--- name: id-family-court description: > Use to choose venue and handle filing mechanics for an Idaho domestic-relations case heard in the Magistrate Division of the District Court — divorce, legal separation, separate maintenance, annulment, child support, custody, parenting time, grandparent visitation, and paternity. CRITICAL FLAG: Idaho family cases run on the SEPARATE Idaho Rules of Family Law Procedure (I.R.F.L.P.), not the I.R.C.P., with their own form-of-documents rule (I.R.F.L.P. 208) and mandatory disclosures. Covers venue (county of residence), the "In re the Marriage of" caption, intake, magistrate procedure, iCourt / Odyssey "Guide & File" self-help filing, and Idaho Court Assistance Office forms. Triggers: "file for divorce in Idaho", "Idaho Magistrate Division", "Bonneville County divorce", "Ada County divorce", "I.R.F.L.P.", "Idaho family law procedure", "Idaho Guide & File". Venue and procedural skill; defers substantive law to `id-family-law`. version: 0.1.0 --- # Idaho Family Court — Magistrate Division of the District Court > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Divorce, custody, support, and parentage > outcomes have lasting consequences for children, property, and > finances. Strongly consider consulting a licensed Idaho family-law > attorney even on an agreed or "simple" matter. This skill is a > drafting/venue aid; verify the filing county's current local rules > and the controlling statutes and rules before filing. Idaho has **no separate, free-standing family trial court**. Family matters are heard in the **Magistrate Division of the District Court**. Idaho is organized into **seven judicial districts**; each county's District Court has a Magistrate Division, and the magistrate judges hear domestic-relations cases. (For example, **Ada County** is in the **Fourth Judicial District** (Boise) and **Bonneville County** is in the **Seventh Judicial District** (Idaho Falls).) This skill covers **where to file and filing mechanics**. For substantive law — divorce grounds, community-property division, the maintenance factors, the child-support guidelines, the best-interests custody standard, relocation, UCCJEA/UIFSA — see `id-family-law`. For document form, see `id-statewide-format`. ## CRITICAL: family cases run on the I.R.F.L.P., not the civil rules Idaho domestic-relations cases are governed by the **Idaho Rules of Family Law Procedure (I.R.F.L.P.)** — a **separate, self-contained rule set** distinct from the **Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure (I.R.C.P.)**. Do not import a civil-rules deadline, motion form, or discovery practice into a family case without confirming the I.R.F.L.P. analog. Key consequences: - **Scope is fixed by I.R.F.L.P. 101.** The Family Law Rules govern proceedings for **annulment, divorce, legal separation, separate maintenance, child support, custody, grandparent visitation, and paternity**. Confirm the current text of I.R.F.L.P. 101 in `../id-law-references/references/court-rules/`. - **Form of documents runs under I.R.F.L.P. 208** — the family analog to the I.R.C.P. form-of-documents rule. Use I.R.F.L.P. 208 (not the generic I.R.C.P. spec) for the caption and the form of family-case papers. See "Form of documents" below. - **Mandatory disclosures are front-loaded.** The I.R.F.L.P. require each party to make **mandatory financial disclosures** (income, assets, debts, and supporting documents, plus the information needed for support and parenting where children are involved). Treat disclosure as an up-front obligation, not discovery you wait to be asked for; confirm the current disclosure rule and timing in the corpus. - **Procedure is magistrate-tailored** — the petition/response framework, temporary orders, and family-specific motion practice run under the I.R.F.L.P. Flag the I.R.F.L.P.-vs-I.R.C.P. distinction prominently in any family filing. ## What this venue handles | Matter | Heard in the Magistrate Division under the I.R.F.L.P.? | |---|---| | Divorce (decree of divorce) | **Yes** (I.C. § 32-601 et seq.) | | Legal separation / separate maintenance | **Yes** | | Annulment | **Yes** | | Property division, spousal maintenance | Yes — with the divorce (I.C. § 32-712 / § 32-705) | | Child custody and parenting time | **Yes** (I.C. § 32-717) | | Child support and enforcement | **Yes** (I.C. § 32-706 + I.R.F.L.P. 120 Guidelines) | | Grandparent visitation | **Yes** (I.R.F.L.P. 101 scope) | | Paternity / parentage | **Yes** | | Modification / enforcement of family orders | **Yes** | | **Civil protection orders** | **No — NOT under the I.R.F.L.P.** (see below) | > **Terminology.** Use **Petitioner** and **Respondent** for the > parties, the **Magistrate Division** for the forum, and **decree of > divorce** for the dissolving order. The dissolving judge is the > **magistrate judge**. ## Civil protection orders are a SEPARATE track Civil protection orders are **not** governed by the I.R.F.L.P. (I.R.F.L.P. 101 does not list them). They are issued under the **Domestic Violence Crime Prevention Act, I.C. § 39-6301 et seq.**, on their own statutory procedure. A protection-order petition runs on a distinct intake path even when the same parties also have a pending divorce or custody case in the Magistrate Division — coordinate the two cases but do not fold the protection order into the I.R.F.L.P. petition. The substantive overlay (how a protection order bears on the best-interests custody analysis) lives in `id-family-law`; the distinct procedure is flagged here so it is not assumed to follow the family-law rules. > Adoption, termination of parental rights, guardianship, and child > protective (CPN) proceedings are likewise outside the I.R.F.L.P. 101 > scope; confirm the governing rule set before treating any of them as > a family-law matter under these rules. ## Venue and jurisdiction - File in the **District Court (Magistrate Division) for the county of residence.