TITLE 32

DOMESTIC RELATIONS

CHAPTER 7

DIVORCE ACTIONS

32-706.  Child support. (1) In a proceeding for divorce or child support, the court may order either or both parents owing a duty of support to a child to pay an amount reasonable or necessary for his or her support and education until the child is eighteen (18) years of age, without regard to marital misconduct, after considering all relevant factors which may include:

(a)  The financial resources of the child;

(b)  The financial resources, needs, and obligations of both the custodial and noncustodial parents which ordinarily shall not include a parent’s community property interest in the financial resources or obligations of a spouse who is not a parent of the child, unless compelling reasons exist;

(c)  The standard of living the child enjoyed during the marriage;

(d)  The physical and emotional condition and needs of the child and his or her educational needs;

(e)  The availability of medical coverage for the child at reasonable cost as defined in section 32-1214B, Idaho Code; and

(f)  The actual tax benefit recognized by the party claiming the federal child dependency exemption.

(2)  If the child continues his high school education subsequent to reaching the age of eighteen (18) years, the court may, in its discretion, and after considering all relevant factors which include those set forth in subsection (1) of this section, order the continuation of support payments until the child discontinues his high school education or reaches the age of nineteen (19) years, whichever is sooner.

(3)  All child support orders shall notify the obligor that the order will be enforced by income withholding pursuant to chapter 12, title 32, Idaho Code. Failure to include this provision does not affect the validity of the support order. The court shall require that the social security numbers of both the obligor and obligee be included in the order or decree.

(4)  In a proceeding for the support of a child or a minor parent, the court may order the parent(s) of each minor parent to pay an amount reasonable or necessary for the support and education of the child born to the minor parent(s) until the minor parent is eighteen (18) years of age, after considering all relevant factors which may include:

(a)  The financial resources of the child;

(b)  The financial resources of the minor parent;

(c)  The financial resources, needs and obligations of the parent of the minor parent;

(d)  The physical and emotional condition and needs of the child and his or her educational needs; and

(e)  The availability of medical coverage for the child at reasonable cost as defined in section 32-1214B, Idaho Code.

(5)  The legislature hereby authorizes and encourages the supreme court of the state of Idaho to adopt and to periodically review for modification guidelines that utilize and implement the factors set forth in subsections (1) through (4) of this section to create a uniform procedure for reaching fair and adequate child support awards. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the amount of the award which would result from the application of the guidelines is the amount of child support to be awarded, unless evidence is presented in a particular case that indicates that an application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate. If the court determines that circumstances exist to permit a departure from the guidelines, the judge making the determination shall make a written or specific finding on the record that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in the particular case before the court. When adopting guidelines, the supreme court shall provide that in a proceeding to modify an existing award, children of the party requesting the modification who are born or adopted after the entry of the existing order shall not be considered.

(6)  If the court awards one (1) parent the right to claim tax benefits associated with his child or children, the court order need not list every applicable tax benefit. The parent who was awarded the tax benefits for the child or children shall attach a copy of the court order to his income tax return. The state tax commission shall recognize the award of tax benefits with respect to the child or children as applying to the child tax credit under section 63-3029L, Idaho Code, the food tax credit under section 63-3024A, Idaho Code, and any and all other state and federal tax deductions, exemptions, and credits for which the parent qualifies, unless the court order specifies otherwise.

History:

[32-706, added 1980, ch. 378, sec. 5, p. 963; am. 1986, ch. 222, sec. 4, p. 604; am. 1989, ch. 411, sec. 1, p. 1003; am. 1990, ch. 410, sec. 1, p. 1137; am. 1996, ch. 430, sec. 1, p. 1463; am. 1998, ch. 292, sec. 5, p. 932; am. 2000, ch. 107, sec. 1, p. 236; am. 2000, ch. 412, sec. 1, p. 1305; am. 2008, ch. 328, sec. 1, p. 899; am. 2020, ch. 271, sec. 1, p. 792.]