Idaho Divorce

Residency Requirement

The spouse filing for divorce in Idaho must live in the state for at least six weeks before filing the first divorce papers.

How to File for Divorce in Idaho

To begin the Idaho divorce case, the petitioning spouse must first file a summons and "petition" for divorce at the local courthouse. Second, the petitioning spouse must then service the petition on the responding spouse. Then, the responding spouse must file a formal written response to the petition.

At the end of any Idaho divorce case, the judge signs the “Decree of Dissolution of Marriage”. This signed decree ends the marriage and the divorce case. Even if the spouses have lived separately for years, they are still married until the day the judge signs the decree.

Dividing the Property

Idaho is a community property state. This means that in any Idaho divorce, the court will order a just and equitable division of property acquired during the marriage. The judge will not divide any property acquired before the marriage. Instead, the spouse that held separate property before the marriage will keep his/her separate property after the divorce.

When dividing the community property, the Idaho divorce court looks at:

• The nature and extent of any community property
• The nature and extent of any separate property
• The duration of the marriage
• Who is paying other expenses, debts, spousal support, or child support
• Possible tax consequences for the parties
• Whether there are any other special circumstances that should be considered

Spousal Support

The Idaho divorce court may decide that one spouse needs financial support from the other in order to meet his/her basic living needs. The Idaho divorce laws call spousal support “maintenance.” The court will grant a request for maintenance in order to provide the requesting spouse with basic living expenses to maintain the lifestyle he/she enjoyed during the marriage.

Before granting a request for maintenance, the court will consider if the spouse seeking maintenance:

• Lacks sufficient property to provide for his/her basic living expenses
• Is unable find a suitable job

The amount of maintenance payments and duration of maintenance payments depend upon:

• The finances of the spouse seeking maintenance
• The time a spouse needs for education and training for a job that will allow him/her to be self-supporting
• The duration of the marriage and the quality of life the spouse enjoyed during the marriage (The court will not allow a spouse to go from living in a mansion during the marriage to living in a shack after the divorce.)
• The age and the physical abilities of the spouse seeking maintenance (An older spouse may receive more maintenance than a younger, able-bodied spouse.)
• The ability of the spouse making maintenance payments to meet their own needs while meeting those of the spouse receiving maintenance payments (The court will not require that a spouse go into bankruptcy in order to make maintenance payments.)

Providing for the Children

A primary concern for the court is the best interests of the children involved in divorce cases. The court is very interested in providing for their financial, educational and emotional needs.

Child Custody

Idaho divorce law considers several factors in deciding child custody. The court always considers the best interests of the children before anything the parents may want. And, the court will never order custody based solely on the gender of the parents. For example, the court will not automatically assume that a child must reside with their mother.

Child Support

Both parents are required to provide financial support for all of their minor children. The Idaho Child Support Guidelines help the court figure out how much a parent should pay in child support.

A parent may always request that a child support order be modified. Modification is granted in order to meet changes in the needs of the children. For instance, if the child has special medical or educational needs, the court may modify the child support order and require that the parents pay for those added expenses.

The court may also modify a child support order to reflect changes in a parent's ability to pay the original support order. For example, if the parent becomes unemployed or disabled, the court may modify the child support order in response to that parent’s loss of income.