All posts by HawkesAdmin

Termination of Parental Rights

In the Interest of B.T.B. and B.Z.B., 2020 UT 36

Utah Supreme Court

Attorneys: Martha Pierce, LaMar J. Winward; J. Robert Latham

Juvenile Court: Fifth District, Honorable Judge Michael F. Leavitt

Summary: In a private action, a father was accused of neglecting, abandoning his children making only token efforts over five (5) years to contact them. The mother petitioned to terminate his rights. A second parent adoption was not on the table. The appellate court disagreed with previous appellate decisions that the requirement of whether a termination is strictly necessary flowed “almost automatically” from the best interest standard. The Supreme Court upholds the Court of Appeals and finds that strictly necessary must be found and that it is part of the best interest analysis.

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Common Law Marriage 

Volk v. Vecchi, 2020 UT App 77

Utah Court of Appeals

Attorneys: David S. Pace; Karra J. Porter; Kristen C. Kiburtz

District Court: Third District – Honorable James D. Gardner

Summary: The parties were in a relationship between 1999 and 2015. The appellate court upholds the district court in finding that there was a common law marriage.

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Alimony

Petrzelka v. Goodwin, 2020 UT App 34

Utah Court of Appeals

Attorneys: Ashley E. Bown; Tess A. Davis

District Court: Thomas Willmore (1^st District)

Summary: The wife was 42 and the husband was 61 when they married. They lived in her house and kept their finances mostly separate during the marriage. The court was within its discretion to deny him alimony and to stop the division of her retirement account on the date of separation.

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Gardner v. Gardner, 2019 UT 61

Supreme Court of Utah

Attorneys: Robert W. Hughes, Julie J. Nelson, Erin B. Hull, Jill L. Coil, Luke A. Shaw, Kyle O. Maynard, David W. Read

Summary: The marriage was 22 years. The court gave wife alimony based on a reasonable need, rather than her actual need based on the standard of living. It also only gave her 10 years of alimony instead of the length of marriage. Both decisions were based on an equitable result since it found that her alleged affairs substantially contributed to the demise of the marriage. Affirmed.

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This case law update has a significant amount of information about many family law subjects such as custody, protective orders, alimony, and attorney fees.

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This case law update includes information about protective order violations, accumulated interest on premarital property, and several termination issues. Enjoy!

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The court has focused on the right to counsel in private termination cases and has also given helpful clarifications around protective orders and stalking injunctions. Enjoy!

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