As a Boise Divorce Attorney I often get calls from individuals who are seeking to establish or get back custody of their children. The most difficult part of these calls is when an individual is desperate to "help" their child, but the child does not reside in Idaho.
Child's Home State
In order for an Idaho Court to exercise jurisdiction over a child, the child must reside in the state of Idaho for at least six months. That means, if the child does not live here, the court cannot tell the child's home state that they are going to exercise jurisdiction over the child and make a custody determination. If you really need to challenge custody, you will have to petition the court in the child's home state.
Emergency
What if the child comes to Idaho for visitation from another state and it is clear that the child has been abused. Can Idaho do anything? Yes, Idaho can exercise emergency jurisdiction over a child. It is not going to outright change custody, but it will exercise it's jurisdiction to ensure that the child is not put in further danger. The court will communicate with the child's home state court and work to resolve the situation.
Divorce
What happens if you move to Idaho and want to get a divorce and have your custody issues decided here? For divorce, you only need to reside in the state for 6 weeks. If you have been here less that 6 months, you can go ahead and file for divorce and ask that the court not make a custody determination. If you can't wait 6 months to get divorced, you can get the divorce done and then return to the court to have the custody worked out.
If you are seeking a divorce and you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney, please give us a call, (208) 472-2384 and see what we can do for you.
Showing posts with label Boise Family Law Lawyers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boise Family Law Lawyers. Show all posts
Monday, May 6, 2013
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Boise Family Law Lawyers - Divorce Attorneys (208) 472-2384 Child Support in Idaho
Child Support Questions
Boise Family Law Lawyers encounter a whole variety of legal questions ranging from divorce to adoption. Some of the most common questions revolve around child support. Most people are familiar with the Idaho Child Support Guidelines to the extent that they exist and are used to determine child support. Most questions directed to Boise Divorce Attorneys concerning child support are, "do the guidelines apply to me?" and "can we agree on a different amount?"
In short, the guidelines apply to any divorce, custody or modification proceeding in Idaho where there is at least one child under the age of 18 (or 19 if they are still in high school). As to agreeing on a different amount, it is possible, but there are certain hoops you have to jump through.
Deviating from the Guidelines
How can you get an Idaho Court to set a child support amount that is different from the guidelines? Your divorce attorney must ask the court to set a different amount and give the judge convincing evidence to show that the child support amount set by the guidelines is not the appropriate amount. The judge is required to incorporate the reasons and their conclusion in their findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Good Idea or Bad?
Is it a good idea to deviate from the guidelines? In most cases, if there are compelling reasons to set the child support amount at a different rate then, logically, it is in the best interest of the child. There are situations, however, where this can actually backfire. As a Boise Divorce Attorney I have seen several instances, after the fact, where the intended result is not what the party anticipated. Often people will compel the court to set their child support amount at a larger dollar amount because it is their intent to secure a higher level housing for your children, for instance. These individuals intend to give the ex-spouse more money so they can continue to make the house payment. When that person continues to receive the extra child support but fails to make the house payment, the payor will seek to modify based on the fact that the money is not going where it is supposed to. Often a judge will refuse to grant the modification because there is no material and permanent change in circumstances and therefore the person is out of luck until such change actually takes place.
As a Boise Family Law Lawyer in these cases, I suggest to my clients rather than seeking the child support to be set at a different amount, that they explore the possibility of a side agreement to provide for the children's housing. Keeping the agreement out of the court order prevents any changes having to rise to the standard of substantial and material.
If you are seeking a divorce, child custody or modification and you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Lawyer, give us a call, (208) 472-2384 and see what we can do for you.
Boise Family Law Lawyers encounter a whole variety of legal questions ranging from divorce to adoption. Some of the most common questions revolve around child support. Most people are familiar with the Idaho Child Support Guidelines to the extent that they exist and are used to determine child support. Most questions directed to Boise Divorce Attorneys concerning child support are, "do the guidelines apply to me?" and "can we agree on a different amount?"
In short, the guidelines apply to any divorce, custody or modification proceeding in Idaho where there is at least one child under the age of 18 (or 19 if they are still in high school). As to agreeing on a different amount, it is possible, but there are certain hoops you have to jump through.
Deviating from the Guidelines
How can you get an Idaho Court to set a child support amount that is different from the guidelines? Your divorce attorney must ask the court to set a different amount and give the judge convincing evidence to show that the child support amount set by the guidelines is not the appropriate amount. The judge is required to incorporate the reasons and their conclusion in their findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Good Idea or Bad?
Is it a good idea to deviate from the guidelines? In most cases, if there are compelling reasons to set the child support amount at a different rate then, logically, it is in the best interest of the child. There are situations, however, where this can actually backfire. As a Boise Divorce Attorney I have seen several instances, after the fact, where the intended result is not what the party anticipated. Often people will compel the court to set their child support amount at a larger dollar amount because it is their intent to secure a higher level housing for your children, for instance. These individuals intend to give the ex-spouse more money so they can continue to make the house payment. When that person continues to receive the extra child support but fails to make the house payment, the payor will seek to modify based on the fact that the money is not going where it is supposed to. Often a judge will refuse to grant the modification because there is no material and permanent change in circumstances and therefore the person is out of luck until such change actually takes place.
As a Boise Family Law Lawyer in these cases, I suggest to my clients rather than seeking the child support to be set at a different amount, that they explore the possibility of a side agreement to provide for the children's housing. Keeping the agreement out of the court order prevents any changes having to rise to the standard of substantial and material.
If you are seeking a divorce, child custody or modification and you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Lawyer, give us a call, (208) 472-2384 and see what we can do for you.
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.
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.
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