Divorce brings uncertainty for parents and children. Normally, at least one parent will be moving out of the marital house and/or it may be sold because without both parties’ incomes the mortgage may be unsustainable. That said, one of the most important factors in raising well-rounded children is having stability. Certainly, moving houses (and maybe schools or districts) seriously impacts stability. In this blog, we analyze the legal aspects of keeping the children in the family home at ... Read More
20
Mar2020
20
Mar2020
In a small percentage of divorce and paternity cases, some children completely reject a parent and become estranged from this parent and effectively deny they are the child’s parent. Do these parents have to pay for higher education? This blog addresses the legal doctrine of a child repudiating a parent’s relationship and implications if he or she seeks contribution from the estranged parent toward college expenses.
In Indiana, there is no absolute ... Read More
10
Mar2020
Whether it be from personal experience or a movie you saw on television, most of us have some understanding of the concept of custody. However, when people think of custody, most of the time they are only thinking of physical custody. But, physical custody is just one part of child custody as a whole. Who makes decisions about school? Religion? Medical? Do these decisions have to be agreed upon? What if we cannot agree or have differing views on the subjects. These are questions that many don’t ... Read More
28
Feb2020
In today’s blended society, it is common for parents to have different religious beliefs and practices. However, if they both feel strongly about their religion and divorce, a war can erupt over how the children are raised at and after divorce. This is where the concept of legal custody comes in. On divorce or in paternity cases, the court can award joint legal custody. Legal custody covers decisions about the children’s medical care, religious upbringing, and ... Read More
31
Jan2020
Divorce sometimes presents unique problems for high-income earning and high net-worth litigants. These problems are diverse and present in ways ranging from making private information public through the divorce process to valuing businesses and unique assets. In this blog post, we cover three keys such litigants need to know to navigate the divorce process and flourish after the divorce is final.
The first consideration in most high net worth cases is valuations. These may range from valuing businesses to unique assets like artwork. ... Read More
21
Jan2020
Going through a divorce is hard. It is a stressful and emotional time for many. On top of this, divorce can also create complex financial issues. Financial issues tend to arise because people oftentimes forget to ask themselves the necessary questions to ensure financial stability after your divorce has finalized. This blog provides five questions every divorcee should ask themselves before they file for divorce.
Do I Have Health Insurance? One of the biggest financial concerns at divorce time is health insurance. Maybe ... Read More
17
Jan2020
The most helpful divorce litigant is one who understands the divorce process for the issues in their case (such as disputed custody or division of high assets marital estates). In this blog we will survey some of the key considerations a judge will typically utilize in dividing up high asset estates; generally, these are net marital estates that surpass one million dollars in net worth (after the liabilities are deducted).
The place to start in understanding how judges look at property division is with the presumptions ... Read More
16
Jan2020
Upon divorce, your investment accounts, whether it be a common stock portfolio, retirement account, or pension, is a property that is subject to division upon divorce. That leads many to ask the question of whether they will have to sell the investment account in order to divide it upon divorce? This blog provides a brief overview of how investment accounts are handled upon divorce and provide an answer to the question of whether you are required to sell such investments.
In Indiana, ... Read More
08
Jan2020
Sometimes events occur in a marriage that trigger an immediate divorce filing, such as an episode of domestic violence between the parties and/or the children. More often, a marriage unravels and a spouse “wonders” if they should file and when. No matter when it occurs, divorce is long and emotionally draining experience. In reality, many couples stay together long after the marriage is no longer one based on love and mutual respect for many reasons, such as finances or children. That said, many divorces ... Read More
03
Jan2020
Indiana follows a “one-pot” theory when determining what property is to be considered part of the marital estate. This “one-pot” theory makes it so that all property, whether acquired before or during the marriage, is part of the marital estate.1 As such, if you or your spouse are a business owner, the business will be considered a part of the marital estate. With that, you may be wondering, “but how will the court determine the value of my business?” This blog provides a brief overview of ... Read More