Boise Divorce Attorneys (208) 472-2383 - Summer Vacation During a Pending Divorce

Summertime can cause headaches for family law lawyers as well as clients and I don't mean because of the heat.  As a Boise Divorce Attorney I often approach the summer season with trepidation in regard to certain custody issues.  The issue for me is the joint preliminary injunction.  Every time a divorce complaint or a modification motion is filed in Idaho the court automatically attaches a joint preliminary injunction.  This injunction places both parties on notice that they are not allowed to take the children out of the state for more than 72 hours and if they do they will be held in contempt of court and potentially face jail time.  So why do divorce attorneys worry about this and what does it have to do with summer?

Summertime is traditionally vacation time.  Often a family will have gone on the same vacation for years.  When the couple files for divorce one party or the other may still want to take the same vacation and they didn't plan on the joint preliminary injunction being a hurdle to their vacation.  Without proper planning or cooperation, this injunction can cause the vacation not to happen.  So, if you are getting a divorce or a modification does it mean that you can't go on vacation?  Not necessarily, but to prevent a contempt charge their are some things that you have to do first and trying to do them two weeks before vacation is the wrong time to start.

There are two ways that your vacation will stay on track.  You can either have a written and signed agreement between the parties or an order of the court.  The easiest and fastest way to get permission to leave is to ask the other party to allow you to take your child out of the jurisdiction.  Now, while this seems easy, often because communication has broken down, it is not an easy task.  Some strategies I use as a Boise Divorce Attorney is to tell my client to be very specific about where the child will be going, how they will get there, when they will call the other parent and when they will return.  Sometimes this is enough incentive for the other party to say yes.  If they know that they will be able to speak to their child and exactly when they will be back they sometimes are more flexible.  If this is the case, you can get your agreement and go, but you also must follow the agreement.  If you don't, once again you can be facing contempt charges.

The second way to keep your vacation on track is by order of the court.  If the other side simply won't agree to sign, in order for you to legally take your child out of the state for more than 72 hours you must get the court to say that you may.  Here too, the court will be very specific about where the child is going, how they are getting there, when there will be telephone visits with the other parent and when the child is to be returned.  The difficulty family law attorneys run into is when the person wanting to leave the jurisdiction notifies their attorney that they are leaving in two weeks.  This simply is not enough time to get in front of the court.  Clients will often be upset because the other party knew they were going to take the vacation, they traditionally take the vacation and now, out of spite, they refuse to sign an agreement.  Even though it isn't fair and doesn't seem right, that is the law.  The reason it is this way is to prevent one party or the other from fleeing the jurisdiction with the child.

If you have a divorce, custody or modification issue and you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney, give us a call, (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you.