Boise Divorce Attorneys - Custody Lawyers - Family Law Statutes

Boise Divorce Attorneys and Custody Lawyers in Boise, Idaho call (208) 472-2383.
As a Boise Divorce Attorney I work frequently within the world of the Idaho Family Law Statute. Idaho Code Chapter 32 deals with Domestic Relations. It covers everything from marriage, illegal marriage, divorce and the grounds for divorce to the parent child relationship in terms of custody and visitation as well as community property.

The Family Law Statute has changed over time. One specific example of this change has to do with common law marriage. At one point in Idaho history, the state recognized common law marriage. As of January 1, 1996 Idaho no longer does. If you were common law married before that date, meaning you put yourself out as a married couple a court would still consider you married and you could file for divorce and custody in Idaho.

What does it mean to put yourself out there as being married? A Boise Divorce Lawyer would present evidence to the court that showed you treated your relationship as one of a marriage, not just co-habitation. Examples of evidence an attorney might use to prove this might be filing joint tax returns, being claimed as a spouse on health insurance, purchasing a home together or telling people that you were married. However, having children together and co-habitating do not necessarily reach the level of evidence needed to prove marriage.

Why would your divorce lawyer want to prove that you were married? That family law statute that I mentioned above provides protection for married couples called community property. If you were living together, but were not married and one party worked and the other stayed home and the one that worked used their money to pay for the house and to pay for the car and all the other goodies, if they ever split up the person who paid for everything would get it all. Now that may be fine for the person who worked but the person who stayed home and took care of the house and the kids would get nothing.

Community property recognizes that it is a community effort to build the community and therefore it rewards each individual equally in terms of value.

If there were children to the common law marriage how custody and visitation would be determined for those children would be the same whether it was ultimately decided that a common law marriage did or did not exist. The parties would be ordered to mediation and if they could not agree on a custody arrangement both divorce lawyers would present evidence to show why their client is the party best suited to be the custodial parent or why it would be in the best interest of the child to have primary physical custody with one parent or the other. Ultimately, using requirements outlined in that family law statutes I spoke about above, an Idaho judge would determine what is in the best interest of the child.

Ultimately, if you are married and are going through divorce in Idaho or you are going through divorce in Idaho and have children or simply have children together in Idaho and are splitting up, you too will enter the world of the family law statute.

Boise Divorce Attorneys and Military Deployment

Boise Divorce Attorneys are often asked the question of what happens to custody and visitation when one parent is in the military and is deployed. There first concern tends to be that they will lose their visitation or custody rights established by the Idaho Court.

Military personnel are protected in a variety of ways in Idaho when it comes to divorce, custody and visitation. The policy behind this is that they are serving our country and defending us at home and therefore they should not have their rights compromised when they are deployed.

As a Boise Divorce Attorney I often suggest to my clients that if they are deployed that they execute a power of attorney and delegate their visitation rights to a party of their choosing. A power of attorney for a military visitation is good for three years. I suggest that the power of attorney be designated to someone like the grandparents or a new spouse, particularly if there are step-siblings with whom they would like their child to continue developing a relationship with.

Custody lawyers can present a motion to the court that custody be temporarily placed with the non-deployed party, with the understanding that once the other party returns from active duty that they will abide by the original custody and visitation schedule. This would be an option if the party felt like their visitation would be best placed with the other parent.

Using a power of attorney to delegate your visitation rights prevents the need for modification. This is not to say, however, that the party on the other side of the custody issue won't motion for modification and ask their lawyer to present evidence showing how it would be in the best interest of the child for them to remain with the non-deployed party while the other parent is deployed. In Idaho, however, Boise Divorce Attorneys can tell you the law will place a preference for the visitation rights of a military parent to be delegated through power of attorney.

As a custody lawyer in Boise, I have seen the use of these powers of attorney increase as active military personnel are repeatedly deployed. It is one option to help prevent a major disruption in the child's routine.

If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney, please call (208) 472-2383

Boise Divorce Attorneys and Mediation

Boise Divorce Attorneys will tell you that in most divorce cases in Idaho their clients are ordered to mediation. Judges in Boise routinely order mediation of outstanding custody and visitation issues. Boise Divorce Attorneys can also tell you that their clients often balk at having to attend mediation. There is a cost involved as well as time. Some parties are unhappy if the mediator is a woman, others are unhappy if the mediator is a man.

