Crown Point Divorce Attorney

Divorce laws vary depending on where the parties live, so it is important for those who are considering divorce to speak with an experienced attorney about the legal requirements in their own state. For help with your own divorce-related questions, please call a Crown Point divorce attorney who can assist you.

No Fault Divorce

Indiana, like the majority of states across the nation, offers what is known as “no fault” divorce, which means that neither party has to allege or prove wrongdoing on the part of the other spouse in order to dissolve their marriage. Instead, the parties just need to claim that their marriage is irretrievably broken, which makes for far less acrimonious divorce proceedings.

Child Custody

When a couple is unable to come to an out-of-court agreement regarding issues like child custody and property division, courts will have to step in and hold a series of hearings on the issues. When creating a child custody arrangement, courts will primarily base their decisions on what is in the child’s best interests, which includes an analysis of:

• The child’s relationship with his or her siblings;
• The need for consistency in the child’s education, family life, and community;
• Which parent is most likely to handle the day to day physical, emotional, and educational needs of the child;
• Whether the parties are willing to foster a relationship between the child and the other spouse; and
• Whether either parent has a history of drug or alcohol addiction, criminal convictions, or domestic violence.

Although a shared parenting schedule is usually deemed to be in a child’s best interest, courts may decide to grant primary custody to one parent, while allowing both parents to have a say in major decision making about education and health-related matters.

Property Division

Aside from child custody matters, property division issues are some of the most difficult that a couple will face during a divorce. For instance, Indiana is an equitable division state, which means that unless one of the parties can prove that an equal division would not be just or reasonable, most courts will give each party roughly equal shares of the combined property. Courts will also take into consideration the income or earning ability of the parties, as well as the contribution of each spouse in acquiring the property, and whether the assets in question were acquired before marriage or were received as part of an inheritance or as a gift. For example, if a court found that one of the parties wasted marital assets, it could be willing to grant the other party a greater share of the property. Similarly, if one of the spouses brought the property into the marriage, he or she would likely remain the sole owner of the assets in question.