Thursday, February 02, 2012

Boise Divorce Attorneys - Idaho Family Law Lawyers (208) 472-2383

Boise Divorce Attorneys - Parenting Co-Ordinator - Judge

What do Boise Divorce Attorneys, Parenting Co-Ordinators and Judges have in common?  All three can, and often do, have a shared influence on the ultimate custody order in a divorce or custody case in Idaho.

In a divorce or custody case, there are various steps that your divorce lawyer, the other side's attorney and the judge go through in determining what the best custody arrangement will be for you and your child.  The main principle behind establishing custody is the best interest of the child.  The judge prefers when the parties, either by themselves or through their lawyers, come up with a parenting arrangement that works well for everyone involved.  This is the ideal, but this doesn't always happen.

If the parties can't come to an agreement, what does the court do? According to Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure an Idaho court can, by agreement, appoint a parenting co-ordinator.  This is a neutral individual who will help the respective parties come to an agreement about parenting and custody.

What if the parents won't agree to a parenting co-ordinator?  The court can and will appoint a parenting co-ordinator if the issues of custody continue to be relitigated, the minor child's well-being is at risk because of their inability to co-parent, there has been domestic violence, one of the parents is mentally ill or chemically dependent, or to protect the best interests of the child.

What does the parenting coordinator do?  The parenting co-ordinator is supposed to help the parents, the attorneys and the judge, through an impartial view of the circumstances, come to a parenting arrangement that is in the best interest of the child.  This is a new approach, and the judges, the attorneys and the co-ordiantors are trying to come up with what should be the duty of the co-ordinators but the general idea is that the neutral resource will collect all the pertinent information in relation to the child's best interest and the parents' desires and come up with a parenting agreement that works well for the parties involved.

The Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure pertaining to this issue, however, do not prevent the attorneys from advocating on their clients' behalf.  This means that if the co-ordinators recommendations do not meet your expectations, your attorney can still take your custody case to court, present evidence and litigate the issues at hand.

If you have a divorce, custody or family law issue and wish to speak to a Boise Divorce Lawyer, please give us a call and see what we can do for you.  (208) 472-2383