Posted by DivorceLine in Idaho Child Custody Laws
Child custody in Idaho may be awarded to either parent, based on the “Best Interests of the Child”. The court shall consider the following factors:
a) The wishes of the child.
b) The wishes of each parent.
c) The relationship of the child with each parent and his or her siblings.
d) The child’s adjustment to home, school, and community.
e) The need to promote continuity in the child’s life.
f) The relative parental fitness of each parent.
g) The evidence of domestic violence.
The court may award either joint physical custody or joint legal custody or shared custody based on the court’s determination of the best interests of the child or children.
Idaho Child Support:
Either parent may be ordered to pay child support in Idaho, with the assumption that both parents share legal responsibility for supporting their child. That legal responsibility should be divided in proportion to their Guidelines Income, whether they be separated, divorced, remarried, or never married. For a discussion of the determination of child support, please read the Idaho Child Support Guidelines:
Basic Guideline Principles. These Child Support Guidelines are premised upon the following basic principles to guide parents, lawyers, and courts in arriving at child support obligations:
a) Both parents share legal responsibility for supporting their child. That legal responsibility should be divided in proportion to their Guidelines Income, whether they be separated, divorced, remarried, or never married.
b) In any proceeding where child support is under consideration, child support shall be given priority over the needs of the parents or creditors in allocating family resources. Only after careful scrutiny should the court delay implementation of the Guidelines amount because of debt assumption.
c) Support shall be determined without regard to the gender of the custodial parent.
d) Rarely should the child support obligation be set at zero. If the monthly income of the paying parent is below $800.00, the Court should carefully review the incomes and living expenses to determine the maximum amount of support that can reasonably be ordered without denying a parent the means for self-support at a minimum subsistence level. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a minimum amount of support is at least $50.00 per month per child.
