Virginia Dollinger: Premarital Agreements

For many couples, divorce raises a variety of questions and concerns, such as legal matters related to the custody of children and child support. However, the distribution of marital property is an especially important issue for many people who are splitting up with their spouse in Salt Lake City, and cities throughout all of Utah. When it comes to property division, it is important for people to understand various factors that could affect their property, such as a premarital agreement.

If a couple going through divorce signed a premarital agreement, the contract may affect how their property is divided, according to the Utah Courts. While premarital agreements cannot dictate costs related to child care or child support, they can have an impact on income, retirement benefits and real property, among other assets. These agreements take effect when a couple ties the knot and are recognized, so long as they are valid.

PREMARITAL AGREEMENTS AND PROPERTY DIVISION

According to the Utah State Legislature, each party must sign a premarital agreement in writing. However, if a couple wishes to have their premarital agreement revoked or modified, they can do so by mutually signing a written contract. Changing or eliminating a premarital agreement can have a significant impact on how courts divide marital property. Under certain circumstances, premarital agreements are unenforceable, such as those which were signed involuntarily.

The division of a couple’s marital property can affect the entire family. As a result, it is essential for people who are preparing to separate from their spouse to carefully assess the ins and outs of their situation.

NEW CHILD CUSTODY GUIDELINES PROPOSED IN UTAH

Given that the best interests of the child are at the heart of every Utah family law case, legislators and family law attorneys alike continually strive to promote conflict resolution and effective communication between parents and families. Consequently, state guidelines regarding child custody and visitation are sometimes created and/or amended to be more practical and effective. In fact, the state legislature is set to consider a proposed bill that would have a direct impact on families across the state.

The Judiciary Interim Committee of the Utah legislature recently considered a draft of a proposed piece of legislation intended to increase the amount of visitation time that noncustodial parents have with their children. The proposed bill was reportedly drafted in order to reduce divorce-related litigation by resolving some points of conflict between parents, according to one source. And while the committee had yet to make a decision on the proposed bill, it is expected to be considered by the legislature next year.

The proposed piece of legislation would allow a family law judge to decide whether a noncustodial parent is capable of maintaining longer periods of parenting times. Several factors would be taken into consideration in the matter, including the schedule flexibility of the parent and his or her ability to care for the child after school. The bill would also mandate that the noncustodial parent in question illustrate his or her ability to communicate effectively with the child’s custodial parent and be active in the child’s life.

Ultimately, the proposed measure would allow noncustodial parents to pick their children up from school on Friday and bring them directly to school on Monday, instead of conducting exchanges at the custodial parent’s house.