Community Debts 
Community debts are debts incurred during your marriage by you or your spouse that are not separate debts. Generally, separate debts are debts you had before you got married, bills you owe for improving or maintaining your separate property, or debts you acquire solely in your own name. (Most debts acquired during marriage are community debts.) 

Community Personal Property 
Community Personal Property is all property that is not real-estate acquired by both you and your spouse during the marriage that is not separate property. Personal community property can include: 

• furniture
• clothing
• vehicles
• cash
• bank accounts
• securities
• debts owed to you
• retirement accounts* 

*If either of you have retirement accounts you should definitely talk to an attorney before proceeding. 

Community Real Property 
Community Real Property is real-estate/land (with or without permanently attached buildings) acquired by one or both of you during the marriage unless it is separate property that was given to either of you separately as a gift; inheritance; or in exchange for other separate property. 

Legal Description of Real Estate 
The legal description of your property can be found in the property deed. If you do not have a copy of your deed, for a fee, you can get a copy of the property deed from your local County Recorder's office. Example of a property legal description: Morningside Subdivision, Lot 12, East 68.10’, of South 103’, Block 3. 

Separate Property 
Separate property is real estate or personal property either: 

• owned before the marriage
• received during the marriage by gift or inheritance separate from your spouse
• got in exchange for other separate property. 

Real estate is a house or land, with or without buildings. Personal property includes: 

• furniture
• clothing
• vehicles
• cash
• bank accounts
• securities
• debts owed to you
• retirement accounts* 

*If either of you have retirement accounts you should definitely talk to an attorney before proceeding.

The State of Idaho's Court Assistance Office has forms available for Divorce with No Minor Children and Divorce with Minor Children. You can access these forms by visiting the Court Assistance Office directly.

Idaho Legal Aid Services has also created a Divorce with No Minor Children guide that can be accessed below. Please note that some variations on this process may occur on a case-by-case basis or from courthouse to courthouse.

Idaho Legal Aid Services created the attached guide to inform Idaho residents of their rights related to spousal maintenance, also known as spousal support or alimony, in a divorce case. Unmarried couples are not eligible for spousal maintenance. For more information, please view the guide below.

This guide was created by Idaho Legal Aid Services to provide general information regarding community property and separate property in a divorce and how the court divides property. If you are in need of specific legal advice, please consult with an attorney.

The attached packet contains templates you can use to file an Ex Parte Emergency Custody Motion in your child custody or divorce case.

Attached is a Word.doc template for a Motion for Temporary Orders for temporary custody, visitation, and/or support in a pending family law matter. You may use this template to draft your own motion. Please review the advice and additional documents needed for this motion in the Temporary Orders Packet, created by Idaho Legal Aid Services, the Idaho Law Foundation, and the Women's and Children's Alliance, attached.

Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc. has created a Civil Protection Order Guide to help you understand who may file for a civil protection order, what circumstances and situations allow one to file for a civil protection order, and what relationships, if any, are required between the person filing for a civil protection order and the person the civil protection order is against. This guide also includes information on how to file for a civil protection order, what hearings take place, how to prepare for these hearings, and resources available to Idahoans. 

Please view the PDF below for more information.

Idaho courts can assist a victim of domestic violence through protection orders which restrict or prohibit contact between the victim of abuse and the abuser. Idaho Code Section 39-6301, et seq. Domestic violence includes physical injury, sexual abuse, forced imprisonment or the threat thereof. 

We also have specific county guides available for Ada, Boise, Elmore, and Valley Counties regarding the civil protection order process. Please view these guides below.

If a child is in danger, you can ask the court for an Emergency Temporary Custody Order. This short-term order can give one parent custody right away to keep the child safe until a hearing is held. This packet includes simple, step-by-step forms and instructions to guide you through the process.

Understanding child custody in Idaho can be complicated. This guide explains the difference between joint and sole custody, how courts decide what’s in a child’s best interests, and what factors judges consider. It also includes links to court forms and other helpful resources for parents.

The attached PDFs describe the Idaho child custody court process generally and in more detail for custody and divorces with minor children cases. These PDFs show the stages of a court case you will go through before the judge enters an order regarding a divorce with custody, visitation, and/or child support or a custody, visitation, and/or child support judgment.

The Uniform Family Law Interrogatories are questions to ask the other party to gain information and evidence regarding your family law case. You can edit this document as necessary for your case. 

You can have up to 40 questions in your interrogatories and you can delete any question in the Uniform Interrogatories that is not applicable to your case. Interrogatories and their subparts can count as additional questions toward the 40 questions (please read Rule 413 of Idaho Rules of Family Law Procedure, linked below). You can ask specific questions in your interrogatories that are relevant to your case (so relevant to property (if a divorce case), physical or legal custody, visitation, or child support issues). For example, one non-uniform question may be: "Who is the minor child's counselor? Please provide name and contact information for the counselor and the length of time the minor child has been seeing this counselor." 

Please note that you will likely have to answer Interrogatories sent by the opposing party or his or her attorney as well. These will have to be filled out, your signature must be notarized, and then you must send them to opposing party or his or her attorney within 30 days of being served with them. 

For information about interrogatories, see Idaho Rules of Family Law Procedure 413 and Idaho Rules of Family Law Procedure 414. For the most up-to-date Uniform Family Law Interrogatories, please visit the Idaho Supreme Court's website and refer to Form 2.

Please click on the Third-Party Custody Guide below for more information regarding third-party custody in Idaho cases, including information on the De Facto Custodian Act and a grandparent's ability to seek third-party custody in a divorce action.

This booklet explains how to apply for Idaho Child Support Services. Child Support Services can help locate the other parent, establish legal paternity, set up child support and medical support orders, collect and distribute payments, and request changes to existing orders. There’s a $25 non-refundable application fee, and once a case is opened, all support payments must go through the state. The packet also describes possible enforcement tools (like wage withholding, tax refund intercepts, or license suspension), legal and genetic testing costs, how to request a review or modification, and how to submit the application with required documents. It also includes contact numbers for regional offices and Customer Service.