Members of this firm attended a continuing legal education seminar last week and the “official” reading of the statute is that the exchange is to occur at 1 p.m. (if there are an odd number of days in the holiday break) or 7 p.m. (if there are an even number of days in the holiday break) on the day 1/2 through the Christmas holiday. In other words, parents no longer each have a portion of Christmas Day; only the parent who has the first portion of the holiday will have Christmas Eve and Day with the child, according to Utah Code Ann. sec. 30-3-35.

Also, important to note. The Judges and Commissioners attending the legal forum seemed to be in agreement that, for any order that is final, the parties are to follow Utah Code AS IT READ AT THE TIME OF THE FINAL DECREE (ORDER). In other words, some or most Judges and Commissioners are saying the new statute provisions do not apply to divorces or custody orders that precede the date of enactment of the new statute. For lawyers, that would probably mean that the best practice is to attach the current version of any statute provisions referenced in the Decree or Order so that the parties and court know what the statute said at the time the Decree was signed by the Court. Of course, Temporary Orders could be changed at the time of the final order if the statute changes during the process of the divorce or custody dispute.