Family Law

Family cases are decided on a record, but they are lived by people. The goal in most of these matters is not to win a war — it is to reach an arrangement your family can actually live inside for the next decade, and to get there without spending the children's college fund on litigation.

That said, some cases have to be tried, and some opposing parties only respond to a filed motion. Knowing which case you have is most of the work.

What this includes

• Divorce — contested and uncontested, including the mandatory waiting period and divorce education requirements
• Custody and parent-time, including relocation and the statutory parent-time schedules
• Child support calculation, imputation of income, and medical and childcare allocation
• Alimony — establishing, defending against, and terminating
• Property and debt division, including retirement accounts and QDROs
• Modification of custody, parent-time, support, and alimony when circumstances change
• Enforcement — orders to show cause and contempt
• Protective orders and stalking injunctions, on both sides
• Paternity, and establishing the rights of unmarried parents
• Guardianship, custody by a non-parent, and grandparent visitation
• Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
• Adoption and termination of parental rights

What to expect

1. An initial conversation about the facts, the children, the finances, and any immediate safety concerns.
2. A candid range of likely outcomes — not a promise, a range — so you can decide what is worth fighting for.
3. Filing or responding, financial disclosures, and temporary orders where the situation cannot wait.
4. Mediation, which Utah requires in most contested cases and which resolves the majority of them.
5. Trial where mediation fails, prepared as though it was always going to trial.