Many people see mediation as a hassle and unnecessary. Divorce lawyers, however, will tell you that mediation has its place in divorce and custody cases. Mediation can allow the parties to work out a custody and visitation schedule that works for them. If the parties can agree, and that is often the difficult part, they can decide for themselves who will have the child and when. If the parties do not come to an agreement during the mediation, their custody attorneys will argue each of their sides in court at trial. Each attorney will put forward why custody placed with their client is in the best interest of the child. The judge will listen to each lawyer and make a decision based upon a whole lot of evidence.

Now, while one party may "win", the question remains whether or not the court ordered visitation and custody schedule makes the best sense for the child and the parents. The standard alternating weekends and long summer vacation is not necessarily a convenient custody and visitation schedule. Or, you might find that alternating week on, week off is too disruptive.

Mediation may or may not work for you, but as a Boise Divorce Attorney I suggest to all my clients that they give it a good shot. It can be helpful and it most often makes the best sense for you and your ex to decide custody and visitation schedules instead of a judge. If the parties decide, there is often less need for modification because the decision is based upon their schedules not upon what the judge thinks will work.

If you need to speak with a Boise Divorce Attorney, please call (208) 472-2383

Boise Divorce Attorneys Discussess Temporary Orders

As a Boise Divorce Attorney clients often ask me about temporary orders. Specifically, people often ask if they can ask for something different than what they already have. Custody and visitation, for example, are a big area where parties to a divorce seek to establish an order giving them better visitation or more custody than the status quo. If you are a parent who has stayed at home with your child and you have provided the daily care of that child, of course that is what you would ask for in temporary orders. In the converse, the other party might want to take the opportunity to bring up past issues of things like anger, or laziness or the like, to try to get more visitation.

Judges do not like this. In general, temporary orders will preserve the status quo. If you bring up an argument such as you fear for the children because of the other parent's anger, but that parent has had those anger issues all along, the judge will see your desire to change the status quo as an act done in spite.

Child custody and the determination of it has so much to do with stability and continuity. Judges do not like to mess with stability and continuity in child custody cases.

If you are seeking a divorce or child custody and you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney
please call, (208) 472-2383 or visit us at www.lawboiseid.com or www.divorceboiseid.com

Boise Divorce Attorney Talks About Holiday Visitation

As a Boise Divorce Attorney I see people scrambling this time of year, trying to get into Court wanting to modify their holiday visitation schedule, trying to enforce a holiday visitation schedule or trying to establish temporary orders to set a holiday visitation schedule.

Proactive orders are always the best. Meaning, making certain the original divorce and child custody decree set forth specifically what the schedule will be and when and how it can differ. This, sadly, is not usually the case.

As a Boise Divorce Attorney I regularly see people whose ex won't abide by the divorce and child custody decree, or whose ex wants to take an extended vacation during their scheduled time. During the holiday season the closer it gets to Christmas or Thanksgiving the more difficult it is to get before a judge to make changes or to modify a decree.

If you anticipate there is going to be a problem or a change during the holidays it is much easier to get it done early, much like early Christmas shopping. If you wait till the day before, you might have to do your shopping after Christmas!

For more information concerning divorce, child custody, child support, modification and visitation please visit www.lawboiseid.com or www.divorceboiseid.com

Child Custody and National Guard Service

As a Boise Divorce attorney I often advise clients about the criteria laid out in the Idaho Code as to how child custody in Idaho is determined and when and how it can be modified. A modification can be sought when there is a permanent and substantial material change in circumstance. An interesting exception to this modification rule exists and pertains to active members of the Idaho National Guard and military reservists.

The exception is this: When an active member of the Idaho National Guard is called to duty or when a military reservist is ordered to active federal service, this does not constitute a substantial or material and permanent change in circumstance. In other words, this is not a basis upon which to seek a modification of a child custody decree, either in terms of physical custody or visitation.

For information regarding divorce, child custody, modification and visitation in Idaho, please visit www.lawboiseid.com or www.divorceboiseid.com