Boise Divorce Attorney - Family Law Lawyers - Custody Attorneys - Grandparents' Rights

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As a Boise Divorce Attorney, I occasionally get calls from grandparents who are raising their grand kids. Often these kids were just left with Grandma and Grandpa and neither parent has any contact with the kids. Often it is the case that there was never a divorce between the parents or, if the parents weren't married, a custody order establishing who should have custody of the children.

What can I do, as a Boise Divorce Lawyer, to help these grandparents get a legal status in relation to the grandchildren? Idaho has a statute that is called the De Facto Custodian Act. What this does is it allows grandparents, or anyone else in the postition of caring for children who were left with them, a legal status known as a de facto custodian. There are rules promulgated by the statutes as to the length of time a child must reside with a party before they can be legally considered a de facto custodian.

Once the time requirements have been met the grandparents can, by themselves or with a Boise Divorce Attorney, file a petition to be named de facto custodian and file for custody of the children. Again there are requirements that have to be met and your Boise Divorce Lawyer must show that it is in the best interest of the child for custody to be placed with the grandparents. If the parents have abandoned the children this is not necessarily a difficult task. Once the court finds that it is in the best interest of the children a custody order is issued and the grandparent's take legal custody of the children.

The order can be challenged upon the showing that it is no longer in the best interest of the children to be in the grandparents' custody. This can and does happen and when it does it can open a whole other can of worms dealing with grandparents' visitation rights which will be addressed in a later blog.

As a Boise Divorce Attorney people often ask me what type of situation results in custody being placed with a de facto custodian. In general, it occurs when the parents are involved with drugs or in criminal activity. Meth children, when Health and Welfare have not taken the children away, are a good example of where I hear the most about the need for the de facto custodian act.

If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney or have divorce or custody issues you would like to address, please call (208) 472-2383

Boise Divorce Attorneys Role in Domestic Violence Prevention

In today's paper there was an article about a domestic violence standoff over the weekend in Boise. As a Boise Divorce Attorney I often hear form people who find themselves in similar situations. The article outlined how a Boise woman was charged with aggravated assault and two counts of domestic violence. The Boise man was charged with violating a no-contact order and two counts of domestic violence.

Divorce lawyers often recommend that their client's file for a temporary restraining order in order to prevent domestic violence from happening. The case in the newspaper today outlines how restraining orders are not an absolute protection against domestic violence. Could something have been done differently? The newspaper article was not clear but from the view of a Boise divorce lawyer the outcome could have been different. When you have a no-contact order in place the party whom it is protecting can call the police if the other party breaks the no-contact order. It sounds as if the police were not called until after there was a confrontation.

If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney about a divorce or a domestic violence situation in Idaho, please call (208) 472-2383

Boise Divorce Attorneys Role in Custody Matters

What role does a divorce lawyer play in a custody proceeding? The answer to that lies in what type of custody situation you are in. In Boise custody cases follow a fairly routine pattern. Once the divorce is initiated one attorney or the other, and at times both attorneys, will motion for temporary orders. Temporary orders are put into place to provide a consistent custody and visitation schedule during the divorce. Thereafter the parties are generally ordered to mediation.

While mediation can be difficult it can be a very helpful and meaningful exercise. If the parties can agree what custody and visitation schedule works best for them they are in control of their custody arrangement, rather than the lawyers arguing about what is best or the judge deciding for them. In this situation the role of a Boise divorce attorney is different than when mediation does not work. If it doesn't work, and sometimes it does not, the role of a Boise divorce lawyer shifts to preparing for trial.

Custody is determined by the best interest of the child. Divorce attorneys in Idaho will put forth the evidence which supports the best interest of the child. Sometimes, for their client that may be why they would make the best custodial parent. It could also be that their client wishes to have more or different visitation and a divorce lawyer would work with those facts to show how that is in the child's best interest.

Rarely are custody cases cut and dry and rarely are they the same from case to case. Because they differ, the role of divorce attorneys differs as well.