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MERIDIAN DIVORCE LAWYER
DO I NEED A MERIDIAN DIVORCE ATTORNEY?
If you are going through a divorce in Meridian ID, then you know what kind of emotional toll it can play on your and your minor children.
If you are facing a fight and have the following to add to the mix:
- Child Custody
- Child Support
- Property Division
- Alimony or spousal support
- Domestic Violence
- A Potential Move Out of State
Then the case is more complex than you think. The Meridian divorce attorneys at our law firm have the experience and drive to get you the best possible result.
HOW TO FILE FOR DIVORCE IN IDAHO
Filing for Divorce in Meridian Idaho is not as easy as one would think.
Idaho Family Law Rules and Going Before The Family Law Court
When facing the tall task of filing for divorce in Idaho, you have to understand that even if you try and do it on your own, you still have to follow the same rules and procedures as an experienced family law attorney.
You have to make sure that you are even eligible to file for a divorce in Idaho. The curt may or may not have jurisdiction over you or your soon to be ex spouse or the marital property. This is why is always important to discuss your situation with experienced divorce attorneys.
You also have to make sure that you are filing it with the correct county and judicial district. A court will let you file a document in the wrong county if the documents appear to be correct. In that case, you may be wasting precious time and money to go through the process just to get kicked out of court for filing the documents incorrectly.
WHO GETS CUSTODY OF MY CHILD IN MERIDIAN, IDAHO?
Child custody is one of the most contentious parts of divorce cases and family law matters in general. This is why is important to retain or at least get a consultation with a Meridian divorce attorney as soon as possible. The child custody arrangement that gets put in place will also have a significant impact on how much child support you will be paying.
The last thing that you want to do is paying too much (or receiving too little) child support for 18 years because your meridian divorce lawyer didn’t get the child custody plan correct.
Best Interest Factors For Child Custody
When talking about physical custody of the minor children, the court will review what is called the “best interest” factors to determine who will get the minor children and when.
The court will review the entire situation, but the statute in Idaho family law lays out the seven major factors that a court should look at.
Physical Custody versus Legal Custody
When talking about child custody, it is important to distinguish between physical custody. There are a lot of differences. But, generally speaking, physical custody is who has the kids and when, and legal custody is the parental rights to make major decisions about the minor children such as school, religion, medical procedures, etc.
Our Meridian family law attorneys are here to help. You can read more about Meridian Child Custody here.
HOW ARE MARITAL ASSETS DIVIDED IN MERIDIAN, IDAHO?
Idaho is a community property state. If you are getting divorced in Meridian, Idaho, assets acquired during the marriage will be divided 50-50 when a couple decides to divorce.
This means the value of the property awarded to each spouse must be essentially equal. How this is calculated can happen in a number of different ways. If you and your former spouse want to try and keep one person living in the former marital home, or if you would like to avoid dividing certain retirement accounts, it’s possible to do this.
Your Meridian divorce attorney can help you decide the best course of action when dividing your marital assets.
WILL I HAVE TO PAY ALIMONY IN IDAHO?
Spousal maintenance, or alimony, is not automatically awarded in a divorce in Meridian, Idaho. However, alimony or spousal maintenance is available to yourself or a former spouse if they can meet the elements that the family court requires.
The Test for Spousal Maintenance That Your Divorce Lawyer Can Help With
An Idaho Divorce Lawyer will be familiar with the test for alimony. Essentially, divorce lawyers have to handle this test for every case to determine whether or not this will be a legal issue they will have to argue during the divorce process. But, generally speaking, the test is whether or not the spouse that is requesting alimony can meet their reasonable monthly living expenses with either their job or the property that they have whether that is separate property or property they are awarded during the divorce process.
Whether or not you are eligible to receive, or have to pay, any alimony is determined by several factors. Once one spouse has proved that they are eligible for alimony during the divorce proceedings, it is up to each individual judge to make a final decision based on these factors, which include the age and health of each spouse, the length of the marriage, the level of financial need of the recipient spouse in order to maintain their standard of living, and the ability of the payor spouse to pay based on their income and assets. If you share minor children with your former spouse, child support may be taken into account in a determination of alimony.
CONTACT OUR DIVORCE ATTORNEY IN MERIDIAN, IDAHO
If you and your former spouse are able to agree on custody, support, and asset division, you can move forward with a Meridian, Idaho uncontested divorce. It is best if you contact divorce attorneys prior to finalizing your judgment and decree of divorce. In the event that you make a mistake regarding the terms of the child custody, asset division, alimony, retirement plan division, or any of the other issues that you have to address in the divorce, you may have to spend more time and money correcting those issues.
Further, if you don’t catch the mistake right away, there is a chance that a divorce attorney will not be able to go back and correct the error due to the passage of time. For some issues, Idaho family law prohibits the change in some circumstances.
Your Meridian divorce and family attorney will attempt to work with your former spouse’s lawyer to negotiate a reasonable settlement of each issue. These are the most cost-effective ways to proceed during divorce.
If you and your spouse cannot resolve major disagreements, or if there are specific issues in your Meridian divorce like domestic violence or substance abuse, you may have to proceed with a contested divorce. Your Meridian divorce attorney will file motions with the court and your spouse’s attorney will do the same, and while you wait for a final hearing or “trial” you may have to appear in court so a judge can make temporary decisions related to custody of your children, child support, or spousal support.
Our Meridian divorce law firm is experienced both in mediated divorce and in appearing in court on behalf of divorcing clients.
If you are considering divorce, Idaho Divorce Law Firm is the one you can trust. We mainly serve in Meridian, and in the following cities:
We’re also proud to serve families in surrounding Idaho suburbs such as:
Our law firm is here to help you. Call our Meridian office today at 208-218 8858 or Boise number at 208-900-6313 for a consultation with a Meridian divorce attorney.