10 Things You Should Know About Divorce Law In Indiana

1. Divorce in Indiana concerns 4 basic issues; child custody, child visitation, child support, and division of marital property. If no children were born of the marriage, then it is likely that you will only be concerned with dividing up the marital property (although there can be other issues).

2. In Indiana, a Judge cannot sign a final decree of Dissolution of Marriage until at least 60 days have passed from the date of filing.

3. From the date of filing until the final decree is signed, either party may ask for a preliminary order which sets the rules for how the parties will manage their obligations while the divorce petition is pending. This typically results in a temporary order for temporary custody, temporary visitation order, temporary child support order, and a determination about who shall have possession of the marital residence and other marital property.

4. Marital property includes all property brought into the marriage up to the date the petition for dissolution is filed, and all property acquired during the course of the marriage up to the date the petition for dissolution of marriage is filed. Generally, it does not matter who's name is on a deed or title, if it was brought into the marriage or acquired during the course of the marriage, it is typically considered marital property.

5. A child support obligation continues until the child is 21 years of age or emancipated. If, however, a child is partially or completely disabled due to a physical or mental impairment, the support obligation may go for the life of the payor or child, which ever

6. When a spouse gives up his or her education to become a caregiver for the children or homemaker, Indiana law may permit an award of rehabilitative maintenance for up to 3 years to allow the spouse to go back to school and finish their education. The amount of this award, may even be reduced to a judgment at the time the final decree is signed.

7. Maintenance for a disability may also be awarded and such an award may continue in the form of a court order indefinitely..

8. Under Indiana law, there is a rebuttable presumption that a fair and equitable division of property is an equal division of such property. The presumption may be rebutted by the admission of evidence showing that one of the parties has less earning capacity, due to age, education or physical impairment. There may be other means of rebutting the even distribution presumption as well.

9. If one spouse physically abuses the other spouse in the presence of the parties' child, the Court is required to require all visitation to be supervised for up to 2 years.

10. All child support orders issued in Indiana require income withholding from the non-custodial parent, unless certain strict requirements are met. All parties impacted by a child support order, must report any change in address to the Circuit Court Clerk and the Indiana Child Support Central Collection Unit.