A bill that would have given immunity to guardians ad litem and court appointed child advocates stalled in the Indiana House, but other measures covering foster parents and placing new requirements on the Indiana Department of Child Services all passed through the Statehouse with little or no opposition.
In a ruling on a contentious divorce case that involved parties “exploiting the judicial system to its fullest extent,” the Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the provisions of the Sullivan Circuit Court’s dissolution order.
A slew of bills aimed at helping youngsters designated as children in need of services and another targeting overdue child support payments cleared legislative committees Wednesday with no opposing votes.
Lawmakers have offered more than a dozen bills to address a growing children in need of services crisis, many of which have won broad support in the General Assembly.
In a case a judge said represents “how substance abuse is savaging the familial bonds within Indiana and around the country,” the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the adoption of a southern Indiana child without the mother’s consent after finding the mother’s substance abuse made her unfit.
A consultant hired by the state said Thursday Indiana has more than double the number of children in out-of-home care compared to the national average. The finding was among the highlights of an initial report commissioned by Gov. Eric Holcomb after the resignation of former Department of Child Services director Mary Beth Bonaventura.
A Pike County paternity case involving a child’s legal and biological fathers will continue in trial court after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the legal father was not entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the biological father’s paternity action.
A Marshall County child will now be in her father’s care after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the impact of her mother’s stroke made a change in custody necessary for the best interests of the child.
An Oklahoma couple seeking custody of a child with ties to both the western state and Indiana have lost their Hoosier appeal, with the Indiana Court of Appeals determining an Indiana trial court properly exercised jurisdiction and awarded custody of the child to his mother.
A child support dispute between two Wabash County parents will return to the trial court on remand after the Indiana Court of Appeals found errors in the lower court’s computation of both parties’ incomes.
Testimony from a physician which supported the state’s effort to adjudicate six minor siblings as children in need of services was allowed under the hearsay exception, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Former Indiana Department of Child Services Director Mary Beth Bonaventura will join the Indiana Attorney General’s Office as special counsel Monday, a move that comes less than a month after she resigned from her DCS post with a scathing resignation letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb.
Gov. Eric Holcomb last month signed an executive order establishing paid parental leave for state employees, effective Jan. 1. Labor and employment attorneys say many private organizations, including law firms, also are offering paid leave to new parents.
As attorneys, we can only counsel our clients, and we cannot always control their actions. But hopefully, we can help them understand how their actions may impact their children, even indirectly. Parents need to be careful not to place their children in the middle — and not only with words, but by their actions.
While they are often portrayed as monetary safeguards for the rich and famous, prenuptial agreements have been appealing to a different demographic in recent years: millennials. In fact, about 51 percent of family law attorneys within the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers said they have noticed an increase in the number of young couples seeking premarital agreements.
The Allen Superior Court must revisit a parental rights termination proceeding after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined insufficient evidence and prior appellate precedent failed to support the court’s termination of a father’s parental relationship with his son.
A recent ruling by an Indiana appellate court in a transcontinental custody dispute is raising questions in the Hoosier legal community about the authority United States courts have to question the legal practices of other nations.
Through her life experiences and career as an adoption attorney, Natalie Chavis gained insight into the legal and emotional effects of the foster care and adoption processes, insight that led her to self-publish her first novel, “Adopting Tiger.” Her upcoming book signing and fundraiser coincides with National Adoption Day.
A mother’s appeal arguing that she was wrongly denied an evidentiary hearing on her petition to modify custody of her daughter was rejected last week by a divided Indiana Supreme Court.
Courts in 24 counties across Indiana will be allowing families and the media to photograph and videotape adoption proceedings this month as part of the National Adoption Day celebration.