30-3-10.4 - Modification or termination of order. - Utah Statutes

30-3-10.4. Modification or termination of order.
(1) On the petition of one or both of the parents, or the joint legal or physical custodiansif they are not the parents, the court may, after a hearing, modify or terminate an order thatestablished joint legal or physical custody if:
(a) the verified petition or accompanying affidavit initially alleges that admissibleevidence will show that the circumstances of the child or one or both parents or joint legal orphysical custodians have materially and substantially changed since the entry of the order to bemodified;
(b) a modification of the terms and conditions of the order would be an improvement forand in the best interest of the child; and
(c) (i) both parents have complied in good faith with the dispute resolution procedure inaccordance with Subsection 30-3-10.3(7); or
(ii) if no dispute resolution procedure is contained in the order that established joint legalor physical custody, the court orders the parents to participate in a dispute resolution procedure inaccordance with Subsection 30-3-10.2(5) unless the parents certify that, in good faith, they haveutilized a dispute resolution procedure to resolve their dispute.
(2) (a) In determining whether the best interest of a child will be served by eithermodifying or terminating the joint legal or physical custody order, the court shall, in addition toother factors the court considers relevant, consider the factors outlined in Section 30-3-10 andSubsection 30-3-10.2(2).
(b) The court shall make specific written findings on each of the factors relied uponstating:
(i) a material and substantial change of circumstance has occurred; and
(ii) a modification of the terms and conditions of the order would be an improvement forand in the best interest of the child.
(c) The court shall give substantial weight to the existing joint legal or physical custodyorder when the child is thriving, happy, and well-adjusted.
(3) The court shall, in every case regarding a petition for termination of a joint legal orphysical custody order, consider reasonable alternatives to preserve the existing order inaccordance with Subsection 30-3-10(1)(b). The court may modify the terms and conditions ofthe existing order in accordance with Subsection 30-3-10(5) and may order the parents to file aparenting plan in accordance with this chapter.
(4) A parent requesting a modification from sole custody to joint legal custody or jointphysical custody or both, or any other type of shared parenting arrangement, shall file and serve aproposed parenting plan with the petition to modify in accordance with Section 30-3-10.8.
(5) If the court finds that an action under this section is filed or answered frivolously andin a manner designed to harass the other party, the court shall assess attorney fees as costs againstthe offending party.

Amended by Chapter 228, 2010 General Session