Monday, February 28, 2011

Boise Divorce Lawyers and Military Deployment

With the ongoing war in Iraq and the United State's presence in Afghanistan more and more Idaho soldiers are being deployed, often more than once.  What does this do to those who have had a divorce and have a custody and visitation schedule in place?  As a Boise Divorce Lawyer, I often hear from my clients when they are given notice of deployment, that they are afraid that their custody and visitation arrangements may be disrupted.  Divorce lawyers know that this can be stressful for military personnel, but they also know that there are many protections in Idaho law and federal law for military personnel.

As a Divorce Attorney in Boise I often advise my clients to create a power of attorney to delegate their visitation while they are deployed.  Idaho law allows for custody to be delegate through a power of attorney for three years.  This is often the best option when their are step siblings with whom continued contact would be valuable, or grandparents with who the child has a good relationship.  Custody attorneys use this as a way not to disrupt custody and visitation.

Another option I use as a Custody lawyer is a mutual agreement between the parties that the visitation of the military personnel will be temporarily suspended, without prejudice, while the soldier is deployed.  Divorce lawyers often see this as the best choice when there aren't step-siblings or grandparents around with whom continued contact would be beneficial.

A word of caution, however.  Military personnel are protected by Idaho law allowing them to delegate their custody and visitation rights, but as a Boise Divorce Lawyer, I can tell you that doesn't mean that other parent won't hire a custody attorney and motion for a modification or won't try to show how that power of attorney is not in the best interest of the child.  In this situation, divorce lawyers can put forward the opposition of the best interest of the child and then it is for an Idaho Court to decide.

If you need to speak with a Boise Divorce Lawyer or a Custody Attorney in Boise, please call (208) 472-2384 or visit www.lawboiseid.com for more information

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Boise Family Law Lawyers and Custody Issues

As a Boise Family Law Lawyer I often deal with custody issues.  Two major custody issues that I deal a lot with as a Custody Attorney in Idaho are parental fitness (and I am not talking being in shape!) and visitation.  There are a whole range of issues that revolve around these two issues but today I will discuss only limited considerations of both.

What makes a parent fit to be a custodial parent and how flexible should visitation be?  The difficulty with custodial fitness revolves around what should actually be considered in determining whether a parent is fit or not.  Boise Family Law Lawyers can tell you that there is no specific answer to this.  This has a lot to do with subjectivity.  Everyone is different.  Everyone has different acceptable standards of what is ok and what is not.  That is not to say that all things are ok.  Obviously, abuse, neglect and violence are never ok, but as a Boise Custody Attorney I have actually heard people claim that one party is not fit to be a parent because they fed their child salami for dinner!  This is why judges use a variety of considerations in determining parental fitness.  It is more often the case also that it is not a matter of which party is fit and which party isn't, but rather what parent does it make more sense for the child to live with and which parent does it make sense for the child to have visitation with.

Because the situation is often more about what makes sense for the child the question is what type of visitation is appropriate.  Again, this is a subjective issue.  For some parties every other weekend works great.  For others, a couple times a week works best.  Still for others, one week on one week off is what makes sense.  Family Law Lawyers in Boise will tell you that these flexible visitation schedules can be arranged but it is through mediation that the parties are able to work out what works best for them.  Boise Custody Attorneys will tell you that if the judge makes the decision, the schedules may not be anywhere near as flexible nor will they reflect what a sensible arrangement is for you and your child.

If you are seeking a divorce or have custody issues and need to speak to a Family Law Lawyer in Boise, please call (208) 472-2384 or visit www.lawboiseid.com or www.divorceboiseid.com for more information.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Boise Divorce Lawyers - Divorce and Custody Evidence

Boise Divorce Lawyers are seeing a new trend in evidence for divorce and custody cases.  Facebook posts are being introduced into courts in Idaho either as supporting evidence for clients or as evidence against clients.  Boise Divorce Lawyers are using facebook evidence to support their contentions that their client is the innocent party or the party most fit to be the custodial parent.

If you are in the middle of a divorce or custody battle and you post on your facebook account that you are having an affair, or that you interfered with a custody transfer or you violated a no contact order

Boise Divorce Lawyers will tell you that that evidence can be used against you in court.

A word of caution from a Boise Divorce Lawyer - be careful what you post on facebook - it might come back to bite you.

If you are seeking a divorce or have custody issues in Idaho and need to speak to a Boise Divorce Lawyer, please call (208) 472-2384 or visit www.lawboiseid.com or www.divorceboiseid.com for more information.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Boise Divorce Attorneys

Boise Divorce Attorneys see domestic violence a lot in the divorce context.  Today's newspaper article outlining the domestic violence standoff in Boise on Saturday is a prime example of that.  The Boise woman was charged with felony aggravated assault and two counts of domestic battery.  The Boise man involved in the standoff was charged with violating a no-contact order and two counts of domestic battery.

As a Boise Divorce lawyer I often get calls from people in the same sort of situation, however and hopefully, I am able to speak to them before a no-contact order is violated and before any harm is done.  A restraining order is supposed prevent contact that will lead to domestic violence but unfortunately I and other Boise divorce lawyers often see the orders violated.

The news article was unclear on the details of the recent standoff but it seems that the Boise man first violated the no-contact order which must have incited the woman to commit aggravated assault against the Boise man.

If you are seeking a divorce or have domestic violence issues and you would like to speak to a Boise Divorce attorney, please call (208) 472-2384 or visit www.divorceboiseid.com or www.lawboiseid.com

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Boise Divorce Lawyer Talks About the Temporary Orders and Mediation

As a Boise Divorce Lawyer I often hear from people seeking a divorce who have custody issues.  One of the biggest questions I hear from people is "how can I get custody of my kids?"  Custody is emotionally a tough situation because you go from being a family to having two different families.  You go from being with your kids all the time to seeing them on an alternating basis.

Custody in Idaho is determined on the basis of the best interest of the child.  There are many factors which judges take into account to base a decision upon.  During a divorce and custody proceeding Boise judges like to put in place something known as temporary orders.  This provides for continuity and a schedule during the divorce.  To establish temporary orders judges in Boise often look at the status quo.  Who has traditionally been the primary care giver?  Who is the child living with during the separation?  What has been the existing visitation schedule?  It is often based upon this that they determine what the temporary arrangement will be.

As a Boise divorce lawyer I can tell you that judges much prefer when the parties to a divorce and custody proceeding can agree on what the custody arrangement will be.  Towards this end Boise judges will order parties to mediation.  Mediation is supposed to help the parties agree on what the custody arrangement will be.  While parties to the divorce often get frustrated by mediation, the reason Boise judges are so adamant about ordering it is based upon the principle that if the parties can agree there is less likelihood of the need for modification.  While parties often dislike mediation because it involves a compromise, it gives the parties to the divorce the power to decide instead of being told by the judge what will happen.

If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Lawyer, please give us a call at (208) 472-2384.  For more information concerning divorce in Idaho please visit www.lawboiseid.com