The short answer is, it depends. Generally speaking, a court may only grant a petition to adopt a child if written consent to adoption is executed by the child’s parents. However, like most everything in life, exceptions apply. But when do these exceptions apply? What are the circumstances when a parent’s consent is not required? In this blog, we provide a brief overview of when a parent’s consent to adoption is required and when consent may be waived.
Adoptions in Indiana are governed by statutory law. Thus, when going trying to determine whether consent is required, it is necessary to review ... Read More
Tag: Adoption
28
Jul2020
08
Nov2019
For many of us, Grandparents played an important role in our lives. Now more than ever, grandparents seem to be actively involved in the raising of their grandchild(ren). In many instances, a grandparent may be raising their grandchild all together. If you have found yourself in such a situation, or you know someone who is, you may be wondering, “can I get custody of my grandchild?” This blog provides a brief overview for grandparents who are exploring options for obtaining custody of a grandchild they are raising.
A few things to point out before discussing the different options. First, Indiana makes ... Read More
22
Feb2018
And What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?
In most criminal and civil cases, there are many court orders issued. These are “interlocutory” (temporary) orders to move a case to a final order and are not normally appealed. There are provisions to appeal certain “interlocutory” orders1 as a matter of right (during trial court proceeding) and by the discretion of the trial court (an order trial court must certify the interlocutory order for appeal and the Court of Appeals has to then accept the appeal). This blog addresses and identifies what constitutes a final order and what happens if you “blow” ... Read More
04
Aug2016
lSince criminal cases involve the potential loss of freedom, there are trial and appellate provisions for a criminal case to be brought by a filing belated Notice of Appeal. In civil cases, Appellate Rule 9(A), it clearly states that “[u]nless the Notice of appeals is timely filed, the right to appeal shall be forfeited.”
Historically, attorneys and Indiana courts have treated this rule stemming from the 1970s as jurisdictional. This means that without a timely filing, the appellate courts could not entertain the appeal because they lacked the jurisdiction to do so. In a new appellate case,1 furthering the reasoning of ... Read More
25
Sep2014
Ciyou & Dixon, P.C. - Attorneys At Law, Bryan L. Ciyou and Lori B. Schmeltzer to present oral argument of B.C.H adoption before the Indiana Supreme Court, Thursday, September 25th, at 09:45am.
Click here to review the Indiana Court of Appeals opinion.
Click here to watch the Oral Argument before the Indiana Supreme Court.
17
Jul2012
Ensuring the Children’s Best Interests
In many of our previous blog posts, we have explored the determination of a child being CHINS (a Child in Need of Services)1, TPR (Termination of a Parent’s Rights)2, and adoption3. Ultimately, all of these cases that involve where children are placed when the parents have legal issues impacting their ability to parent are governed by the best interests standard.
For instance, if a child is determined to be CHINS and a divorce is pending or has occurred or paternity has been established, the child may be placed with the other parent; usually this parent has previously ... Read More
29
May2012
Domestic partners, married couples, or really any family members can potentially be the victims of domestic violence. Sometimes this is a pattern, but sometimes it is a one-time event in the emotionally charged event leading unraveling of the relationship. In some cases, tensions are high, remain high, and domestic violence can be a very real, on-going concern for a party, friends, family, and lawyers.
However, there are a number of protections and safeguards in place to prevent a potentially tragic escalation of a domestic matter. Under a uniform act in Indiana law, after a hearing and proving the risk, the person ... Read More
24
May2012
The process of perfecting an appeal, as discussed in previous blog posts, is often a complex one, with numerous rules and time limitations.1 The general trigger to file an appeal is that the order being appealed is a final order.2
There are, however, exceptions to this final order rule. An interlocutory order is an order of the court that is not final, often occurring during the pendency of the litigation. For example, during the pendency of a divorce case, if the Court ordered the sale of the marital residence, this would constitute an interlocutory order. The final order would be the ... Read More