Family Law - The Indiana Lawyer

Reed: “Why do I need to have a premarital agreement?”

January 8, 2019

For those who are legal counselors to families, you have heard objections many times when the parents have told their adult daughter (or son) that they need to have a premarital agreement. The child is in love. She has found the person with whom she will spend the rest of her life. The person with whom she will raise a family. There is no possible way they would ever divorce, so why does she need a premarital agreement? The simple answer — she needs one!

Bill would allow grand, great-grandparent visitation in some cases

January 8, 2019

Current federal and state law generally defers to a parent’s judgment when it comes to grandparent visitation, with the United States Supreme Court ruling that the right to rear a child as desired is among the most fundamental rights of parents. But a bill filed this year in the Indiana Legislature would give both grandparents and great-grandparents another avenue to obtain standing to petition for visitation.

Letter to the Editor: Child Advocates: Giving foster parents party status problematic

December 11, 2018

Foster parents are invaluable assets and partners in child welfare. Foster parents’ input in team meetings and on an ongoing basis provides valuable insight into the child’s needs. However, giving foster parents party status presents many problems.

COA finds miscalculation in divorce pension division

November 16, 2018

A seven-year-old divorce case is returning to the trial court after the Indiana Court of Appeals found the division of the husband’s pension and the monthly rehabilitative maintenance needed to be recalculated.

Attorney couple seeking changes for Indiana foster parents

November 12, 2018

Indianapolis attorneys Joe Delamater, a criminal defense lawyer at Razumich & Delamater PC, and Kiamesha Colom, a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, encountered confusion, frustration and ultimately heartbreak during the course of a few months when they became foster parents to a baby boy. Now they are pushing for changes to state laws they say will balance the system so the right results happen for kids.

COA: ‘Irritated’ judge must make immigration findings

November 8, 2018

A trial court judge who refused to make federal findings regarding a minor litigant’s immigration status because he was “irritated” by having to deal with federal law must now consider the immigration questions after the Indiana Court of Appeals found the judge’s refusal was erroneous.

COA: Sisters separated from mother, brothers is in best interests

November 8, 2018

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court termination of parental rights in a “most unusual circumstance” when it found the separation of two minor daughters from their brothers and mother was in the girls’ best interests.

COA upholds unequal division of assets after 24-day marriage

November 7, 2018

A dispute over the division of assets from a marriage that lasted less than one month has ended with the Indiana Court of Appeals upholding a trial court’s decision to rule against the presumption of the equal division of the marital estate.

Reversal: Claim of 165 texts in 24 hours doesn’t prove stalking

October 24, 2018

The Indiana Court of Appeals revoked a man’s protective order against the mother of his child when it found that her excessive messaging in a 24-hour period did not constitute stalking.

Indiana child welfare agency to spend $22M on raises

October 16, 2018

The Indiana Department of Child Services is spending $22 million on raises for staff as part of an effort to improve the agency that’s seen rising caseloads and internal battles. The raises will take effect Wednesday for more than 3,600 employees, or about 87 percent of the agency’s staff.

Reversal: Key CHINS hearing must be within 120 days

October 10, 2018

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed two CHINS petitions when it ruled fact-finding hearings must be completed within 120 days of filing, regardless of any act or agreements of the parties involved.

COA orders equal division of ex’s retirement interest

September 28, 2018

The Dearborn Circuit Court erred when it awarded the entirety of a nearly $207,000 retirement account to a husband as part of divorce proceedings, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in a decision that remanded the case for equal distribution of the interest on the account.

DCS agrees reversal required in CHINS case over pot

September 27, 2018

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a child in need of services determination based on the Department of Child Services’ agreement that reversal was required because there was insufficient evidence to prove a mother’s marijuana use ever harmed her minor child.

Termination of ex’s house payment obligation reversed

September 21, 2018

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a decision that found an “ambiguous” dissolution settlement agreement made no indication as to the father’s child support obligations and that his payments for a mortgage and car would supplement them.

COA slams courts, DCS for violating parents’ due process

September 7, 2018

The Indiana Court of Appeals reiterated harsh words at the Department of Child Services and Indiana trial courts after reversing another case involving a failure to afford due process protections to families in termination of parental rights cases.

COA rejects father’s child support challenge

September 4, 2018

A Marion County father has lost his appeal of a trial court’s child support order, failing to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that he should have been credited for make-up parenting time he was exercising after his ex-wife began prohibiting him from seeing their child.

IndyBar: Volunteers Needed for Fall Paternity Court Mediation Day, October 5

September 4, 2018

The IndyBar ADR Section Executive Committee is pleased to announce that we will host our Fall Mediation Day on October 5, 2018, at Barnes & Thornburg LLP. Through Mediation Day, we provide a service to our courts and community by volunteering our time to mediate several screened cases for litigants who qualify for modest means mediation.

COA reverses CHINS adjudications

August 31, 2018

Two Marion County children will no longer be considered children in need of services after the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed their CHINS adjudication, finding insufficient evidence to support the finding that their North Carolina-based father could not care for them.

Default custody judgment against Florida mom reversed

August 22, 2018

A Florida mother can continue with an Indiana custody dispute with the father of her teenage daughter after the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a default judgment against her. Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik used the opinion to caution trial courts against issuing default judgments in custody cases where a parent shows good cause for a continuance.

IndyBar: How to Avoid the Summertime Blues … Next Year

August 21, 2018

If you’re anything like me, your summer as a family law attorney is usually fraught with way more work than usual. In addition to the school choice and family relocation cases, there are all the summer parenting time issues that you — and your clients — didn’t know were issues.

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