There is general agreement among the bench and bar that parents should not call their children as witnesses in their divorce of post-decree modification cases. Putting any child on the stand is a traumatic experience and one that usually makes them pick sides. On the other hand, while there are a lot of ways a child’s views can be made known to a court, such as a custody evaluation, sometimes with older children or in very unique ... Read More
02
Jul2020
17
Jun2020
Like everyone and everything in life, the judicial system isn’t perfect. As such, sometimes trial courts get it wrong. If you or someone you know just received a child custody determination that you believe was wrongly decided, you have the ability to seek relief via an appeal. How is this done? How long does it take? In this blog, we look at the general process for appealing a custody order in Indiana.
The first thing to consider in the appeal process is the ... Read More
05
Jun2020
Yes. No. Maybe.
In Indiana, child custody is always modifiable, if modification is in the child’s best interests and there is a substantial change in one (1) or more factors1 the court can consider under the initial custody determination statute, namely (1) the age and sex of the child; (2) the wishes of the child’s parent or parents; (3) the wishes of the child, with more consideration given to the child’s wishes if the child is at least fourteen (14) ... Read More
20
May2020
While many types of evidence might help establish a substantial change1 to modify physical custody, some key statutory and evidentiary rules may help you understand how or if your proposed “evidence” might be offered and admitted at trial. For instance, a child’s attendance records, if he or she has excessive absences, may be evidence to show a substantial change, as the custodial parent is not getting the child to school. However, all evidence has rules governing if it can be used. ... Read More
13
May2020
Maybe. As a general rule, the Indiana Department of Child Services has a hotline that parents and others may call1 (or must if they are a mandated reporter) to report cases where children are in danger. These reports are immediately investigated, and if need be, the children can be removed from one or both parents, followed by an emergency detention hearing. That said, there are remedies divorced parents (and those with children born out of wedlock) may follow ... Read More
06
May2020
In domestic cases, trial courts are given wide discretion to decide matters initially, such as when the parties divorce or later in child-support and/or physical and/or legal custody modification proceedings. Further, because so much time, emotion, and judicial resources go into domestic cases, Indiana’s appellate court gives trial courts vast leeway to judge the credibility of witnesses when deciding issues.2
Even if the Court of Appeals might have decided the case differently, it defers to domestic courts on how much weight ... Read More
01
May2020
As stay-at-home orders continue for Indiana, many parents have been denied parenting time on the grounds of COVID-19. The Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, Loretta Rush, issued an order on March 31, 2020 that parenting time orders remain in force during COVID-19. This means that drop-offs and pick-ups should continue.1 Governor Holcomb’s stay-at-home orders have all made exceptions for court orders (which would include custody and parenting time orders) to be excluded from the stay-at-home orders. This ... Read More
16
Apr2020
Child custody proceedings tend to be confusing and emotional times. Whether it is an initial custody determination or a modification of a pre-existing custody order, the process is emotionally and financially draining on all involved parties. You can relieve some of the burden by avoiding some common mistakes many individuals make in custody proceedings. In this blog, we provide five child custody mistakes for you to avoid in Indiana.
Letting Your Anger Get the Best of You. Many individuals let their emotions control their actions in ... Read More
13
Apr2020
As a general rule, a party can file for divorce at any time so long as the marriage is irretrievably broken.1 After a divorce is final, a party may move to modify custody at any time but has to show a substantial change in circumstance to prevail. Equally, a party may file a request to modify child support at any time, but evidentiary requirements are different if the support has been modified within a year or ... Read More
01
Apr2020
On March 6, 2020, Governor Holcomb issued executive order 20-02 formally declaring a public health disaster in Indiana due to the novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak. Since at least that time, parents of divorce who have children or couples who had children out of wedlock began wondering how this impacted physical custody and parenting time. While some parents carried on as normal with their parenting time exchanges, others took the position that the children would remain with them and not be out being exchanged for the duration of ... Read More