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Category: Family Law

Should I Insure My Child Support Payments? 

Child support in a divorce ensures that parents give their child the quality of life and support they intended to provide while they were still married. It's a critical component of most divorce agreements when the couple has children. Yet what many parents fail to consider is what will happen to their child's quality of life and their support payments if at some point in the future the supporting parent dies or becomes disabled. In these instances, the income providing the support stops, but the child's need for support does not. One way to ensure that the child will receive all of the support necessary, in spite of obstacles like these, is through insuring the child support. Many parents a ...

Educational Support Orders

Married parents get to choose whether they will (or whether they can) finance their child’s college education. For divorced parents, however, that choice is one of the luxuries they often have to sacrifice. Nearly everyone is familiar with the concept of child support in divorce and custody cases. The court can (and nearly always does) order one parent to pay child support to the other parent. Child support is a contribution toward the child’s basic needs: a roof over his head, food in her stomach, clothes on his back. Child support ends at a certain age by statute or upon certain life events, such as marriage or enlistment in the military. When the parents don’t have a combined h ...

Divorce Monday: The Holidays’ Last Hurrah

Another holiday season has passed. The decorations are put away. The music on the radio is back to normal. The hustle and bustle is practically nonexistent. Of course, the holidays regularly leave behind a few unpleasantries: credit card bills, increased waistline, and... divorce. Yes, filing to end a marriage is an unwelcome remnant that is surprisingly pervasive. It is so common that the first working Monday in January has been referred to as “Divorce Monday.” Falling on January 9 this year, that inauspicious day marks the beginning of one of the busiest months for initiating divorce proceedings. According to the president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, divorce fili ...

Handling Long-Distance Visitation

Legally speaking, childhood lasts only 18 years. The rest of life is considered adulthood. With that much disparity, it's no wonder we lose touch with what it's like to be a kid. Still, adult situations affect children deeply, and divorce is no exception. That's not to say divorce isn't often the path that's best for everyone in a family, but when you're caught up in the hullabaloo of the adult aspects, keep in mind the kid POV. No one knows exactly what to say or do to help children thrive in any kind of split custody schedule. But it's vital to try to tap into your own life markers and remember how adult interactions – particularly your relationships with your parents -- made you feel ...

Department of Child Services & Human Trafficking in Indiana

It can be difficult for Americans to admit that some of humanity’s biggest problems don’t just happen “somewhere else.” No state is immune from social ills like poverty, hunger, illiteracy, discrimination, and human trafficking. That’s right. This modern-day form of slavery involving the illegal trade of people for exploitation or commercial gain happens right here in Indiana. In fact, we have one of 42 task forces set up by the U.S. Justice Department to address the growing crime. It's called IPATH: the Indiana Protection of Abused and Trafficked Humans. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline, operated by Polaris Project since December 2007, has received calls, ...

Custody Disputes and the Guardian ad Litem

When the custody of your child is in dispute to the point where the courts have become involved, you have, in a sense, relinquished certain decisions about your child’s future to the judge. It’s your job to convince the judge that your opinion is the correct one and is in your child’s best interests. If you have an attorney (and you should!), he or she will advocate for you and present your case – your arguments – to the judge. But the other parent of your child believes his or her opinion is the correct one, too, and that it is in your child’s best interests. And there’s most likely another attorney on that side presenting that case – and those arguments – to the judge. ...

Primer on Transgender Legal Name and Gender Changes in Indiana

Transitioning from female to male (FTM) or male to female (MTF) is a lengthy process – one that is often marked more by struggle than by celebration. For people who are transgendered, being able to legally change their name and gender marker is a momentous milestone. Telling loved ones of your new name or proper pronouns is certainly a big step, but there comes a time when it’s important to transform them from mere preference to official terminology. The process varies from state to state, and not all judges are willing to grant it, so to save yourself from any problems in the future, it’s wise to consult an attorney. Much of the way we are distinguished throughout life is by name a ...

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