Campaign: Coming Out Guides
Find community-specific resource guides to coming out and living openly.
Take ActionIdaho Custody and Visitation Law
Courts typically will not consider a parent’s sexual orientation in custody and visitation determinations unless it is shown to adversely affect or harm the children. There are no reported or published opinions dealing with transgender parents or same-sex co-parents.
Custody and Visitation for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Parents
Idaho law states: “When a husband and wife live in a state of separation, without being divorced, any court of competent jurisdiction, upon application of either, if an inhabitant of this state, may inquire into the custody of any unmarried minor child of the marriage, and may award the custody of such child to either, for such time and under such regulations as the case may require. The decision of the court must be guided by the welfare of the child.”
In a 2002 case, McGriff v. McGriff, a gay father lost joint legal and physical custody of his two children because of his sexual orientation. Additionally, the court told him that visitation with his children could not take place in the presence of his same-sex partner. The Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the trial court had not based its decision on the father’s sexual orientation and upheld its modification of custody. The high court noted, however, that “sexual orientation, in and of itself, cannot be the basis for awarding or removing custody; only when the parent’s sexual orientation is shown to cause harm to the child, such that the child’s best interests are not served, should sexual orientation be a factor in determining custody.”
Citations: IDAHO CODE §32-1005; McGriff v. McGriff, 99P.3d 111 (Idaho 2004).
Updated: Thu, October 20, 2005 - 11:00:29
