Indiana trial court judges are tasked with the duty to make sure that at the time of divorce (or paternity) adjudication the children’s best interests are met. If the parents have an agreement on custody and it is not contested, they may infer that agreement of the parties is in the children’s best interests. However, where physical and/or legal custody is contested, there are four key ways a trial court judge determines what is in a child’s best interests. Most of the time litigants with their lawyers have the ability to choose or have input on the way the evidence ... Read More
Tag: child’s best interest
19
Aug2019
14
Sep2016
A number of our blogs over time have discussed the “how to” of a good faith relocation. Unfortunately, sometimes a parent gets blinded by the desire to move and loses sight of the fact this may not be in the children’s best interests; and he or she may provide very little or no notice and relocate. This blog addresses the potential remedies to stop or challenge a custodial parent’s relocation with the child by the non-custodial parent.
When the custodial parent provides timely notice of relocation, the non-custodial parent can object in one of two recognized ways. The first is to ... 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 sinister turn when the parent lists the new significant other as the emergency contact. This ... Read More
29
Oct2015
At this point in the blog series, it addresses one of the most controversial and on-going types of domestic litigation: “child support.” The driving policy behind child support is to maintain the lifestyle the children were accustomed to prior to the divorce. However, it costs more money to operate two households than one. This creates the common position lawyers hear from their clients, which is a variant of “I cannot get by on that low amount of support” or “I cannot afford to pay that much and survive.”
To determine the proper amount of child support each person should pay (which ... Read More
28
Oct2015
Continuing in the alphabet blog series, as it relates to terms you might encounter in a divorce, this post covers key “B” words or terms.
Perhaps the most common of terms in a divorce where custody is at issue is the “best interests” standard; this standard applies to all paternity and divorce cases that involve children. A trial court is charged to look out for the best interests of children. In other words, a trial court will not enter an order as to child custody, parenting time, or support or modify such orders unless it is in the children’s best interests.
Unlike ... Read More