Modification of Court Orders
Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce
Either you or your spouse must be an Idaho resident for six weeks before filing for divorce. A divorce case begins when one spouse files for a divorce in the county where the other spouse lives. If the other spouse lives in another state, the filing spouse must file in the county where he or she lives.
Grounds for divorce in Idaho are:
- Adultery
- Extreme cruelty
- Willful desertion
- Willful neglect
- Habitual drunkenness
- Conviction of a felony
- Spouse is permanently insane
- Irreconcilable differences
Additionally, you can obtain a divorce if you and your spouse have lived separate and apart for at least five years.
Dividing the Property
Idaho is a "community property" state, which means any property acquired during your marriage is treated as being owned by you and your spouse. The judge divides community property equally, unless there are compelling reasons not to.
Courts consider these factors when deciding if the division of community property should be equal:
- Marriage length
- Any antenuptial agreement of the spouses
- The age, health, occupation, amount and source of income, vocational skills, employability and liabilities of each spouse
- Needs of each spouse
- How property division relates to issue of spousal support
- Present and future earning capacity of the spouses
- Retirement benefits
You and your spouse keep your "separate property," which is the property you had prior to marriage, or acquired by gift or inheritance.
You and your spouse may have a written agreement for how matters should be handled upon divorce. The separation agreement is a contract listing and describing your decisions about property ownership and division, , financial support and child custody and support matters.
Be prepared with information on your property, including when you purchased it, an estimate of value, and details such as account numbers, serial numbers and so forth. You'll be ready to meet with an Idaho divorce lawyer and it can save you a lot of time and money.
Alimony
A court may order alimony, also called maintenance, if it finds the recipient lacks sufficient property for self-support.
In deciding the amount and duration of maintenance, a court will generally consider such factors as:
- The financial resources of the recipient
- The time needed for the recipient to gain the education or training needed for a suitable job
- Marriage length
- The age and physical and emotional condition of the recipient
- Whether the paying spouse can meet his or her own needs while paying support
- Tax consequences to either spouse
- The fault of either spouse
A court can order temporary maintenance while the divorce is pending. Most maintenance is ordered for a specific length of time.
Child Custody and Visitation
The court makes child custody decisions based upon the best interest of the child. State law presumes joint custody is in the child's best interest. If joint custody isn't granted, the judge must state the reasons in writing. In making the custody decisions, the court looks at all relevant factors, including:
- Parents' custody preferences
- Child's custody preference
- The interaction and interrelationship of the child with his or her parent or parents and siblings
- The child's adjustment to his or her home, school and community
- The character and circumstances of all individuals involved
- The need to promote continuity and stability in the child's life
- Any domestic violence
Child Support
A court may order either or both parents to pay an amount reasonable or needed for child support and education until their child is 18; 19 if the child is still in high school. Marital misconduct isn't a factor in granting support.
The support amount based on Idaho's child support guidelines is presumed correct. A court can deviate from the guidelines if the evidence in your case shows that amount would be unjust or inappropriate. Factors considered in deciding child support issues include:
- Child's financial resources
- Parents' financial resources, needs and obligations
- Child's standard of living during the marriage
- Child's physical and emotional condition and educational needs
- Whether medical coverage is available at a reasonable cost
- Actual tax benefit recognized by the parent claiming the federal child dependency exemption
Modification of Court Orders
The court may grant a modification of child custody, visitation or child support if there has been a substantial and material change in your circumstances and if it is in the best interest of your minor child to do so. However, if there has only been a brief period of time since the entry of the last order, or if the child has not lived in Idaho for at least six months, the court may not grant your motion unless there was a clerical mistake in the earlier order or if an emergency exists.