Holiday Visitation
With the holidays approaching quickly many people are scrambling to make certain their visitation schedules are in order and they know who has the kids and when. As a Boise Divorce Attorney I receive numerous calls concerning visitation this time of year.
Changing Visitation
When you go through a divorce or a custody case the final order will include a visitation schedule. This schedule is not just the weekly schedule rather it will include holiday visitation for every year until the child turns 18 years.
As a Boise Family Law Attorney I receive several last minute phone calls from individuals wanting to change their holiday visitation. Sometimes they want to change the dates, sometimes they want to make the visit longer and sometimes they want to flip-flop holidays. While change is not out of the question, it can be difficult to get on short notice.
The best way to get your visitation changed is by mutual agreement between the parties. This ensures that there is a smooth change and everyone is in agreement. If you have an unforeseen incident and the other party does not want to give you their permission for a change you can ask the court for its help. However, it can be difficult to get into court quick enough to fix the problem. When this happens and you go ahead with your plans, it is a great possibility that you will be brought up on contempt charges for violating the custody order.
Emergency Change in Visitation
Part of the reason the court does not want people running to it constantly to change a visitation schedule is that you have very advance notice of when and where your visitation will be. It expects you to plan accordingly. There are those situations, however, where you have not control over the situation. For example, say you are out of town with your child and are scheduled to return in time for a Sunday night custody swap and there is a snow storm and you can't get back for three days. Now while this is a true emergency situation, it is unlikely that your Boise Divorce Attorney can even get in front of a judge to get an order allowing the change. In these situations, if the other side persists in bringing contempt charges against you the judge will look at your violation of the order in a different light than had you acted intentionally without the other party's permission.
My best advice as a Boise Family Law Lawyer is to plan ahead of time and stick to your schedule as best as you can. If you need to make a change and you and the other party cannot agree contact your attorney several months in advance to ensure you get the best possible outcome.
If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney please give us a call, (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you.
Showing posts with label Boise Family Law Attorney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boise Family Law Attorney. Show all posts
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Child Support Attorneys Boise (208) 472-2383 Divorce, Family Law, Custody
Child Support FAQs
As a Boise Family Law Attorney I deal with child support very frequently. Although child support is fairly straight forward, there are many questions people have in regard to their rights and obligations. In today's blog I am going to focus on some frequently asked questions in regard to child support.
Where Do You Pay Child Support and How Much Does it Cost?
All child support must be paid through the Department of Health and Welfare. The Department keeps a thorough record of all payments made, amounts owing and arrears. In 2005 Congress passed the Federal Budget Deficit Reduction Act. As part of that Act, Congress ordered every state to pay a $25 fee on every active child support case over $500. In 2007 Child Support Services began passing on that fee to parents owing child support.
Child Support Services sends out a monthly bill which can be used to send your payment in. If you do not wish to receive a bill, you can opt out by calling the Department.
What Happens if I Don't Pay My Child Support?
Child support is established by a court order. Either you were ordered to pay support pursuant to a divorce or a custody proceeding. Your divorce attorney or custody lawyer, or the attorneys on the other side would have filled out a child support worksheet and calculated your obligation based upon the Idaho Child Support Guidelines. Once you have a child support order it is sent to Child Support Services. As noted above, this department keeps a thorough record of your payments. If you fail to pay and are behind $2,000 or the equivalent of three months of child support, Child Support Services can take action.
The first thing they will do is to suspend your driver's license, any Fish and Game licenses you hold as well as any occupational license you have. This can wreck havoc on you and your ability to drive, to work and to recreate and that is exactly why this law is in effect. In order to get your licenses in good standing, you must contact Child Support Services and make financial arrangements to pay the outstanding child support. Once you have committed to a monthly repayment plan you can get your licenses back. If, at any time during the repayment, you fail to make your payments, the department will once again begin the process of suspending your licenses.
