable working with. I have, and am, handling cases similar to yours, and I am open to accept new clients should you be interested.... Read More

First of all, do you have any custody or support orders in place? If not then dad can just walk in and take daughter. If you do, then the custody orders would control, and you need to review those orders with an experienced family law attorney Second, dad can say anything, and might file an action making those allegations, particularly as to your potential instability in entering into a live-in situation just a couple of months after breaking up with dad. Life is getting complicated for you. You really need to locate an experienced family lawyer you feel comfortable working with, and review your orders (or get custody orders, if you don't have any), and your current living situation. I have handled this type of a case a number of times, and am available to accept new clients, should you want.... Read More

That all depends on exactly what the divorce decree orders. You would need to have that reviewed by an experienced family law attorney to ensure the correct advice. If you are talking about the occassional few minutes late, it is not worth the hassle. If it is a one time occurence and he has a good excuse, again it is probably not worth the hassle and costs involved. However, if this is a constant problem then it may be worth it to you to review the facts and the decree with either me, or some other attorney of your choice.... Read More

It is very unfortunate that you have waited so long. You need to either hire counsel in Arizona to fight the emergency jurisdiction, or maybe hire a Utah counsel to file an action here. The simpler course, on a jurisdictional basis, is probably fight the problem in Arizona. Should you desire Utah counsel to attempt to assist you, I have handled similar matters.... Read More