In most divorce and post-decree custody cases, Indiana trial courts have local rules requiring the parties to attend mediation before a hearing/trial. While the court can waive this requirement, it is constitutional to mandate the parties go to mediation before trial.1 Statistically speaking, a significant majority of domestic cases settle at mediation. However, to make the most of your mediation, there are three keys to ensuring you enter mediation prepared for a complete resolution; they are analyzed in this blog post.
The first ... Read More
15
Nov2019
08
Nov2019
There are many women (and men) who elect to stay home after the birth of their children and be a homemaker. No one doubts this is a full-job, but when divorce strikes it often leaves fear in the stay-at-home parent because he/she had been out of the workforce for so long. This is particularly daunting since Indiana presumes that the parties will divide the marital estate 50/50. There are many potential protections for the spouse who has been out of the workforce for some time. ... Read More
20
Sep2019
It is common knowledge that addiction to illicit and prescription drugs is at “epidemic” proportions in the United States. Unfortunately, families are not immune from this problem and many divorces are tied to addiction (which may be tied to mental illness diagnoses as well). Many spouses simply do not know how addiction may play into divorce, so they wait or do not file at all until it is too late. This blog covers what you need to know about filing for divorce where addiction ... Read More
12
Sep2019
With Americans increasingly living and working abroad as we expand to a global workforce, Indiana divorces with international aspects are not uncommon.1 This blog briefly highlights some of the issues you need to know if you are in this situation.
Jurisdiction. As long as one of the parties have lived in the state and county for six (6) months, the Court has jurisdiction to entertain a divorce case and it can make a custody award, divide the property, ... Read More
11
Sep2019
The importance of pets in our society is measured in terms of billions of dollars. Couples are delaying children or not having them at all--and pets are more commonly accepted everywhere—such as at hotels. They are the “kids” for many people and when a divorce comes about, they can be the central issue of contention—who gets “Tigger” the cat or “Fido” the dog. This blog addresses pets under current Indiana law.
As many readers may be surprised to learn, pets are treated as normal household ... Read More
13
Aug2019
Divorce can be a complex emotional, financial and business transaction for most spouses. It is one they often do not know much about other than what they have heard from friends or observed on television. This usually has little to do with reality in an Indiana divorce. Over time, we have observed that in initial consults, prospective clients could have obtained more from the process and been on a better path to move forward if they had gathered ... Read More
22
Mar2019
A topic of hushed discussions or private contemplation between some soon-to-divorce is pre-planning for divorce. This covers everything from illicit/illegal activities (such as dissipating marital assets or hiding them) to meeting with a lawyer to specifically discuss your situation to pre-plan within the limits of the Divorce Act to some of the basics you can do yourself in most cases. This blog covers the three things every person considering divorce should do well before the divorce filing occurs.
First, most couples have some apportionment of ... Read More
15
Jan2019
Probably. Divorce is unique in civil suits because the parties likely will continue to know each other (particularly) if they have children and interact into the future. With a divorce if you lose custody, child support is wrong, or the property is not properly divided or completely divided, you need to appeal to protect your future rights. This blog explores why you should consider an appeal in divorce and paternity cases.
Where children are involved (divorce or paternity), if child custody is at issue, the parent ... Read More
15
Nov2018
In a Divorce, Am I Entitled to Half the Value of Property Titled with My Spouse If It Creates an Unequal Division of Assets?
Maybe? This is a common question as many people logically think if the mortgage/deed and title to a car is in both names, half the value belongs to each spouse on divorce. This brings us three closely related legal concepts that were all recently addressed in a key case decided by the Court of Appeals on November 7, 2018. This case and how it answers this question is the ... Read More
27
Sep2018
Under the Divorce Act, the Legislature has expressly encouraged divorcing parties to reach agreements to divide their property. Most of the time, a divorce court will accept most any property (real property, like land and the marital home, and personal property, like furniture and pots and pans) agreement. In fact, the parties are free to enter a property division that the court could not order or would abuse its discretion in doing so.1 However, there are three critical mistakes that some parties make in settling their property that may be impossible or ... Read More