Here are some terms and definitions commonly used in Utah Family Law cases:

Answer and Counterclaim
Within 20 days (30 days if Respondent lives out of state) of service or signing acceptance of the Petition, the Respondent must file an Answer to the Petition, agreeing and disagreeing with the contents of the Petition. Respondent usually Counterclaims, which means he or she asks for a different resolution of issues in the divorce than what Petitioner asked.

Appraisers
Experts hired by the parties to value a home, a business or other property so that the asset can be divided.

Custody evaluator
A psychologist or therapist who is assigned to the case who will interview the parties and children, with the intent of helping the court decide what custody arrangement is best for the family as a whole.

Discovery
The process of exchanging information between the parties and investigating the case. It includes financial declarations, interrogatories, requests for documents, and depositions, along with gathering any information from experts and others involved in the case.

Financial advisors
Experts who specialize in taking the financial information of the parties and projecting a future financial picture by inserting different variables, such as various amounts of alimony, IRA division, retirement, job changes, stock division, etc.

Guardian ad Litem
An attorney who is assigned to the case to represent the best interests of the children.

Mediation
The process of meeting with an objective third party who facilitates an agreement between the parties on any issues that have become the area of controversy. Utah Court requires that mediation is attempted before a Trial.

Petition
The initial filing in Court which requests a divorce decree. The person who files is the “Petitioner”; the other party is the “Respondent.”

Service or Acceptance
Within 120 days of the filing of the Petition, the Petitioner must legally provide a copy to the Respondent. This can be done by using a constable who will “serve” the Petition on the Respondent, or the Respondent can sign and notarize a legal document that accepts the copy of the Petition without requiring a constable to serve it. It is not enough to simply hand a copy to the Respondent.

Stipulation
(Stip.): A written agreement between the parties on any issue or issues, and at any time. A stipulation can be to the entire case or only to certain issues. Parties can stipulate to
Temporary Orders. If the parties resolve an issue and go on to litigate other issues, the issues that are part of the stipulation will be included in the final divorce decree, as long as the parties have agreed to provisions that are permitted by law.

Temporary Order
(T.O.): The parties may agree to, or the Court may order after a hearing, a temporary resolution to the issues between the parties. The Temporary Order controls the conduct of the parties during the course of the divorce action, until there is a final divorce decree. This is particularly helpful when the parties have minor children.

Trial
Is reserved for cases where the parties cannot come to agreement, even with the help of a mediator. Trials can be held to resolve only certain questions, or for the entire divorce case.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 at 5:54 pm and is filed under Definitions, Divorce.
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