In litigation without a jury, and domestic law specifically, trials can go on for hours, even days. Sometimes, several days of hearings are heard over the course of multiple weeks. In some cases, several days of hearings can be set over the course of several weeks or even months.
Even if a trial is only one day or for an hour or two, a party can request special findings in the matter. Special Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgment and are governed by Trial ... Read More
11
Sep2014
22
Jul2014
In many divorce and paternity cases it often happens that one parent is provided primary physical custody of the child or children, and the other parent receives parenting time. Physical custody refers to where the child primarily lives. There is another type of custody, legal custody, that could be either joint in both parents or sole in one parent. This means, the parents can share joint legal custody and one parent could have primary physical ... Read More
01
Jul2014
Making the decision to pack up and move to another area of the state or another state altogether can be a stressful and difficult one. However, if you add an open family law matter to the mix, things can get even more stressful. So, what information can you help gather for your attorney to assist in your argument for relocation? It varies per case, but here are some general key pieces of information that can assist your case.
1. Parenting Time ... Read More
31
Dec2013
Often, during divorce or paternity matters, physical custody (who the child lives with) is either divided jointly or one parent is granted custody and the other parent is granted parenting time1. But what about parties who are not parents? Can they get visitation with the child?
There are three main categories of parties who can petition the Court for visitation: parents, stepparents, and grandparents2. However, just because one of these persons wishes to have visitation, there are still hurdles to ... Read More
01
Oct2013
As family law matters progress, one of the first issues to be determined by the parties is parenting time/custody. In some instances, the parties can agree to or are ordered to have joint physical custody. Other times, one parent is granted sole physical custody pursuant to the other parent’s parenting time.
Parenting time is often granted, at a minimum, pursuant to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines (IPTGs)1. Generally, for older children, this ... Read More
16
Jul2013
As a general rule, in matters where child custody and child support are at issue, the Court will grant parents joint or sole custody and Order an obligation for child support to be paid. Often, the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines (IPTG)1 are used as a baseline for determining parenting time for the non-custodial parent. For older children, IPTG parenting time for non-custodial parents is a midweek time and every other weekend.
However, as the IPTGs state, they are only a guide/model, and ... Read More
27
Jun2013
During the course of domestic proceedings, paternity may be at issue. There are, of course, original paternity actions, but paternity may also be at issue for related cases. For example, a third party seeking to modify custody or get a guardianship of a child will need to explore if paternity has been established before filing.
So, who can file a paternity action?
A mother or expectant mother,
a man alleging that he is the ... Read More
20
Jun2013
In domestic cases, there may be a number of experts that are called upon to testify during a hearing. For example, a doctor may testify about a child’s medical condition, a CPA may testify about the value of a business, or a clinical psychologist may testify about a custody evaluation performed.
However, there are limitations to who is an expert and what witnesses can testify about. For example, under Indiana law, a licensed clinical social worker ... Read More
06
Jun2013
In domestic law cases, one aspect of child custody is communication between a parent and child when the other parent has parenting time. Keeping those lines of communication open to allow a child access to both parents via phone, internet, mail or otherwise allows for strong relationships to continue with both parents, despite the child’s physical location.
The Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines (herein, IPTG) provide guidance as to communication and ways to keep the lines of communication open1. ... Read More
28
May2013
In domestic law and litigation, the majority of decisions and findings are based on what is in the best interests of the child(ren)1. For example, in determining initial custody or whether to modify custody, the best interests of the child are paramount and the state statutes defining the elements/information to be reviewed use the language of “best interests”2.
But what exactly is the definition of the best interest standard? Put simply, it is truly what is best for the child. ... Read More