In 2010, both the Fourth of July holiday and the Utah Pioneer Day holiday, on July 24th, fall on the weekend but courts and some places of business are closed on July 5th and July 23rd because of these holidays.  This is enough to cause parents to argue about what the holiday actually means when they look at their parent-time.

All we can do is direct parents to Utah Code Annotated Section 30-3-35 (2)(e), which reads as follows: (more…)

Protective Orders in Utah are governed by the Cohabitant Abuse Act which begins with section 78B-7-101 of  Utah Code Annotated.

Any victim of past or potential future violence or abuse by a current or past “co-habitant” may request a protective order from a Utah district court. “Co-habitant” really means that you have either lived with that person or that you are related by blood, marriage, or through a child out of wedlock.  The court does not charge for the filing of a protective order and most district courts have an office that will assist you in the preparation of documents, to file the documents, or serve the documents- all for no charge.  If you use a lawyer to argue or defend a protective order filing, that lawyer will probably charge attorneys fees.

A protective order is only appropriate when there is fear of physical harm to a person.  While verbal abuse and harassment can be very traumatizing, it is not appropriate to address those issues using a protective order; rather, you may wish to get a civil injunction (a restraining order).

(more…)

Long Okura P.C. can help you represent yourself in court.  

At recent Utah legal education seminars, Judges and Commissioners were discussing a newly discovered statistic:  85% of divorce cases in Utah have at least one party representing himself/herself.

There are many reasons that people decide to represent themselves in their family law cases, but often some basic legal advice could really make a difference and save time, money, and heartache.

You can represent yourself AND get legal advice every step of the way –  or only when you feel like you need it.   If you want to represent yourself in your family law case, you should consider our “Self-Representation Assistance” services.

(more…)