Idaho Child Custody Legal Questions

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

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

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

This is a tricky issue, and I don't think most attorneys, including me, would want to give you an opinion without quite a bit more information. The short answer is:  If you and the child's father are already at odds, if you moved without his agreement, he would probably file a child custody action against you in Ada County, and you'd be ordered to bring the child back until the Court had issued a custody decision.  merrisnaugle.com  ... Read More

That's a really tough situation.  The short answer is: It depends, but if your daughter or son-in-law are more or less decent parents and not homeless, you probably don't have a case.  From the few facts you've provided, you have these possibe avenues:  a petition for legal guardianship of your grandchild, a petition for grandparent visitation rights under Idaho Code Section brought under Idaho code Section 32-719.  I think you'd need an attorney to pursue this.  It's got twists and turns and constitutional issues.  merrisnaugle.com  ... Read More

If Child Protective Services was involved in placing your child in the care of a third party then that branch of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare of must have initiated a child protective legal proceeding on behalf of your daughter.  You should have received notice of the first hearing and any subsequent hearings, as well as copies of any orders issued in that case.  You should also have been contacted by a H&W caseworker to discuss your case and the plan the Department has for reuniting you with your daughter.  If you have not receivecd any written notiecs or orders and haven't been contacted by a caseworker, you should contact the Department to ask if a case has been filed.  Be sure to give them the names of all parties, including your ssiter-in-law and your daughter.   If there is a pending child protective proceeding, you will need to resolve your rights to your child through that proceeding.  Usually that requires metting several conditions that the Department sets out for you, such as obtaining employment having a suitable place to live, and, often, participating in certain remedial and/or treatment programs. Good luck.  merrisnaugle@mindspring.com        ... Read More

In North Carolina, it is always best to have child support formally modified especially if there is a court order in place but if you prefer you do not have to go back to court you can simply agree between yourselves to modify child support. Especially if you pay him directly instead of going through an agency such as Child Support Enforcement. If you do choose to simply agree yourselves to modify child support you should at least get something in writing that states your agreement or you could get stuck paying back support if he tries to enforce an order at a future date.... Read More

A name change is a legal proceeding that must be commenced by filing a petition for a name change. Generally, per the Florida Statutes, "[w]hen only one parent petitions for a change of name of a minor child, process shall be served on the other parent and proof of such service shall be filed in the cause." So if the father files this petition on his own, he must still notify you of this petition and you may then present your objections. The Court will then hold a hearing and make an appropriate determination.... Read More

This is a very serious situation, as you well know. Yes, you can and probably should petitioner for full custody as well as exploring a restraining order to keep the boyfriend in no-contact. Even though a proposition like this sounds like it should be automatically granted, I have seen such efforts fail. Do not attempt this without an attorney if you have any ability to retain counsel. There is more information that is county-specific. Reply and tell me what county's court issued the 50/50 order.... Read More