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 ...
Family Law
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 ...
Reconciliation Agreements
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. The law also allows married individuals to enter into an agreement on how their property and finances shall be divided after a divorce is filed, most commonly referred to as a Marital Settlement Agreement. The law is ...Read More ...
Property Division in Divorce
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. This will include any asset to which a party has a “vested” interest, regardless of whether the asset can be liquidated presently. Sometimes, for instance, a party will have a right to ...Read More ...