Utah Divorce Resource

What Makes a Good Family Court Judge?

eric_k_johnson — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:02:40 +0000

From the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/henry-gornbein/what-makes-a-good-family-_b_1231868.html

By HENRY GORNBEIN

What Makes a Good Family Court Judge?

Posted: 01/27/2012 12:25 pm - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/henry-gornbein/what-makes-a-good-family-_b_1231868.html

In over forty years of practicing family law, I have appeared before hundreds of different judges. I have found that some are rude, arrogant, and suffer from what is known as black robe syndrome. This means [...]

“This is a Court of Law, Not a Court of Justice.”

eric_k_johnson — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:05:08 +0000

“This is a Court of Law, Young Man, Not a Court of Justice.” This is a quote long attributed to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, [...]

Confused about your Utah child support payment obligations?

eric_k_johnson — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:00:37 +0000

Confused about your Utah child support payment obligations? Here’s a quick [...]

Does the Utah Constitution Help or Hurt You in Divorce?

eric_k_johnson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:50:31 +0000

Does the Utah Constitution Help or Hurt You in Divorce? This is the first of at least two blog postings we will be writing on the subject of Utah family law and the Utah [...]

Who Can Claim the Kids for Tax Purposes if the Decree is Silent?

eric_k_johnson — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:16:03 +0000

Who can claim the children as a tax exemption if the Decree of Divorce is silent on the [...]

How to Prepare (or Not Prepare, as the Case May Be) for an Abysmally Failed Divorce Mediation

ekjadmin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:54:36 +0000

How to Prepare (or Not Prepare, as the Case May Be) for an Abysmally Failed Divorce Mediation

1. Prior to mediation don’t think about what you are willing to settle for. Don’t attempt to take the other party’s side into consideration. Instead, focus solely on getting everything that you want, irrespective of objective fairness [...]

The Negative Home Equity Problem in Divorce

ekjadmin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:39:13 +0000

This blog posting comes in response to my request of Ron Aguilar of Utah Home Equity Specialist.

About five years ago, home equity was an asset divided in divorce but today the home may be more of a liability. Both parties may be disappointed to realize that despite making payments [...]

Always Go for Sole Custody?

eric_k_johnson — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:30:08 +0000

Demanding sole custody of children in every case, with the intent to gain negotiating leverage, is wrong on many levels. This “used car salesman” approach is simply inapt in child custody [...]

Proffer Testimony Hearings: a battle of Fact vs. Fiction, or a just a question of who can spin the better yarn?

eric_k_johnson — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:23:40 +0000

Temporary Orders hearings in Utah divorce actions are historically done through “proffer of testimony.” Proffer occurs when an attorney simply states what a client or other witness would say if the witness were called to testify orally. Otherwise stated, hearings by proffer consist of pure hearsay.[1] The attorney gets to stand at the rostrum and can say almost anything he wants. The opposing attorney doesn’t have the chance to cross examine, or to ask follow up questions (and how could she?; there is no witness to question in the first place). Instead, the opposing attorney stands up and tries to tell another story that seems more impressive, spinning the truth in a more favorable light. As you can imagine, this can quickly turn into a vicious circle of tall tale-telling oneupsmanship. As there is no cross-examination, less honorable attorneys will outright lie and make things up on the spot. These stories are deciding the temporary and possibly permanent physical custody of your children, alimony, responsibility for debt, etc. See the [...]

Hey, I heard you just graduated from law school.

eric_k_johnson — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:33:37 +0000

“Hey, I heard you just graduated from law school. What kind of law do you practice?”

“Well, whatever it is, it sure ain’t the law I was taught.”