The next thing that can be done to you for failing to pay child support is that the department will put a lien on any real property you own in Idaho. This will be done when you are $2,000 or the equivalent of three months of child support behind. Liens are only removed when you have paid your outstanding arrears in full.
What Happens When One Child Turns 18 (or 19) and You Still Owe Support for Younger Children?
If your child support order specifies what is to be done, the department will simply follow the order. However, there are times you may have to notify the department or even have your Boise Divorce Attorney go in and modify the original order.
In Idaho, Child Support can continue until a child is 19 if that child is still in school. Child Support Services will not know that child support should continue if they are not notified that the child is still in school. Likewise, if your child support order does not give a dollar amount to which child support should be reduced once one child is over 18 (or 19) and most likely it won't, you will have to ask the court to modify the original order so that the proper amount is being paid for the children remaining. Your divorce attorney or custody lawyer will know the exact procedure to follow to have the order modified.
If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney or a Boise Child Support Attorney about child support, custody, modification or any other family law issue, give us a call (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you.
As a Boise Family Law Attorney I deal with child support very frequently. Although child support is fairly straight forward, there are many questions people have in regard to their rights and obligations. In today's blog I am going to focus on some frequently asked questions in regard to child support.
Where Do You Pay Child Support and How Much Does it Cost?
All child support must be paid through the Department of Health and Welfare. The Department keeps a thorough record of all payments made, amounts owing and arrears. In 2005 Congress passed the Federal Budget Deficit Reduction Act. As part of that Act, Congress ordered every state to pay a $25 fee on every active child support case over $500. In 2007 Child Support Services began passing on that fee to parents owing child support.
Child Support Services sends out a monthly bill which can be used to send your payment in. If you do not wish to receive a bill, you can opt out by calling the Department.
What Happens if I Don't Pay My Child Support?
Child support is established by a court order. Either you were ordered to pay support pursuant to a divorce or a custody proceeding. Your divorce attorney or custody lawyer, or the attorneys on the other side would have filled out a child support worksheet and calculated your obligation based upon the Idaho Child Support Guidelines. Once you have a child support order it is sent to Child Support Services. As noted above, this department keeps a thorough record of your payments. If you fail to pay and are behind $2,000 or the equivalent of three months of child support, Child Support Services can take action.
The first thing they will do is to suspend your driver's license, any Fish and Game licenses you hold as well as any occupational license you have. This can wreck havoc on you and your ability to drive, to work and to recreate and that is exactly why this law is in effect. In order to get your licenses in good standing, you must contact Child Support Services and make financial arrangements to pay the outstanding child support. Once you have committed to a monthly repayment plan you can get your licenses back. If, at any time during the repayment, you fail to make your payments, the department will once again begin the process of suspending your licenses.
The next thing that can be done to you for failing to pay child support is that the department will put a lien on any real property you own in Idaho. This will be done when you are $2,000 or the equivalent of three months of child support behind. Liens are only removed when you have paid your outstanding arrears in full.
What Happens When One Child Turns 18 (or 19) and You Still Owe Support for Younger Children?
If your child support order specifies what is to be done, the department will simply follow the order. However, there are times you may have to notify the department or even have your Boise Divorce Attorney go in and modify the original order.
In Idaho, Child Support can continue until a child is 19 if that child is still in school. Child Support Services will not know that child support should continue if they are not notified that the child is still in school. Likewise, if your child support order does not give a dollar amount to which child support should be reduced once one child is over 18 (or 19) and most likely it won't, you will have to ask the court to modify the original order so that the proper amount is being paid for the children remaining. Your divorce attorney or custody lawyer will know the exact procedure to follow to have the order modified.
If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney or a Boise Child Support Attorney about child support, custody, modification or any other family law issue, give us a call (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Boise Family Law Lawyers - Divorce Attorneys (208) 472-2383
Interesting Family Law Issues
As a Boise Family Law Attorney I deal regularly with divorce, custody, paternity, modification, child support and domestic violence. Even though some of these issues can be complicated by conflict the concepts involved in these issues are fairly straight forward. However, every once in a while something will throw you a curve ball.
