Even when one parent is awarded sole physical custody of a child and is deemed the custodial parent, the non-custodial parent is normally awarded parenting time with the child in a manner the Court believes to be in the best interest of the child.

The Child Support Guidelines provide guidance to the Court, practitioners, and parents on the calculation of child support obligations.

Traditionally, the adoption of a child severs the parental rights for both biological parents. Indiana law provides for second parent adoptions, which allows one of the biological parents to retain their parental rights after the adoption is finalized.

When a child is born to parents who are not married to each other, the father is not legally recognized as the child’s father until paternity is established.

The preamble to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines states that the Guidelines “. . .are based on the premise that it is usually in a child's best interest to have frequent, meaningful and continuing contact with each parent.

Indiana Code 31-16-6-6, which sets out when the duty to support a child ceases and under what circumstances child support may cease at an earlier date, has been amended to provide an extension for the age of emancipation.

Indiana requires a relocating individual to provide notice prior to a planned relocation if they have a child who is the subject of a court order for custody, parenting time, visitation, or child support.

States differ on their procedures and policies pertaining to the adoption of an individual over the age of majority. In Indiana, for purposes of adoption, a person reaches the age of majority and is considered an “adult” at age eighteen.

In cases involving the welfare of a child, the Court may appoint a Guardian ad Litem to represent the best interest of the child.

When a child is born and the mother is married, the law presumes that the husband is the father of the child and both parents will be on the child’s birth certificate.

Sometimes the need arises for a guardianship to be filed for the protection of an incapacitated adult or a minor child. A guardianship is a legal relationship granted by the court that provides the guardian with the ability to act on behalf of the protected person.

As more and more children are being raised in non-traditional family units, Courts are tasked with keeping up with the changing norms.

There are several reasons why an individual may want to change their name or the name of their child. Sometimes, the law allows a person to change their name simply because an event has occurred, such as upon a marriage, divorce, or adoption.

Adopting a child normally terminates the rights of both biological parents, ending their legally recognized relationship to the child. This is not always the case, as Indiana allows for step-parent adoption which only terminates the rights of one biological parent.

Adoptive parents have several choices available to them when they are seeking to adopt a child. An adoptive parent can seek a private adoption completed with the assistance of a licensed child placing agency.

Indiana law allows individuals to enter into agreements governing their property and finances prior to a marriage, most commonly referred to as a prenuptial agreement.

Parties must contemplate and plan for the division of their property whenever a divorce is filed. The first step is to identify all assets and debts of both parties, no matter how acquired and no matter how titled.

Parenting coordinators are appointed by the Court to work with parents in dissolution or paternity cases to manage the co-parenting decision-making process and work to resolve disputes between the parents.