Establishing Paternity for a Child in Indiana – Whenever people hear the word paternity, they immediately think of Maury Povich and the infamous….”the results are in, and……. you ARE the father!” Of course that’s followed by tears, fists being thrown, cussing, and screaming, etc., etc. However, what most people don’t realize is that paternity, the process of establishing that a father is in fact the biological or legally assumed father of a child, can be…
Understanding Indiana’s Law on Spousal Immunity In every marriage, on a daily basis, spouses share information with one another they would never dare share with anyone else. In fact, many times, secrets that are shared between spouses are often incredibly personal, with a deep understanding that what is said between the two of you stays just that — just between the two of you. Much like the confidentiality you rely on with your doctor, your…
When someone comes in to our office for a consultation about a divorce, one of the most frequent questions/concerns is how will our assets be split up. Clients tend to focus on who the asset is titled to and/or who paid for or purchased the asset. The law looks at assets differently. Indiana Code gives the Court broad discretion on splitting up assets. Indiana Code reads: (a) In an action for dissolution of marriage under IC 31-15-2-2, the court…
In past blogs we have looked at particular issues like custody and visitation, we have also answered FAQ‘s. Today we take a look at the nuts and bolts. What are the procedures? How does the process work? Why does a divorce take so long? I. Filing The first step in the process that gets the ball rolling is filing. This seems like an easy step, and on its face it is. However, there is quite…
So you are a grandparent, you love your grandchildren, and you cherish the time you spend with them. Then, suddenly your grandchildren’s parents divorce or even worse, pass away. What happens? Do you still get to see your grandchildren? When life’s circumstances change your role as a grandparent, you hope everyone deals with things with a level head and you get to stay a significant participant in your grandchild’s life. But what if one of…
Indiana law has a very broad standard when it comes to deciding child custody. In a nutshell, when custody of a child is at issue the court is to do “what is in the best interest of the child.” So what does that mean? The law starts out by making it clear that there is not a presumption in favor of either parent. In other words, mom or dad has an equal right to the…
Q: How long must I live in Indiana in order to file for divorce? A: In order to file for divorce, one of the parties must have resided in Indiana for at least 6 months. Additionally, you must have resided in the County you choose to file in for at least 3 months. Q: How are the parties identified in a divorce proceeding? A: Petitioner and Respondent. The Petitioner is the party who…
A Summary of the Pending Proposed Changes to the Indiana’s Parenting Time Guidelines The parenting time guidelines have been utilized as a guidepost for attorneys and divorcing parents for years. Currently, there are a number of changes that have been proposed to these guidelines. This blog post seeks to summarize the significant proposed changes. To see the full set of current guidelines along with the proposed changes, click here. The one area that the proposed…