The ethical rules in Utah prohibit an attorney from representing both the husband and the wife in a divorce. The reason for that is there is a conflict for interest and an attorney cannot really provide adequate advice and counsel both of them, because they have conflicting interest. Perhaps even if they are getting along, one might are offer advice to the wife that you might not give to the husband and vice versa. Talking out of both sides of the mouth is not conducive to working with both parties it can be conflicting.
Having separate attorneys and the paperwork should be reviewed by an attorney, even if the client is representing themselves. A very simple example, in custody situations, there is a term that is called split custody and often times people think that split custody means we are going to split them up, meaning half the time they are with me and half the time they are with my spouse or my ex, but that is not what split custody means at all.
Split custody really means is if there are children involved, one kid is with one parent and the other kid is with the other parent. The kids are separated, that is called split custody. Sometimes in our minds, we are misguided, because it means something, but it means something completely different. If it ever goes to court, and one must fight about it with the judge, then the judge is going to presume that everyone knew what was being signed for this divorce or what agreed.
It becomes very difficult to change it later and in fact it can be very expensive to change it later. One most definitely should have an attorney. It is well worth every penny to pay, especially in a divorce case.
What Is The Importance Of Retaining An Attorney For A Divorce Proceeding?
It really comes down to what is that person doing and are they comfortable with it? There are people who think, for example, are mechanically inclined and if they were asked to change out the oil in the brakes on their car they could go do it, right? Or they could watch a YouTube video or they could get a book and figure it out. It is going to take them a lot longer, but they are going to eventually figure it out and hopefully they do not break something. The law is similar to that. If assets are known, and one knows how to set up custody then the ex-soon to be spouse is going to agree with everything, then sure go ahead and process the divorce yourselves.
Just make sure everything is done properly. Be very thorough, make sure it is done right and even then, our firm suggests an attorney look over, just because they went to law school. They passed a bar exam and in our office most attorneys have been licensed for a decade, so we have a decade of experience, which most people do not have. Attorneys can even suggest things that have not been thought of. Most people forget things in divorce.
If they have been married over seven years, than there is the matter of alimony to consider. Most people do not even think about alimony, plus they need money to live off of. Then there is retirement. Some people completely forget about retirement, because it is something we do not really think about until you need it. They forget about it. They forget about going through all the stocks, bonds, mutual funds. They forget to look at certain assets or the value of those assets. There are a lot of things people just overlook. If you do not know what is happening, it will be regrettable later on.
Is There A Required Period Of Separation Prior To Filing For Divorce In Utah?
There is a separation date that needs to specify and if the parties have not separated at the time they file divorce, a date is added. The date is created, because the courts need to know when they were separated, but there does not need to be an exact time period. The reason for that is because of the ninety day waiting period in Utah and the ninety day waiting period starts from the moment the petition for divorce is filed in the district court. Once it is filed, the time starts running and then on the ninety first day, that is the day the judge could sign a divorce decree if everything was done already.
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West Jordan, Utah
84088 United States
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