Child Custody Attorneys in Lake County and Northwest Indiana

When your relationship with your children is at stake, the case you build matters more than anything else. Indiana courts decide custody based on what serves the best interests of the child — and that standard requires evidence, preparation, and an attorney who understands how Northwest Indiana judges apply it. At Tanzillo Stassin & Babcock, we've been building those cases for families in Lake County, Porter County, and across Northwest Indiana for decades.

Indiana law does not favor mothers over fathers or assume any single arrangement is right for every family. Courts apply a multi-factor best interests standard that looks at the whole picture: each parent's relationship with the child, the child's adjustment to home and school, the mental and physical health of everyone involved, and each parent's willingness to support the other parent's relationship with the child. A judge weighs these factors together — which means the outcome depends heavily on how well your attorney frames and documents your role in your child's life. We work with parents from the start to identify the evidence that speaks directly to each factor the court will consider.

Legal Custody vs. Physical Custody: Understanding the Difference

Many parents enter custody proceedings without knowing that Indiana law distinguishes between two separate types of custody, and that each one is decided independently.

• Legal custody refers to decision-making authority — who has the right to make major decisions about the child's education, healthcare, and religious upbringing. Courts frequently award joint legal custody, meaning both parents share this responsibility.
• Physical custody refers to where the child primarily lives and how parenting time is divided. One parent may be designated the primary physical custodian while the other has a structured parenting time schedule, or the court may order a more equal split.
• Parenting time is the term Indiana uses for what other states call visitation. Even a parent without primary physical custody has enforceable parenting time rights under Indiana law.

Understanding how these categories interact is essential before any negotiation or hearing begins. Our attorneys explain the structure clearly so you know exactly what you're agreeing to — or fighting for.

Building a Custody Case That Reflects Your Involvement

Courts don't reward the parent who argues the loudest. They respond to documentation, consistency, and a clear picture of how each parent has shown up for the child. We help our clients build that record — school records, medical appointment logs, communication histories, witness statements, and evidence of daily involvement that demonstrates what the child's life actually looks like with each parent.

When parental alienation is a factor — one parent interfering with the child's relationship with the other, making false allegations, or coaching the child against the other parent — Indiana courts take it seriously, and so do we. We know how to identify the pattern, document it properly, and present it in a way that gets the court's attention. Andrew Tanzillo has more than 40 years of family law experience, including extensive custody litigation in Lake County and Porter County courts. That depth of experience means we've seen the tactics, we know the judges, and we know what moves cases in the right direction.

When Custody Orders Need to Change

A custody order that made sense two years ago may not reflect your family's reality today. Indiana courts allow modification of existing custody orders when there has been a substantial change in circumstances — a parent relocating, a significant change in the child's needs, a change in a parent's work schedule or living situation, or documented concerns about the child's welfare in the current arrangement.

Modification cases require showing both that circumstances have materially changed and that a new arrangement would better serve the child's best interests. We advise parents honestly on whether their situation qualifies and what evidence will be needed to support a successful modification petition. If the current order isn't working for your children, that conversation is worth having.

Serving Families Across Lake County and Porter County

We represent parents in custody matters throughout Northwest Indiana, including Dyer, St. John, Merrillville, Hammond, Valparaiso, Portage, and Chesterton. We appear regularly in Lake County and Porter County courts and bring direct local knowledge to every case — not a satellite office approach where a firm from somewhere else sends a lawyer who doesn't know the local bench.

Frequently Asked Questions About Child Custody in Indiana