Utah State Law Library http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/ Serving Utahns' legal research needs since 1852* en Copyright 2010 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:22:39 -0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss New Modifying Parent-Time Forms The new Utah State Courts' web page on Modifying Parent-Time provides information about jurisdiction (does the court have legal authority to hear the case?), default judgments and the forms necessary to both request and respond to modifying parent-time.

Use these modification forms only if you already have an original order controlling parent-time. Note that if parents do not agree to a parent-time schedule, the legislature provides for minimum parent-time for both children under 5 and children 5 to 18 years of age.

If you need assistance filling out these forms, consider hiring an attorney or speaking to a lawyer at a free legal clinic.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2010/03/new_modifying_parenttime_forms_1.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2010/03/new_modifying_parenttime_forms_1.html Forms Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:22:39 -0700 New on OCAP: Protective Orders for Minor Children and Enforcement of Domestic Orders OCAP, the Online Court Assistance Program, offers an interactive electronic tool to prepare the documents needed for several types of civil actions in Utah's state courts. For example, among the existing programs are divorce, parentage, and guardianship of a minor child.

Now available are two new programs. One provides the court documents to try to obtain a protective order on behalf of a minor child. You can choose to use either OCAP or to download fill-in-the-blank forms already available on the court website.

OCAP's new enforcement of domestic orders system provides documents required to ask the court to enforce existing domestic orders. It offers help with preparing orders to show cause, responses to orders to show cause, registrations of foreign orders, as well as several others.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/10/new_on_ocap_protective_orders_1.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/10/new_on_ocap_protective_orders_1.html Forms Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:43:31 -0700 Parenting Plan Form Now Available on Court Website A parenting plan outlines how parents who are now living separately will raise their children. It encourages parents to think ahead about how they will make decisions and resolve disagreements. A parenting plan is required in Utah for shared parenting or custody arrangements and is permitted in other parenting arrangements approved by the court.

Parents in a domestic relations case must file a parenting plan whenever a party asks the court to create or change a shared parenting arrangement. Any arrangement other than full legal and physical custody held by one parent is a shared parenting arrangement.

Parenting plans are part of the Online Court Assistance Program for divorce or parentage actions. However, sometimes parents need to create a parenting plan on their own or are ordered to do so by the court. Now available on the court website is a stand-alone parenting plan form. Information about the legal requirements of a parenting plan and links to further resources are also available on the website.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/10/parenting_plan_form_now_availa.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/10/parenting_plan_form_now_availa.html Forms Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:56:52 -0700 Registering Foreign Orders If you have a child support or child custody court order from another state and you want to either enforce or modify that order in Utah, you must first register that order with an appropriate Utah court. This process is often referred to as "registering a foreign order."

Instructions and forms to register foreign child support and child custody orders are now available on the Utah State Courts website at http://www.utcourts.gov/howto/family/foreign_order.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/08/registering_foreign_orders.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/08/registering_foreign_orders.html Forms Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:12:02 -0700 Modifying Child Support Orders Forms to ask the court to modify a child support order are now available on the Utah State Courts website at http://www.utcourts.gov/howto/family/modification/child_support/. The site also provides information on how to use the forms and how to calculate child support amounts.

For help with calculating child support, you can use the online calculator or stand-alone worksheets.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/08/modifying_child_support_orders_1.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/08/modifying_child_support_orders_1.html Forms Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:56:40 -0700 Child Protective Orders Under Utah law, any interested adult may ask the Juvenile Court for an order of protection for a minor child less than 18 years of age if that adult believes the child is being physically or sexually abused or is at imminent risk of harm and in need of protection. Children who are at least 16 years old can apply on their own for an order of protection using adult protective order forms and filing them in the DIstrict Court.

Child protective order forms have been updated recently and are now available on the court website. One important addition is the Service Assistance Form found on the first page of the Verified Petition. This form provides law enforcement with information about the parties and is particularly useful in helping find a respondent to serve the court papers on him or her. The information on the Service Assistance Form is not part of the court public file and is provided only to law enforcement.

Information about protective orders is available in English and Spanish.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/07/child_protective_orders_1.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/07/child_protective_orders_1.html Forms Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:40:46 -0700 Collecting a Judgment moneyYou’ve won your case ... but how do you get your money?

Unfortunately, winning your case is only one step in the process, and collecting the judgment can be more difficult than winning it. If you are lucky the party will pay the judgment. Otherwise, you may have to go back to court to try to get the party to pay what s/he now owes you.

The court does not collect the judgment for you, but does provide tools to help you collect the judgment. Our Collecting a Judgment web page describes the different ways you can collect a judgment, such as a Writ of Execution or a Writ of Garnishment, as well as the process for finding out about the debtor's assets. That process is called a "supplemental proceeding" or "supp order."

The person to whom the judgment is owed is the creditor. The person who owes the judgment is the debtor. The creditor has eight years to collect a judgment from the debtor. (Utah Code Ann. §78B-2-311).

