Civil

You’d have to be living under a rock to be completely unaware of what happened on January 6th, 2021. Regardless of your politics, cameras rolled as thousands of people stormed the Capital for the first time since The Burning of Washington on August 24th, 1814. In stark contrast, back in the early-1800’s, unlike January 6th of 2021, the attack was from a foreign power, the British, not from citizens from within the borders of our…

It’s well established that the United States has one of the highest divorce rates in the world with approximately 50% of first marriages ending in divorce, 60% of second marriages and 73% of third marriages. Further, the CDC estimates that 43% of children in Indiana are born out of wedlock.  Throw in the statistic that most American’s move approximately 11 times in their lifetime and you have a good chance that you’re going to be…

Many people going through separation and divorce are familiar with child support and orders for health care, uninsured medical expenses, etc. for their children.  Fewer are aware of the ability of the trial court to order one spouse to continue to support another spouse.  While Indiana laws do not provide for Alimony, per se, they do provide for instances where one spouse may have been incapacitated or need additional time to re-enter the workforce at…

What is a No Contact Order? (Ind. Code 35-26-5 and 35-26-6) Courts can impose various forms of No Contact Orders, and they can even be a necessary condition of release on bail. No Contact Orders prevent one from (as the name suggests) contacting another individual, usually in the aftermath of a domestic dispute or other interpersonal conflict. (See Ind. Code 35-33-8-3.6). In the case of a domestic dispute, individuals often do not leave their home…

Once the Court issues an order, whether from approving your settlement agreement or after a contested hearing, both you and the other party are required to comply with the court order.  So, what happens if the other party refuses to follow the order?  Failure to comply with the court order can result in an action for contempt of court.  There are two types of civil contempt:  direct contempt and indirect contempt.  Direct contempt occurs when…

A civil forfeiture action is a case filed by the State of Indiana against an individual who stands accused of certain criminal offenses. The case filed is civil in nature and completely separate from the criminal proceedings that might be brought against the individual. This type of case is filed when the State of Indiana is seeking the forfeiture of property that has been used to facilitate illegal drug activity or other criminal act. The…