Following the recent death of Gary Coleman on May 28, 2010, Mr. Coleman’s ex-wife wants to be declared his current wife in Utah Court.  Shannon Price and Gary Coleman divorced in 2008, but Ms. Price claims that she and and Mr. Coleman continued to live together as husband and wife until his death.  She asks the Utah Courts to declare them “common law” married.  She makes this request because she wishes to administer Mr. Coleman’s estate.

Utah is one of the few states that still allows a declaration of Common Law Marriage.  The declaration must be made by the court within one year of the end of the relationship.  On June 14th, a Utah judge will hear evidence to determine whether or not a common law marriage existed between Gary Coleman and Shannon Price.

Under Utah law, Ms. Price must prove that the parties:

* were of legal age and capable of giving consent;
* were legally capable of entering a solemnized marriage under Utah law;
* had cohabited;
* mutually assumed marital rights, duties, and obligations; and
* held themselves out as and had acquired a uniform and general reputation as husband and wife.

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The Utah Courts’ website has a “Frequently Asked Questions” section about getting a divorce in Utah.  Click here for that information.

Some of the information is helpful but a lot of it can be misleading to a person who has no experience or legal training.  For example, under the question about relocation, the site says, “A custodial parent usually is not prohibited from leaving the state with the children.”  In our experience, this is far from the reality of the situation.  We have litigated many cases and even gone to trial on the issue of relocation and the courts have very rarely permitted relocation of the children even when the move would have been with a parent who had sole or primary physical custody.  The courts have often stated that they cannot, and will not, prohibit the custodial parent from moving and they can provide extensive parent-time to that parent, but generally the courts side with the custody evaluator and custody evaluators in Utah have often taken the position that a move is not in the child’s best interest.  On the other hand, relocation certainly has also been permitted in other cases.  This issue usually requires a custody evaluation and can be very litigated and complex.

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As most divorced  or divorcing parents in Utah know, Utah follows a strict child support guideline that is calculated according to gross income and the number of overnights that each parent has the child or children in a year.  Utah Code 78B-12-301 gives the amount of child support that is paid per the number of children in the family.  It is important to realize that the figure is the COMBINED child support of both parents and that each parent will only be obligated for a percentage of that amount.  If you have both parties income information and the number of overnights each parent has the child/ren, using a child support calculator is the best way to make an accurate estimate of child support.

What many people do not realize is that Utah Code contains a very important provision for both parents paying child support and parents receiving child support. In 2008 and 2009, parents who were getting FIRST TIME orders for final child support were subject to a higher child support table than those who had received child support orders PRIOR to January 1, 2008.  However, parties who had final child support orders PRIOR to January 1, 2008 were not at risk of being subject to the higher child support guidelines.  But, the big news is that, as of January 1, 2010, final orders for child support that were put in place any time PRIOR to January 1, 2008 are subject to the higher child support guidelines if the parent getting child support files a request for modification with the court and meets the appropriate standards, which will  be described below.

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