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/07/collecting_a_judgment.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/07/collecting_a_judgment.html Self-Help Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:40:29 -0700 Advance Health Care Decision Making Planning ahead for physical and mental incapacity is an important issue for all of us. Utah law provides suggested forms and instructions for advance health care directives and the appointment of an agent to make health care decisions for an adult who loses the capacity to communicate. You can link to Utah’s forms and more information at http://aging.utah.edu/utah_coa/directives/ , or directly from the court website at http://www.utcourts.gov/howto/seniors/#Advance.

The Utah Division of Aging and Adult Services provides information and forms about advance health care decision making including a very useful Tool Kit that helps people think through their wishes and how to express them in meaningful ways. Go to http://www.hsdaas.utah.gov/advance_directives.htm

Utah law also provides for a mental health directive to help people with mental illness plan ahead for such tough decisions as commitment to treatment and medications. Go to more information on the Nami Utah Web site at http://www.namiut.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=52, or view Utah’s laws and sample Declaration for Mental Health Treatment form at Utah Code 62A-15-1001 to 1004, http://le.utah.gov/UtahCode/section.jsp?code=62A-15.

On the national front, the Secretary of Health and Human Services sent a comprehensive report to Congress this week entitled “Advance Directives and Advance Care Planning.” The report, requested by Congress in 2006, focuses on (1) the best ways to promote the use of advance directives and advance care planning among competent adults as a way to specify their wishes about end-of-life care; and (2) addressing the needs of persons with disabilities with respect to advance directives. You can link to the report at http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/2008/ADCongRpt.htm. It includes an excellent literature review on every aspect of advance care planning, analyses of key ethical and legal issues, and a discussion of opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of advance care planning and advance directives.
The report is particularly timely as health care reform is in the public policy forefront, and several bills are pending in Congress regarding advance care planning and improving care near the end of life.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/advance_health_care_decision_m.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/advance_health_care_decision_m.html Self-Help Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:06:59 -0700 New Forms: Waiver of Divorce Education Requirements Utah law requires divorcing parents to attend a divorce orientation class and a divorce education class before the judge will sign a divorce decree.

Attendance of these classes can be waived by the judge in some circumstances. Information and all the forms needed to ask the judge to waive the required classes are now available on the court web page on divorce. The forms are also found in the online divorce program (OCAP).

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/new_forms_waiver_of_divorce_ed.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/new_forms_waiver_of_divorce_ed.html Forms Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:18:02 -0700 New Forms: Waiving the 90-Day Waiting Period in Divorce Cases Utah law requires that parties wait 90 days after filing a divorce petition before a divorce decree can be granted. This waiting period can be waived by the court for good cause. And, the waiting period does not apply to parents who attend the Divorce Education and Divorce Orientation classes.

The forms to ask the court to waive the waiting period are now available for easy download on the court web page on divorce. In addition, forms are now available to oppose the waiver of the waiting period. The waiver forms may also be found in the online divorce program (OCAP).

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/new_forms_waiving_the_90day_wa_1.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/new_forms_waiving_the_90day_wa_1.html Forms Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:24:49 -0700 New Web Page and Forms: Filing Fees and Fee Waivers clip_image002.jpgThere's a new web page explaining filing fees and fee waivers. All forms required for asking the court to waive filing fees are available on this page as well.

There are usually fees that you must pay whenever you start a lawsuit by filing a complaint or petition. You can ask the judge to waive the fees but you must prove to the judge that you cannot pay them.

You can also link to the fee waiver web page and forms by going to "Forms and Instructions" on the Self-Help Resources webpage.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/new_web_page_and_forms_filing.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/new_web_page_and_forms_filing.html Forms Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:49:42 -0700 New Web Page and Forms: Changing Lawyers changing_lawyers.jpgThere's a new Changing Lawyers web page on the court's website that explains the issues surrounding the withdrawal of an attorney, substitution of counsel or notice of appearance, and provides forms for these situations.

This page is linked from our Finding Legal Help page, which provides a number of suggestions for ways to deal with legal issues.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/05/new_web_page_and_forms_changin.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/05/new_web_page_and_forms_changin.html Forms Wed, 13 May 2009 13:03:11 -0700 New Form: Proof of Service service pageThere's a new Proof of Service form available on the Utah State Courts' website. It's linked from our Service page, which is one of many resources you can access from the Self-Help Resources page.

Another useful service-related resource is our Finding People for Service of Process page, which offers nearly two dozen suggestions for ways to find people to notify them about a lawsuit filed against them.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/05/new_form_proof_of_service.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/05/new_form_proof_of_service.html Forms Wed, 13 May 2009 11:12:01 -0700 New Resource - Answering a Complaint or Petition answer.jpg
There's a new page on the Utah State Courts' website which provides information about answering a complaint or petition and an Answer form for civil matters.

This is one of many resources you can access from the Self-Help Resources page.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/05/new_resource_answering_a_compl.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/05/new_resource_answering_a_compl.html Forms Fri, 08 May 2009 07:44:51 -0700 Small Claims Procedures and Forms The Utah State Courts webpage on Small Claims has been updated. The new page contains loads of information about handling small claims cases and forms for all aspects of a small claims matter.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/05/small_claims_procedures_and_fo.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/05/small_claims_procedures_and_fo.html Forms Fri, 01 May 2009 15:29:31 -0700