Arguments set for birth certificate appeal
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled oral arguments in Indiana’s birth certificate dispute for next month.
Family Law
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House approves domestic violence bill on phone plans, pets
The Indiana House has approved a bill enabling domestic violence victims to retain their phone numbers and to protect pets when they leave an abusive relationship.
COA reinstates father’s parental rights, terminates mother’s
The Indiana Court of Appeals has allowed a Huntington County father to retain his parental rights to his son but terminated the mother’s parental rights after finding that she has not remedied the circumstances that led to her son’s removal from her home.
Birth certificate battle moves to 7th Circuit
The new Indiana administration does not want to recognize non-birth mothers as parents.
COA affirms rulings in division of military pension
A man who sought to void trial court orders that granted his ex-wife a portion of his military pension lost his interlocutory appeal Friday.
Cassman: Proper notice in indirect civil contempt proceedings
Indirect civil contempt is the most common filing used to enforce family law orders. One of the typical defenses to an allegation of contempt is that the contempt allegations have not been properly pled. Both the Indiana Supreme Court and the Indiana Court of Appeals have addressed the issue of notice in recent cases.
COA restores mother’s parental rights after incarceration
A mother’s parental rights to her two children will be restored after the Indiana Court of Appeals found Thursday that the state Department of Child Services failed to prove that removing the children from their mother was in their best interests.
Appellate panel reverses parenting time for remote ex-boyfriend
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court order granting a man visitation with his ex-girlfriend’s daughter, concluding that third-party visitation should only be granted if it is in the best interests of the child.
COA awards custody to father, orders assets redivided
After a couple’s contentious battle in court over custody of their children and possession of their home, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided Friday their marital estate had not been correctly divided. However, the appellate court affirmed the decision to award custody of the children to their father.
Domestic relations, tax sale case designations to change
Domestic relations case-type designations will change in 2017, from “DR” for all case types to “DC” for cases in which children are involved and “DN” for those without children. The change was announced in an Indiana Supreme Court order issued Friday.
Property award to ex-girlfriend of longtime boyfriend affirmed
A trial court correctly awarded certain property to a woman who filed a complaint against her longtime partner for unjust enrichment after the two broke up after a 17-year relationship, the Indiana Court of Appeals held.
Justices reinstate father’s parental rights
A trial court’s findings do not “clearly and convincingly support” its decision to terminate a father’s parental rights to his son based on it being in the best interests of the boy. In fact, the findings show that the father and son have a bond and often spend time together, the Indiana Supreme Court found Tuesday.
State fighting birth certificate ruling
Married same-sex female couples who challenged Indiana’s refusal to recognize the non-birth mothers on their children’s birth certificates reiterate that they want to be treated in the same manner as heterosexual couples – no more, no less. The state, which intends to appeal a ruling finding Indiana's paternity statutes to be unconstitutional, is first asking the judge to take another look at her ruling.
COA affirms woman in same-sex relationship legal parent of child
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed a trial court’s conclusion that a lesbian couple who entered into a registered domestic partnership in California should be treated like married spouses. As such, the judges affirmed the award of joint legal custody and parenting time to the non-biological parent after the couple broke up.
IU McKinney launching Child Advocacy Law Clinic
Students at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law will have the opportunity to work with Marion County’s Child Advocates starting this fall when the new Child Advocacy Law Clinic opens.
Mother to be sanctioned for willfully denying parenting time
A mother that has prevented her son from seeing his father since 2009 and purposefully disobeyed parenting time orders and contempt orders must be sanctioned, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
COA: Father should have custody of children
Children who were afraid of their stepfather and whose behavior changed after their mother remarried should now be in the custody of their father, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Thursday.
Father must still pay part of son’s college expenses, COA holds
The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed that a teenager has not repudiated his relationship with this estranged father and affirmed the trial court’s ruling that the boy, his mother, and his father must each pay a third of his college expenses.
Christensen/Laurin: Should lawyers report child abuse learned in representation?
When — if ever — is it appropriate for an attorney to report child abuse learned through client representation? The answer centers on the difference between confidentiality and privilege.
Eichholtz: Effects of opioid overdose on third-party custody issues
Opioid and heroin abuse or overdose commonly result in the temporary removal of a child from the custody of her natural parents; prevention of reunification with natural parents; or termination of parental rights. Thus, family law practitioners would be well suited to review the relevant statutes and case law involving custody and third-party custody proceedings, among other things.