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Legal Information: Utah

Statutes: Utah

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Updated: 
September 19, 2024

78B-7-203. Hearing

(1)(a) If an ex parte child protective order is granted, the court shall schedule a hearing to be held within 21 days after the day on which the court makes the ex parte determination.

(b) If an ex parte child protective order is denied, the court, upon the request of the petitioner made within five days after the day on which the court makes the ex parte determination, shall schedule a hearing to be held within 21 days after the day on which the petitioner makes the request.

(2)(a) The petition, ex parte child protective order, and notice of hearing shall be served on the respondent, the child’s parent or guardian, and, if appointed, the guardian ad litem.

(b) The notice of hearing described in Subsection (2)(a) shall contain:

(i) the name and address of the individual to whom the notice is directed;

(ii) the date, time, and place of the hearing;

(iii) the name of the child on whose behalf a petition is being brought; and

(iv) a statement that an individual is entitled to have an attorney present at the hearing.

(3) The court shall provide an opportunity for any person having relevant knowledge to present evidence or information and may hear statements by counsel.

(4) An agent of the division served with a subpoena in compliance with the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure shall testify in accordance with the Utah Rules of Evidence.

(5) The court shall issue a child protective order if the court determines, based on a preponderance of the evidence, that:

(a) for a petition for a child protective order filed under Subsection 78B-7-202(1)(a)(i), the child is being abused or is in imminent danger of being abused; or

(b) for a petition for a protective order filed under Subsection 78B-7-202(1)(a)(ii), the child has been abused and the child protective order is necessary to protect the child.

(6) Except as provided in Section 80-3-404, a child protective order is not an adjudication of abuse, neglect, or dependency under Title 80, Chapter 3, Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Proceedings.