Idaho Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Probably not in this instance.  The contract is whatever the written lease says, particularly since it probably has a merger clause providing that the writing represents the entire agreement and supercedes all prior oral discussions.  It is possible (but unlikely) that, if you can show that the lease was intended to be for 6 months and both sides mistakenly thought that six months would take it to March31, that you could get a court to reform the lease so that it ran until April 6, but the lease would not be void.... Read More

It's not really a question of differing state law in this case, it's a question of what the contract is for.  In all states, as far as I know, only certain types of contracts are required to be in writing; most oral contracts are enforceable.  Thus, if we, both having the legal capacity to contract, neither being under duress or reasonably relying on any misrepresentations, agree that you will buy my tie for $10, an enforceable contract has been made with no writing needed. Where a contract is required to be in writing, it generally must be signed by the party against whom it is sought to be enforced, but there are exceptions, particularly where parties perform under an oral understanding for some time.  Some types of contracts require even more formality, such as witnesses.... Read More

Holly, thanks for posting your question. Do you guys have an attorney? If not, retaining one would be in your and the child best interest. You did not mention what custody arrangement do you guys have and where is the mother currently. It sounds like she has left the states. You will need to have an attorney evaluate your court order and situation to better advise a proper course of action. We can certainly try to help you evaluate your options. Feel free to give us a call or text for a 30 min free consultation. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 Ahsan Syed, Case Manager ... Read More

Hey Danielle, You need to hire a lawyer that can stand as a shield between (you and kids) and anyone else that comes through for the kids. The biggest challenge here is that he is your boy-friend. Whoever wants the kids can claim you just came in his life, and don't have a proper relationship to be the caretaker in his absence. If you were his wife, that would be a different story. We can certainly try to help you evaluate your options. Feel free to give us a call or text for a free consultation. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Custody Lawyer in ID... Read More

I was able to search and find this link. I did not review it in detail, but you can look through the list: https://courtselfhelp.idaho.gov/individual-forms-instructions You will need to know where the children are in order to file for documents in court. Without knowing where the child father is located with the child, you will not be able to do anything. You may need to hire a private investigator to look for the parent and children. Sorry about what you are going through, establishing custody should not be the concern, but it should be to locate them. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or establishes an attorney-client relationship without a signed retainer. Please reach out to an attorney you are comfortable with working and discussing your case in more details. If you can not afford a private attorney, you may be eligible for a Pro Bono lawyer provided by some courts and if not, feel free to ask about our affordable payment plans.... Read More

I assume by "full custody" you mean an award of most or all parenting time to the mother. A parent's mental health is certainly a relevant factor in a court's decision in awarding physical custody of children.  Usually, the court would need evidence from a mental health professional as to the parent's mental fitness, not just the testimony of relatives of each of the parents--especially since relatives often are biased for or against one of the parents.  Significant facts for the Court to consider would be the severity of the "suicidal tendencies", whether there have been recent suicide attempts, what mental health treatment the mother is receiving, and, most important, the opinion of a mental health professional as to the likelihood that the mother will continue to have mental health problems that currently affect her ability to safely care for the children and herself, or are likely to affect those abilities in the future.     ... Read More

State law allows law enforcement to remove a child from a parent if law enforcement personnel determine that the child is in imminent danger of abuse, neglect or abandonment.  (Idaho Code 16-1608.)  This can happen without a hearing before a judge, at least for a few days until the hearing can be set.  Since child abuse, neglect and abandonment may also be criminal offenses, you have a constitutionally-protected right not to incriminate yourself by giving information to law inforcement, but at least initially, it may result in your child being removed from your care.   You should definitely consult an attorney about your concerns, but understand also that even attorneys, with whom a client ordinarily has a privilege of confidentiality of communications, are required by state law to report to law enforcement instances in which they have a "reason to believe" that a child "has been abandoned, abused or neglected, or who observes the child being subjected to conditions or circumstanes which would reasonably result in abuse, abandonment or neglect".  (Idaho Code 16-1605).  This means that you would first want to alert the attorney that you wished to speak in hypothetical terms about what acts, circumstances and conditions would fall within the definitions of "abuse", "abandonment" "neglect." Of course, if you think you have abused, neglected or abandoned your child, stop immediately.  ... Read More

If there is no language in the father's curernt child custody orders that speaks directly to the issue, then the mother isn't prohibited by that order from having the children overnight, though the registered sex offender, if he was prosecuted and convicted of a child sex crime, may be violating a condition of his sentencing orders.  To address this, the father needs to file a petition to modify the child custody orders.  However, he'd be well advised to obtain as much information about the offender as possible, such as the particular circumstances of the crime, when it occurred, and what, if any, sentencing conditions he's under regarding his contact with children.   This is definitely a case in which I'd recommend that the father consult with an experienced family law attorney, and the sooner the better, if the mother is demanding overnight visits.  There are emergency orders that can be issued almost immediately that would prohibit the visits under the right circumstances, while the modification case is pending.... Read More

TUnless specifically required by the language of your wife's current child support orders, you aren't legally obligated to provide a gopy of the policy or card, or give information about the policy to your wife's former spouse.  However, assuming that there are healthcare expenses that aren't covered by Medicaid but would be covered under the terms of your policy, your wife may be liable for a portion of those expenses--again, depending upon the terms of  her child support orders-- if her former spouse isn't able to provide your insurance information to a particular healthcare provider.   That said, you might consider what it is you fear may happen by giving the former spouse the insurance information.  If you think he may use it to try to obtain coverage for healthcare expenses for someone else, your isurance company won't pay them, because those other people won't be named in the policy.  If you think he may try to obtain other information about you from your insurance company, the insurer won't(or shouldn't) give him the information because he isn't the person who owns the policy.    Providing the information/cards directly to the provider also may not guarantee that the former spouse wouldn't be able to obtain the information the inforamtion from the provider just by requesting it, even though the provider probably shouldn't be sharing it with him. (You know the drill--a person calls a busy medical office and says, "We've lost the card--can you read the policy information to me?"). In short, you and your wife may be better off finaincially to bite the bullet and provide the information directly to the former spouse.    ... Read More

Are you two physically separated?  Divorced?  Are there any current custody orders?  What frequency of contact did the girls and their father have  before 3 months ago?  How old are the girls?  Without this information, it's not really possible to give you a meaningful answer.... Read More

Why do you think she needs an Idaho attorney?  Has her spouse ever resided in Idaho? How long has her husband lived in Wyoming, and did she live there with him during the marriage?  Do the parties have any minor children?  is she trying to obtain her divorce in Idaho or Wyoming?  The answers to these questions will help inform an attorney enough to be able to answer your question adeqately.  ... Read More

Yes.  In fact, that is the correct order of events:  First the Petitioner files the petition for divorce with the Court, then the Petitioner serves the Respondent.  it's also legal for a person to file a petition for divorce, then wait a considerable amount of time before serving the Respondent.    ... Read More