In Indiana, the law provides for a “no-fault” divorce. This means that if one party wants the divorce, the court will be obligated to grant it. Closely related to the “no-fault” system is the fact that the reasons why one party wants a divorce does not have any impact. Neither party is required to explain why they want the divorce.

Physical custody roughly equates to which parent is “home base” for the children. That is usually the parent that has the children the majority of the time. The other parent will also have some parenting time. Joint custody refers to legal decision making, and often the parties share joint legal custody. Even though they share legal custody, the parties still have to agree on who will be physical primary custodian or “home base,” in addition to the parenting time split.

The issue surrounding the children include many things, including custody. It is difficult to summarize in a brief answer, but Indiana recognized two different types of custody – joint legal custody and sole custody. Joint legal custody means the parents share decision making authority for major life decisions, such as health care, religious upbringing and education. Sole custody means that the custodial parent makes those decisions.

A necessary part of every divorce is dividing up assets and debts. The presumption under the law is that those are divided equally. Further, anything of value is subject to being divided. That includes future pensions, 401k Accounts, cars, home equity, bank accounts, and many other things. Thus, for your retirement account, whether it is a pension plan (payments at retirement) or a 401k (lump sum tax deferred retirement account), it is subject to being divided.

While circumstances can vary, generally speaking child support ends no later than the child turning 19. However, if the child is out of school and living on his or her own before that age, it might be possible to end support sooner. Separate from support, however, is the question of college costs which could continue beyond age 19.

Yes. Indiana gives the judge the discretion to require both parents to help contribute to a child’s college costs. While it is discretionary, it frequently occurs, especially if both parents have a college degree. Additionally, we find that most parents want to help their children, and the decision comes down to a question of how much each parent contributes. The child is expected to apply for financial aid to pay for part of the costs, and the parents share in the rest.

Indiana Law does recognize the right of parties to enter into a prenuptial agreement, which is simply an agreement upon how to divide up assets should the marriage end in divorce or at death. The agreement must be entered into before the wedding ceremony. It also should be done in sufficient time to allow both parties to fully read and understand the agreement, and contact an attorney to help review the agreement.

Indiana does have a grandparent visitation statute. It limits grandparent’s rights to certain particular situations, and the type of visitation can vary greatly, but is often limited to a set time on an infrequent basis (for example, one day a month on a weekend). Your particular case can vary widely depending on the relationship and closeness of the grandparents to the children, and which set of grandparents is requesting time, the grandparents related to the custodian or the grandparents related to the non-custodial parent

Mediation is a process where the parties get together with their attorneys and a neutral mediator. The mediator will try to help the parties find a solution to whatever issues remain in the case. Mediation usually does not happen immediately, but can happen whenever the parties have sufficient information to make their final decisions. Most attorneys feel mediation is an excellent way to resolve the case without the extra expense of motions and risks of going to court. Closely related to mediation is arbitration. With arbitration, you can select your own arbitrator (usually a lawyer who is a mediator and is experienced in divorce law) to make decisions instead of going to a court fight. This often can be less expensive, and occur more quickly, than waiting for court.