Paternity
As a Boise Divorce Attorney, I have handled divorce and modification cases that seem routine. Occasionally, however, some interesting issues arise. One such issue is Paternity. Now and then a new client will come into my office seeking a modification or responding to one. This isn't unusual. What is unusual is when the client has been paying child support and having visitation with a child that is legally not theirs.
Sometimes it is the case of mistake. Sometimes they presumed it was their child. Sometimes that is a mutual mistake for both parties. Sometimes the one party was convinced by fraud that the child is theirs. Other, more rare situations, are when the client knows the child is not theirs but they felt obligated to provide for the child anyway.
How to Fix Paternity Issues in Idaho
So what happens in these various situations? If the presumption is wrong, and the child is not biologically the child of one of the parties, and no fraud was committed, your Boise Divorce Attorney or family law attorney will petition the court to terminate any child support order. If you know the child is not yours but you want to have a relationship with that child and the child's biological parent is ok with it, you can ask that the existing order be kept in place or even modified (one caveat; not all judges will ok a stipulation for you to pay child support and have visitation with a child that is not yours even if both parties agree). If, however, you were fraudulently convinced that the child was yours and you have paid child support for that child, you can bring charges against the other parent, if they were the one that committed the fraud. They have to have known with a degree of likelihood that you were not the biological parent and taken child support from you anyway. If this is the case you can either seek reimbursement from the mother, who collected child support or the child's actual father who should have paid child support that whole time.
If you are public assistance and your child was born out of wedlock, the state will automatically require the father to have a paternity test to avoid the exact problems I outlined above.
If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney about divorce, custody, child support, modification, termination, adoption or domestic violence, give us a call to speak with one of our Boise Family Law Attorneys, (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you. Call now, you will be glad you did.
As a Boise Family Law Attorney I deal regularly with divorce, custody, paternity, modification, child support and domestic violence. Even though some of these issues can be complicated by conflict the concepts involved in these issues are fairly straight forward. However, every once in a while something will throw you a curve ball.
Paternity
As a Boise Divorce Attorney, I have handled divorce and modification cases that seem routine. Occasionally, however, some interesting issues arise. One such issue is Paternity. Now and then a new client will come into my office seeking a modification or responding to one. This isn't unusual. What is unusual is when the client has been paying child support and having visitation with a child that is legally not theirs.
Sometimes it is the case of mistake. Sometimes they presumed it was their child. Sometimes that is a mutual mistake for both parties. Sometimes the one party was convinced by fraud that the child is theirs. Other, more rare situations, are when the client knows the child is not theirs but they felt obligated to provide for the child anyway.
How to Fix Paternity Issues in Idaho
So what happens in these various situations? If the presumption is wrong, and the child is not biologically the child of one of the parties, and no fraud was committed, your Boise Divorce Attorney or family law attorney will petition the court to terminate any child support order. If you know the child is not yours but you want to have a relationship with that child and the child's biological parent is ok with it, you can ask that the existing order be kept in place or even modified (one caveat; not all judges will ok a stipulation for you to pay child support and have visitation with a child that is not yours even if both parties agree). If, however, you were fraudulently convinced that the child was yours and you have paid child support for that child, you can bring charges against the other parent, if they were the one that committed the fraud. They have to have known with a degree of likelihood that you were not the biological parent and taken child support from you anyway. If this is the case you can either seek reimbursement from the mother, who collected child support or the child's actual father who should have paid child support that whole time.
If you are public assistance and your child was born out of wedlock, the state will automatically require the father to have a paternity test to avoid the exact problems I outlined above.
If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney about divorce, custody, child support, modification, termination, adoption or domestic violence, give us a call to speak with one of our Boise Family Law Attorneys, (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you. Call now, you will be glad you did.
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