Husband intended to defraud wife before divorce, COA rules
A man who conveyed several properties he owned to a family member shortly before divorcing his wife intended to defraud her, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Thursday.
Family Law
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It’s all relative: Hoosier attorneys discuss experiences of practicing with family members
They say you shouldn’t mix business and family. But not all Indiana lawyers follow that rule. Indiana Lawyer recently sat down with five sets of family practitioners.
Web Exclusive: ILS pilot guides pro se parents in child support
A pilot partnership between Indiana Legal Services and a Tippecanoe County court is providing in-court assistance to pro se litigants in divorce cases. Attorneys sit down with litigants behind closed doors, gather the necessary child-support information, fill out the paperwork and send parents back into the courtroom.
Prosecutors added to Supreme Court’s justice reform initiative
The Indiana Supreme Court has added three prosecutors to its newly established Indiana Innovation Initiative and respective working groups aimed at making Indiana’s justice system more efficient.
Cameras to capture November National Adoption Day proceedings
Hoosier families celebrating National Adoption Day will have the opportunity to capture special moments through the lens of a camera. The Indiana Supreme Court announced its authorization of cameras in court for uncontested adoptions during the month of November, allowing photography and video of the adoption proceedings.
Justices reject Fifth Amendment appeal of sex offender treatment
The Indiana Supreme Court has found no constitutional violation against a father who refused to participate in a sex offender treatment program that he argued would violate his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Reversal: Father’s due process rights violated in TPR case
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed the termination of a father’s parent-child relationship after concluding his due process rights had been violated. The Department of Child Services, the appellate court found, did not make reasonable efforts to reunify the father and child.
New law gives moms, dads behind bars hope in TPR cases
Christina Kovats and Kristina Byers previously served time at the Indiana Women’s Prison, and this year they became advocates who worked to draft Indiana legislation aimed at dismantling the black-and-white mentality regarding termination of parental rights for incarcerated mothers. A new law now gives judges discretion in TPR cases involving parents behind bars.
COA grants mom partial victory in irregular child support dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals has found a father in contempt for failing to pay years’ worth of irregular child support, reversing a lower court’s denial of his ex-wife’s petition to show cause for his failure to pay.
Admission of parents’ drug tests upheld in TPR case
Parents who objected to the admission of drug tests in their termination of parental rights hearing were unable to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that their children would not be affected by their drug use. The panel affirmed removal would be in the children’s best interests.
AG Hill asks full 7th Circuit to review blocked abortion consent law
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office has asked the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals for en banc review to reconsider a challenge to an Indiana law requiring parents be notified before their mature minor child gets an abortion.
Suspended lawyer facing theft counts in 4 counties wanted again
The suspended Greenwood lawyer accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from disabled and special-needs clients is again facing a warrant for his arrest, this time for failing to appear as ordered at a hearing in one of the multiple felony theft cases he faces.
Dillinger family members apply again to exhume his grave
Family members of 1930s gangster John Dillinger have submitted a new application to exhume his Indianapolis gravesite. Other Dillinger descendants and Crown Hill Cemetery object to the proposed exhumation.
IndyBar: Support and Kindness from the Other Side — An Uplifting Family Bar
From divorce, custody, parenting time and guardianships to grandparent rights, family law can be very messy and emotionally draining. When I tell people what I do for a living, the most frequent responses are something along the lines of, “oh, I don’t think I could do that,” or “that must be very difficult.” Typically, however, my opposing counsel is not difficult, exhausting, or otherwise adding fuel to the fire.
Appellate court reverses TPR for speculative incarceration
A Vigo County father’s parental rights must be restored, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled, finding evidence that he might be incarcerated for several years insufficient to support a termination order.
Grandma’s visitation order vacated after parents’ marriage
A grandmother fighting to keep a visitation order for her out-of-wedlock grandchildren failed to persuade an Indiana Court of Appeals panel to rule in her favor. Instead, the panel concluded grandparent visitation orders do not survive the subsequent marriage of the natural parents of a child born out of wedlock.
Two Carmel law family law firms join forces
Two Carmel-based law firms that specialize in family law and divorce have tied the knot. Hollingsworth & Zivitz, founded in 2004, has merged with Roberts Means LLC, established in 2012, to form Hollingsworth Roberts Means, the new firm announced Tuesday.
Justices affirm parental rights for homeless mother of six
A mother who fought to be reunited with her six minor children secured the Indiana Supreme Court’s favor after justices unanimously affirmed a finding that the termination of her parental rights due to her homelessness was not in the children’s best interests.
Order enabling grandparents to determine father’s visitation reversed
A father who feared his hostile relationship with his children’s grandparent guardians would prevent him from having visitation with his kids won a reversal of an order stating parenting time would be “agreed upon by the parties.”
Split COA affirms adoption without father’s consent
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a Morgan County adoption decree over a father’s objections, finding his consent was irrevocably implied due to his failure to appear at a final hearing.