Family Law

FAMILY LAW IN BOISE, ID

The experienced attorneys at Cosho Humphrey LLP help individuals through a variety of family and domestic legal matters from planning a marriage to adoption to dissolution of a marriage and the rights of children thereafter.

Many aspects of family law, especially divorce, can be emotionally charged and stressful. Our attorneys are committed to providing compassionate representation while also ensuring that our clients are aggressively represented and that matters are resolved in a timely manner providing closure and allowing them to move forward.

Our Idaho Family Law practice areas include the drafting of pre-nuptial agreements and post-nuptial agreements, the division of marital property and debt and spousal support in the event of divorce, child custody arrangements and parenting time, parental abduction – interstate and international, paternity disputes, the relocation of the custodial parent, jurisdictional issues involving the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, child support, post-judgment modifications of judgments and orders, and matters involving adoption.

Divorce

The attorneys at Cosho Humphrey LLP understand that the decision to end a marriage can be very emotional. Divorce also can raise a variety of legal questions, even in the case of uncontested divorces. Our experienced lawyers help clients walk through the divorce process in a manner that helps provide closure to the parties involved.

Because Idaho is a community property state, it is important to work with attorneys experienced in family law. Once we meet with our clients, we develop a legal strategy to maximize asset division, spousal support, and issues related to child custody and child support. Our attorneys can also work with you after a divorce to amend the judgments and orders created during the divorce.

CHILD SUPPORT

In cases where both spouses' combined gross income is $300,000.00 or less, there is a uniform formula by which the amount of child support is determined. Where the combined gross income is over $300,000.00, the courts have discretion on setting support in an amount above the Guideline amount. Support generally stops at age 18, but the judges can order support up to age 19 if your child is a full-time high school student. It is also possible to provide by written agreement for college education or support beyond age 18. Under the current Child Support Guidelines, the actual costs paid by either parent for health insurance premiums or for health care expenses for the children not covered or paid in full by insurance, including, but not limited to, orthodontic, optical and dental, are to be prorated between the parents in proportion to their Guidelines income. Under the Child Support Guidelines, the courts can also order a sharing of the work-related child care expenses.

ALIMONY/SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE

The judge may require one spouse to pay alimony or spousal maintenance to the other spouse. In Idaho, spousal maintenance is only ordered where the party seeking alimony is unable to support himself or herself through employment and lacks sufficient property to provide for his or her reasonable needs. Generally, the duration of the alimony will be for the length of time reasonably necessary for the spouse to become self-supporting. Alimony is not awarded for the purpose of punishing an offending spouse.

CUSTODY MODIFICATIONS

Once a final decree is entered, the court does have continuing jurisdiction to modify custody and child support and may have jurisdiction to modify alimony, depending on how the alimony was structured. In order to modify a decree with regard to child support or custody, the court must find that there has been a substantial, permanent and material change of circumstances since entry of the last decree. With regard to custody, the court would also have to determine that the modification was in the best interest of a child.

CIVIL PROTECTION ORDERS/CRIMINAL DEFENSE

If your spouse is being physically abusive to you or the children, refuses to provide reasonable support, refuses to give you information concerning property or refuses to permit reasonable visitation, the judge will determine if you will obtain this relief while the case is pending. In cases of abuse or threats of abuse, you may obtain a Domestic Violence Protection Order.

PRENUPTIAL

Pre-nuptial, or pre-marital, agreements are created prior to marriage to establish division of assets in the event of a later divorce or death of one of the partners. While it can be difficult – and unromantic – to discuss such divisions prior to getting married, doing so can save a couple money and difficulty down the road, especially in a community property state like Idaho. Prenuptials also provide the opportunity to have important conversations about financial responsibilities prior to saying “I do.”

The attorneys at Cosho Humphrey LLP have extensive experience in drafting prenuptial and postnuptial agreements and help guide their clients through the process of securing their assets.

POSTNUPTIAL

Often circumstances change after a marriage, and these situations may create the need for a postnuptial agreement covering issues such as asset protection, debt division, and spousal support. Potential scenarios that might raise the need for an agreement might include one spouse wanting to borrow a significant amount of money to start up a business or a spouse who has significant health issues. It can also be used to clearly delineate receipt of an inheritance. Money inherited during a marriage is not money of the community but is the sole property of the spouse who receives the inheritance. How this in managed could have a significant impact if not properly segregated from community assets.

Cosho Humphrey LLP can help clients create targeted, legally binding postnuptial agreements. While spouses may be hesitant to enter such agreements after they are married, they can be an effective tool in managing assets and debts.

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ADOPTION/GUARDIANSHIP

Adoption and Guardianship are different ways of caring for a child. Adoption is a permanent action that terminates one or both of the biological / legal parents rights and makes the adoptive parents the legal parents of the child and gives the child inheritance rights from the adoptive parents and their relatives. Guardianship is a temporary action that keeps the parents’ legal rights intact. Guardianship of a child and allows the Guardian to preform all parental duties and generally ends when the child reaches the age of majority.
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