For many couples, divorce is a long, arduous journey. Finally getting the divorce decree marks the end of the road for a broken relationship and opens the door to a world of new possibilities. That said, the actual divorce decree may still leave many legal details to be attended to or a party is placed in substantial risk in the weeks, months, and even years to come. This blog looks at five mistake that are commonly made when a divorce decree is entered—don’t let this be your case.
Designation of Beneficiary Status: A designation of a beneficiary is a person named ... Read More
Category: Family Law
23
Sep2020
18
Sep2020
In Indiana, a child is considered emancipated at the age of 19 by operation of law. Therefore, emancipation eliminates a parent’s duty to pay child support for the child, and in most cases, a parent’s other support obligations to their children terminates at the age of 19. However, there are key exceptions to this rule that are covered in this blog.
“By Operation of Statute.” The first thing to know about emancipation is that, in most cases, it occurs “by operation of statute.” To expand, a child’s emancipation is governed by statutory code. Pursuant to the relevant statutory code section, a ... Read More
17
Sep2020
Ever since the United States Supreme Court determined that state bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional,1 the legal landscape has seen numerous changes regarding same-sex individual’s legal rights in divorces and ancillary matters flowing out of the divorce, such as division of property. One of the biggest changes that has occurred is the legal rights an individual has to a child born during the marriage. So, you may be wondering, what are my rights to my child born during my same-sex marriage? In this blog, we try to answer that question, as well as provide general information on an individual’s rights ... Read More
11
Sep2020
Each of us knows a parent who has given up his or her career to raise their children. Most of us know an empty nest couple who were so focused on the kids, they later realized they have nothing in common when the children leave. This is when the “D” word comes up: Divorce. Additionally, most of readers know that in divorce in Indiana, the courts normally divide the marital estate 50/50. Where a parent is far advanced and in a company and earning a great living, it is difficult to imagine how an equal division is fair to the ... Read More
10
Sep2020
There are many times couples physically separate but continue to stay married. There are a variety of reasons this occurs. For instance, maybe one spouse has a chronic medical condition and would lose health care coverage he or she has under the other spouse’s group medical plan upon divorce. However, in most cases, there comes a time when a party who has been separated for a time from their spouse wants a divorce to move on (perhaps with a new romantic interest). This raises a profound question. What is in the marital pot for the court to divide? Is it ... Read More
04
Sep2020
Parental alienation is just what it claims to be.1 It is a parent (usually the custodial parent if the parties are divorced or the child is born out of wedlock) who engages in a systematic campaign to denigrate the other parent and make the child(ren) of the parties afraid of the other parent. Unfortunately, with children of a young age, they may be more than just conditioned to be afraid of the alienated parent, but they may come to have false memories of some bad act or event caused by the alienated parent. How this plays into a contested custody ... Read More
03
Sep2020
With divorce on the rise due to the COVID-19 virus and spouses being stuck at home with each other, many have learned aspects of their marriage they never knew before—such as a partner’s drinking problem, on-line gambling habit, or shopping addiction. Most lawyers have had such cases where such addictions, drugs in particular, have literally bankrupted the parties. The question is, what type of relief is there for the innocent spouse to recover wasted and squandered marital assets? This is called “marital dissipation” in legal terms. This blog covers what you need to know if you are in this situation ... Read More
28
Aug2020
In today’s world, busy courts have limited time to hear cases. The average case load in Indiana, that most judges manage, is in the thousands. In divorce and paternity cases, these judges have to decide child physical and legal custody, in the children’s best interests. Due to the fact many custody disputes have significant amounts of data relevant to the case and the children’s best interests, in many cases, the parties will elect to have a forensic child clinical psychologist appointed to make a custody evaluation report to the court. This single document, in many cases, eliminates the need for ... Read More
27
Aug2020
After one party files for divorce, what happens next? By statute, sixty (60) days must pass before the court can enter a divorce decree. A divorce is often a complex financial transaction separating the parties’ assets and an emotional one involving child custody and support. Most divorces take at least a few months to finalize. During this time, many parties cannot agree on who will live in the marital residence, how they will share the children, what car each will drive and who will pay what bills. In these cases, typically one party will move the court to set a ... Read More
21
Aug2020
In many cases, parents want an immediate court date to modify custody due to what they believe is an “emergency” matter. This may range from denying parenting time on a significant holiday and the children not being able to attend an important family event to a new relationship one parent develops with a person who the other parent believes is a bad influence on the children and/or puts them in harm’s way. Clearly, Indiana Courts have the authority to conduct emergency custody modification hearings (and do) to look out for a child’s best interests. However, in most cases, these types ... Read More