The minimum parent-time in Utah for a child age 5 to 18 is one weekday evening each week, alternating weekends from Friday evening to Sunday evening, a rotating holiday schedule, and up to four weeks of extended summer time. That schedule comes from Utah Code 81-9-302 and applies when parents…
Quick Answer: When a child is injured during the other parent’s parenting time in Utah, responsibility may involve more than one person or entity. Depending on the facts, that can include a parent, a property owner, a driver, a business, or a manufacturer. Key Law: Utah follows a modified comparative…
Quick Answer: Bear Lake, Lake Powell, Zion, the Grand Canyon – Utah families think of these as ordinary summer destinations and don’t think to check on Utah custody travel rules. In the case of a divorce, it is important that parents review their custody order, even if the trip feels…
Quick Answer: Utah courts decide custody and parent-time based on the child’s best interests, not on who plans the more exciting summer. If one parent is consistently handling the day-to-day work while the other mainly shows up for vacations and highlight moments, that pattern can matter in a modification case…
At a Glance Quick Answer: In Utah, holiday parent-time is controlled by the written order and the statutory schedule it incorporates. When holiday time conflicts with regular parent-time or extended summer time, Utah law sets an order of precedence, so parents should check the order before making holiday plans. Key…
Reviewed by Jill L. Coil, founder of CoilLaw, LLC. Last reviewed September 21, 2026. At a Glance (Utah Law): Utah’s 2024 and 2025 legislative sessions recodified family law into a new Title 81, effective September 1, 2024, and the 2026 session added coercive control as a custody factor and created…
It depends almost entirely on whether the parents planned for it. A disabled adult whose parents put a successor guardian, a special needs trust, and a housing plan in place keeps their care, their benefits, and their routine when the parents are gone. A disabled adult whose parents did not…
Do I Have to Be Involved with My Kids? The Short Answer: No No, you do not have to be involved in your child’s life, even if you have been proven to be the biological parent via DNA test. There is a difference between a person who’s not involved in…
How to Explain Absent Parents to Children If your child’s other parent is not involved in your child’s life, your child may have questions about who their parent is, or why they aren’t able to be there for your child. While you may be tempted to tell them everything, particularly…
Custodial interference is what Utah calls it when a parent keeps a child from the other parent during that parent’s court-ordered time. It is both a violation of the custody order, which the family court can punish, and a crime under Utah Code 76-5-303, which the police and prosecutors can…
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