Divorce
Whether your divorce is amicable or contested, the steps are the same: petition or response, financial declarations, temporary orders, discovery, mediation, and - only if necessary - trial. Most cases resolve before trial. Our job is to make sure that when yours does, it resolves on terms that are fair to you.
We handle:
- Contested and uncontested divorces
- Property division (marital and separate property analysis)
- Alimony - petitioning and defending
- Marital settlement agreements
- Decree-of-divorce drafting and entry
- Post-decree modifications
Utah waiting period: Utah requires a 30-day waiting period after the divorce petition is filed before the decree may be entered (Utah Code § 30-3-18). Your attorney can use that period productively to negotiate a settlement.
Custody & Parent-Time
Utah courts decide custody based on the best interests of the child, weighing more than a dozen factors set out in Utah Code § 30-3-10 and § 30-3-10.2. The factors are not a checklist - they are a story the court tells about the child's life, and your attorney's job is to make sure the story includes everything the court needs to hear.
We handle:
- Initial custody determinations (legal custody, physical custody, parent-time schedules)
- High-conflict custody disputes
- Modifications based on changed circumstances
- Relocation matters under Utah Code § 30-3-37
- Custody and parent-time when parents were never married (paternity-based custody)
- Enforcement of existing custody orders (orders to show cause)
Protective Orders & Stalking Injunctions
Protective orders move quickly - sometimes within hours. We help clients petition for them when safety is at risk, and defend against them when they are wrongly sought. Both sides of these cases are time-sensitive: act quickly, prepare thoroughly.
Mediation & Settlement
Utah requires that nearly every contested family law case go to mediation before trial (Utah Code § 30-3-39). A skilled mediator and a prepared attorney can resolve more in three hours than three months of litigation. We prepare every case as if it is going to trial - that preparation, paradoxically, is often what makes settlement possible.
Adoption & Guardianship
Step-parent adoptions, kinship guardianships, and termination-of-parental-rights cases. These are sensitive, often joyful matters; we accept a limited number per year so that each one gets the attention it deserves.
Criminal Defense
Before founding the firm, Navid spent three years as a criminal defense attorney with the Legal Defenders Association in Salt Lake City, representing hundreds of clients through bench and jury trials and negotiating with prosecutors daily. The firm accepts misdemeanor and justice-court defense matters across Utah County, and criminal matters that intersect a family case - protective orders, domestic violence allegations, and contempt - so both sides of the case are handled with one strategy.
Related Matters
Many family law cases touch other areas of law:
- Criminal defense overlaps - protective orders, domestic violence charges, and contempt allegations often run alongside family law cases. We can handle the family-law side and refer or co-counsel the criminal-defense side as needed.
- Estate planning intersections - divorce and custody decisions affect wills, beneficiary designations, and minor-child guardianship. We refer to trusted estate planners.