Idahoans getting divorced in the near future may have to follow new rules regarding attorney's fees.
A new bill being drafted by Rep. John Gannon (D-Boise) hopes to level the playing field between couples with unequal wealth.
“Where one party has a substantial amount of assets, then they’re going to have to help pay the other party’s attorneys' fees – but not in excess of what the party with assets is paying their attorney,” Gannon said.
The proposal came from the legislature’s Child Custody and Domestic Relations Task Force, which Gannon sits on.
Many who’ve testified before the group over the past few months have said they’ve paid tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees during their custody battles, only to ultimately be outspent by their soon-to-be ex-partner.
“People get to the point where they’re tapped out and there’s just nothing left there,” said Sen. Tammy Nichols (R-Middleton), a task force co-chair.
“And then a lot of them end up having to [represent themselves in court] because there’s no money left and they don’t have anything to be able to pay out to represent or help them,” Nichols said.
The group is also drafting a bill that would require police to enforce custody court orders. That’s on top of an entire rewrite of how courts determine what’s in the best interest of children during custody battles.
No further details for those proposals were immediately available on Wednesday.
Each of these proposals is expected to be debated during next year’s legislative session that begins Jan. 12.
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