Family Law Section
Welcome Members Page Forms & Links Section Events Family Law for Lawyers Public Information Legislation
Utah State Bar
Member Services
Find a Utah Lawyer
Bar Directories
Public Services
Sections Committees
Admissions
New Lawyer Training
CLE
Rules & Opinions
OPC
Resources
Law & Justice Center
Utah Bar Journal
 
Search the Site

 

 
 
Documents

Dear Family Law Attorneys:

The newly adopted Civil Rules of Procedure, Rule 26 which governs disclosure and discovery, goes into effect November 1, 2011 (tomorrow).

Rule 26.1 which governs disclosure and discovery in domestic relations actions, also goes into effect November 1, 2011. 

Copies of the new rules were sent out by the courts earlier this summer and are available on the court website.  That notice contained the following information: To see the text of the amendments, click on this link to:  http://www.utcourts.gov/resources/rules/approved/ and then click on the rule number.  Updated versions of the rules will be posted to the main rules web page (http://www.utcourts.gov/resources/rules/ ) on or about the effective date of the amendments.

Rule 26.1 requires the parties to disclose information at the beginning of the case using a "court-approved" Financial Declaration and requires notice of the new rule be served on the opposing party. 

Attached are copies of the court approved Financial Declaration in PDF format. "Notice of URCP 26.1 Disclosure and Discovery Requirements in Domestic Relations Actions" as well as a checklist which may be helpful for parties to comply with the new rule regarding disclosure. 

Financial Declaration: Please be aware that the attached version of the Financial Declaration is substantially different from other versions of Financial Declarations used by the courts, including those on the court's webpage, and versions you may have developed in your own practice.  You will note in the footers that this Financial Declaration form was approved by the Board of District Court Judges October 14, 2011 specifically to meet the requirements of Rule 26.1. In order to be in compliance with the new rule, the form of THE ATTACHED court-approved version is required to be utilized.  The Word version of this document allows you to use the form but format the document (change page breaks, not split sections, etc) to your personal preference as you insert the client's information.

Rule 26.1 requires that notice of the Rule 26.1 requirements be served on the respondent and all joined parties with the initial petition.  The rule does NOT mandate a form of this notice such as the one attached.

This form is provided reference so that you can use this version OR develop a similar Notice to be in compliance with the new rule.

Similarly, the checklist is provided merely as a tool to assist parties to complete the disclosure process and is NOT mandated to be used or served on other parties.

I apologize for the lateness in getting these documents to members of the section, however, they were only sent to me last Friday afternoon.

The Family Law Section has several upcoming CLE trainings that will deal with Rule 26.1, so please look for those announcements.

Stewart P. Ralphs

Chair, Legislation and Rules Committee

Family Law Section Executive Committee

Legislation 2010

Dear Family Law Section Members:

It is THAT time of year again with the Legislature in session for us to “weigh in” on bills that are before the Legislature dealing with the practice of family law. 

Bar staff will be sending via the Family Law Section member list, various bills that relate to family law.  Please review each bill and, if you desire, send your comments to me, but in any event send your vote to “support”, “oppose” or take “no position” on the bill.  When time allows, the notice will be accompanied by a “recommendation” from the Family Law Section Executive Committee.  However, there will be times that such recommendation is not possible.  I will always give you a deadline to get your vote back to me – which will usually be a very short turn around.

This year I will ask you to send your “vote” to my regular email, which is sralphs@lasslc.org .  Please make sure you reference the bill number an title in your emails to me (I cannot understand your vote if you send me an email that just says “support”)

Once I get your “votes,” I then communicate our section position to the Bar at a weekly Governmental Affairs meeting.  The Bar then decides whether to take a Bar position on the bill.  The Bar takes a position when the bill furthers the practice of law and access to the courts, but does not take a position on purely policy matters or on matters where there are competing positions within bar membership (i.e. criminal bills where the defense and prosecution sections are on opposite sides of the bill).  Sometimes, even if the bar does not take a position, they will give authorization to the section to take a position on the bill.  However, whether the bar or the section takes a position, all of you as attorneys, can certainly contact the bill sponsor with your input or go to the committee meetings when the bill is being publicly debated and give testimony.  You need to know that you CANNOT represent the section or the bar unless authorized to do so. 

I have been able to represent the Family Law Section’s position on bills at committee meetings the last couple of years and will do so this year, or contact another member of the Executive Committee to fill in for me if I have a conflict. 

Please contact me directly by phone or email if you have any questions about the process outlined above.

Stewart P. Ralphs
Executive Director, Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake
205 North 400 West
Salt Lake City, Utah  84103
Phone:  (801) 578-1213
Fax:  (801) 359-7359

Please review the following bills.

 


The Utah State Bar presents this web site as a service to our members and to the public. Information presented in this site is NOT legal advice. Please review the Terms of Use for more policy, disclaimer & liability information - ©Utah State Bar email:webmaster@utahbar.org