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. When a child is born to a mother who is not married, the parents will need to determine how the father will establish paternity of the child. Establishing paternity of a child is legally establishing a man as the father of the ...Read More ...
Family Law
Guardianship Basics
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. A guardianship can be granted over the “person,” which is the ability to make decisions about the person’s day-to-day living and their ...Read More ...
Step-Parent Visitation
As more and more children are being raised in non-traditional family units, Courts are tasked with keeping up with the changing norms. Traditionally, only a parent (either biological or adoptive) could be awarded parenting time with a child. However, Courts now have the discretion to award visitation with a child to a party who is not their parent if they can prove the existence of a custodial and ...Read More ...
Obtaining a Name Change
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. A person may wish to change their name for a reason unrelated to those events. Some people wish to take the last name of a step-parent who raised them but ...Read More ...
Step-Parent 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. In a step-parent adoption, the spouse of one of the biological parents adopts the child without interfering with the parental rights ...Read More ...
Adopting in Indiana
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. Adoptive parents can also seek a private adoption of a child they know, whether the child is related to them or not. Adoptive parents can also seek to adopt a child that has been involved ...Read More ...