** Venue for a domestic-relations action is the county where a party resides; confirm the residency/venue requirement for the specific cause of action. - Confirm Idaho's **residency requirement for divorce** (the petitioner's required period of residence in the state before filing) — see `id-family-law`. - If there are minor children, confirm Idaho is the child's **home state** under the **UCCJEA** (I.C. § 32-11-101 et seq.) and plead the jurisdictional allegations (`id-family-law`). - Confirm the county's Magistrate Division assignment and case-management practice with the relevant venue skill (`id-bonneville`, `id-county-courts`). ## The caption — "In re the Marriage of" / "In re" Family-case captions in the Magistrate Division typically read **In re the Marriage of** for divorce, legal separation, and separate maintenance (naming both spouses as Petitioner and Respondent), or **In re** for the underlying status proceeding. Build the caption under **I.R.F.L.P. 208** with the District Court / Magistrate Division designation, the county, and the judicial district. Designate the parties **Petitioner** and **Respondent**. See `id-statewide-format` for the line-numbered pleading paper, footer, and signature conventions, and confirm the I.R.F.L.P. 208 caption form in the corpus. ## Form of documents (I.R.F.L.P. 208) Family-case papers follow **I.R.F.L.P. 208**, which parallels the I.R.C.P. form-of-documents rule: **8½ × 11** paper, body text of at least **11-point** type, and **double or 1.5** line spacing. Electronically filed family documents are filed through **iCourt / Odyssey File & Serve (I.R.E.F.S.)**. Run the document form against `id-statewide-format` and confirm the current I.R.F.L.P. 208 text in `../id-law-references/references/court-rules/`. ## Filing mechanics 1. **Confirm jurisdiction and venue** — Magistrate Division of the county of residence; divorce residency; UCCJEA home-state allegations for children (`id-family-law`). 2. **Prepare the initiating documents** — the petition stating the statutory basis (divorce ground, custody, support, paternity); for matters with children, the custody/parenting and support allegations. Use **I.R.F.L.P. 208** for the caption and form via `id-statewide-format`, and `id-draft-motion` / `id-draft-declaration` / `id-draft-order` for the documents. 3. **Build the mandatory financial disclosures early** — assemble the income, asset, debt, and supporting-document disclosure required by the I.R.F.L.P. at the outset, not when asked. 4. **Use the Idaho Court Assistance Office / "Guide & File" forms** — self-represented filers can prepare Idaho's official family-law form packets (divorce with/without children, custody, modification, paternity) through the Court Assistance Office self-help portal (**courtselfhelp.idaho.gov**) and the **Odyssey "Guide & File"** guided-interview tool, which assembles the petition and supporting forms for filing through iCourt. Confirm the current packet and that the county accepts it. 5. **File and pay (or waive) the fee** — with the District Court Clerk; a **fee waiver** may be available for qualifying self-represented filers. Confirm the county's filing fee and the I.R.E.F.S. e-filing path for the case type (`id-file-packet`, and the venue skill). 6. **Serve** the petition under the applicable service rule within the service period; the response window runs under the I.R.F.L.P. (`id-first-30-days`). 7. **Disclosure and waiting period** — exchange the mandatory financial disclosures and track the divorce **waiting period** tied to **I.C. § 32-716** (do not assume an exact day count — see `id-family-law` and `id-deadlines`). ## Self-represented (pro se) family intake - Idaho provides extensive **Court Assistance Office** resources and official form packets for family matters through **courtselfhelp.idaho.gov** and the **Guide & File** guided interview. Confirm the current packet and the county's acceptance. - Designate the filer clearly as self-represented in the signature block (no Idaho State Bar number) — see `id-pro-se`. - Clerks and Court Assistance Office staff explain **procedure**, not legal advice. Encourage consultation with a licensed Idaho family-law attorney where there are minor children, retirement assets, real property, a business, safety concerns, or any disputed issue. - If a party needs a disability accommodation for any hearing or filing step, route the request through `id-ada`. ## Composition - For substantive law (divorce grounds, community-property classification and division, spousal maintenance, the I.R.F.L.P. 120 child-support guidelines, the best-interests custody standard and the joint-custody presumption, relocation, UCCJEA/UIFSA, and the protection-order substantive overlay): `id-family-law` - For document format and the I.R.F.L.P. 208 caption: `id-statewide-format` - For the specific county / clerk / Magistrate Division assignment and e-filing: `id-bonneville`, `id-county-courts` - For pro se conventions and Court Assistance Office forms: `id-pro-se` - For the response and first-response window under the I.R.F.L.P.: `id-first-30-days` - For deadlines, the waiting period, and time computation: `id-deadlines` - For drafting the petition / response / motion: `id-draft-motion` - For sworn declarations / financial affidavits: `id-draft-declaration` - For the proposed decree / order: `id-draft-order`, `id-submit-order` - For assembling and preflighting the filing packet (I.R.E.F.S.): `id-file-packet` - For scheduling and hearings: `id-schedule-hearing`, `id-hearings` - For disability accommodations: `id-ada` - For citation verification: `id-fact-check` - For canonical I.R.F.L.P. text, the child-support guidelines, and the Title 32 statutes: `id-law-references` ## References - `../id-law-references/references/court-rules/` — the I.R.F.L.P. verbatim, including **I.R.F.L.P. 101** (scope), **I.R.F.L.P. 120** (child-support guidelines + worksheets), and **I.R.F.L.P. 208** (form of documents / caption); the I.R.C.P. and I.R.E.F.S. for cross-reference - `../id-law-references/references/id-statutes-debt/` and the Idaho Code Title 32 corpus — the substantive family statutes invoked in the petition (cross-referenced from `id-family-law`)