Divorce

Divorce is a difficult emotional process. Often, there are deep emotional issues involved, and divorce proceedings can bring out the worst in many people. Divorce doesn’t have to be high stress and emotion, and I‘m here to help.

Temporary Separation

Temporary orders control or govern various divorce-related issues (or, depending on the issue, disputes associated with later modifications of divorces) during the actual divorce or modification proceeding, but before the divorce or modification is final.

Cohabitation Abuse

Abuse means intentionally or knowingly causing or attempting to cause a cohabitant physical harm or intentionally or knowingly placing a cohabitant in reasonable fear of imminent physical harm.

Civil Stalking

In Utah, the offense of stalking occurs when:
    A person “intentionally or knowingly”

• Engages in a “course of conduct,” defined as “two or more acts;”

• “Directed at a specific person,” and

• Knows or should know that the course of conduct would cause a reasonable person “in the victim’s circumstances.

When it comes to physical & legal custody, the courts attempt to establish close and continuing parent-child relationships and continuity in the child's life to serve the child's best interest. If you're facing a custody battle allow me to help guide you.

Parents that have children together but are not married to each other may ask the court for orders concerning their minor children, including paternity, child custody, child support and parent-time. This is done in a parentage case.

Petition to recognize a relationship as a marriage

A petition to have a relationship recognized as a marriage must be filed during the relationship or within one year after the relationship ends, either because one or both partners have died or they have separated. Either partner may file the petition or both partners may file the petition together. A third party, such as next of kin, may also file the petition

Name Changes

You can ask to change your name to almost anything you want, but there are some limitations. The court may order that notice be given to certain parties and may conduct a hearing where the petitioner presents proof that there exists good cause for granting the petition. In most instances, a name change petition will be granted unless the court finds improper motives for the name change, such as fraud.

Modification

Following a divorce, the court provides a judgment and dictates a variety of orders the involved parties must follow. Sometimes your circumstances may change, and these court orders may need to be modified accordingly.

There are many types of modifications that can be done: Child Support, Custody, Parent Time, Alimony or Spousal Support.

Child Support

In Utah, by law, every child is entitled to the support of both parents, whether the parents are married or not. Utah law provides child support guidelines used by the courts to calculate a parent’s base child support obligation.

Gender Changes

In Utah, the process for changing your gender marker is more complicated than that for changing your name. Assuming you're not looking to change your gender marker for a prohibited purpose (to avoid creditors or to commit fraud) and you're not involved in a lawsuit or on parole, you can change your gender marker by petitioning the court. The law does require a few things to be verified first.

Areas I am currently Serving:

 1st District

•   Box Elder

•   Cache

•   Rich

  2nd District

•   Davis

•   Morgan

•   Weber

  3rd District

•   Salt Lake

•   Summit

•   Tooele