All issues involving child custody and child support have significant social, political, economic and psychological dynamics operating within the legal system and controlling laws. Two key policies that support the law is to maintain the child with a style of living as if the parents were married and meet the child’s best interests.
In the very broad area, this blog post explores three trends that are slowly changing domestic law across the country: joint custody, child support ending at age 18, and third parties ... Read More
07
Jul2016
08
Jun2016
Most parents, judges, and domestic attorneys view hearings and custody modifications or contempt filings as a last resort, not the first way to resolve a dispute. However, the conflict of divorce or post-divorce matters often obscures some of the legal and non-legal methods parents may resolve disputes about parenting time outside of court.
The first and relatively newer type of tool is a parenting coordinator. There are different levels of authority a “PC” may have. These range from just trying to broker ... Read More
24
May2016
Over the last two decades, social and psychological science research, and an ever-changing view of what constitutes a “family” and who and how work is done by parents, has shifted the view of custody. Not that long ago, women were de facto awarded custody on divorce and father’s obtained “visitation.”
Now the importance of frequent contact with both parents has been validated, and the non-custodial parent is awarded “parenting time.” This reinforces the concept of shared parenting. This blog post explores some of the more common ... Read More
03
May2016
A common goal good family law attorneys seek to reach with any divorce or end of other parent-child relationship, as well as the judges who manage these cases, is to prepare their clients to avoid future hot-button issues. Where divorced couples have children, a new step-brother or sister or half-sibling can cause instability in subtle ways that may lead the parents back to court and undo the healing that comes with the closure from divorce. This blog post highlights three of the most common such dynamics.
The first ... Read More
27
Apr2016
Over the course of several decades of collective domestic practice, Ciyou & Dixon, P.C. attorneys observe two reoccurring mistakes that parents make, perhaps unknowingly, that may lead to contempt or modification actions or otherwise institute ill will and make it harder to co-parent and act in the children’s best interests. This blog post explores these mistakes so divorcing or divorced parents can avoid them.
The first is enrolling the children in school and not listing the child’s other parent on registration forms. This takes a more ... Read More
30
Mar2016
Every judge in every county and attorneys observe certain cases where the parents cannot agree on anything and are constantly in court post-divorce as it relates to children. The miracle of courts is it allows a dispute to be resolved when every other institution and solution fails. But it exacts a price on the parents, judges and lawyer—and ultimately the children. Litigation rarely is in the children’s best interests if there is another solution.
Some serious and prolonged litigation is rooted in miscommunication and ... Read More
22
Mar2016
The Divorce Act and cases that control Indiana divorce law are driven by policies that favor the parties reaching agreements. Particularly where children are involved, agreements avoid the “warfare” that sometimes ensues with contested custody cases.
However, all such agreements must be in the children’s best interests. Ultimately, Indiana’s trial court judges stand in loco parentis (act as a parental figure) and review agreements to ensure all such agreements between the parties over their children are, in fact, in their best interests. In ... Read More
15
Dec2015
The Holiday Season is a time of joy and stress for everyone. This is particularly the case for parents who have children from divorce or paternity with child exchanges. Holiday time is magical for children and there is a finite amount of this holiday time. Both parents want their time. However, the legal system cannot get back this time by a subsequent legal proceeding, so try to avoid unnecessary conflict.
Sometimes there is no ability to resolve any and all issues and a ... Read More
01
Dec2015
In every disputed custody case, the difficult decision facing the judge is who should have custody of the children and what parenting time the non-custodial parent should receive. The trend between litigants is seeking something close to equal time with the children. Whatever your objective, there are simple tips you can used to help your case for custody.
First, don’t be the parent who makes an issue out of everyday and normal deviations in parenting time a “war.” Under best interest standard, a judge considers who will ... Read More
19
Mar2015
Every parent involved in parenting time and custody exchanges with their child(ren) and the other parent have had tense moments or disputes leading up to the exchange. Some parents feel pressure so great you can “cut it with a pair of scissors.” As each parent’s life has changed after divorce or paternity proceedings, logistics and time itself may make any deviation burdensome on the parents and breed hostility.
Nevertheless, in ordinary exchanges or those that follow disputes, there a three tried and true ways to avoid acrimony—which psychologist tell us is ... Read More