When it comes to issues of parenting rights, child custody, visitation time, and child support, there are many sensitive and complicated angles to consider. One that Hammond family law attorneys sometimes see crop up is when one parent becomes involved with a new paramour, be it a boyfriend or girlfriend…
Last year, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision opened the doors for same-sex partners across the country to obtain a marriage license – and to have those marriages recognized in any state across the country. Since that ruling, many same-sex couples have married in Indiana. But there are still some…
A man in Iowa at first thought it was a joke when a letter arrived from the state ordering him to pay child support for a 1-year-old born to a woman he hadn’t seen in 17 years. But it was no laughing matter. The case came about because, as The…
For millennials, out-of-wedlock birth is often the norm. A number of studies have revealed that 64 percent of mothers give birth at least once without exchanging vows. Among women under 30, more than half have had births outside of marriage. And nearly half of all mothers have children without ever…
A survivor benefit plan of a military pension should be included in the “marital pot” when considering what should be calculated as an “asset” in an Indiana divorce. That was the ruling handed down by the Indiana Court of Appeals in the recent case of In Re: the Marriage of Carr…
Termination of a parent-child relationship in Indiana is done through judicial proceeding that will forever end the legal, social and financial relationship and responsibilities between a parent and child. It means that all power, privilege, immunity, duty and obligation to that child by the parent is totally gone. Parents can…
In many divorce cases, one of the primary considerations that must be made concerns retirement benefits – whether that be through a typical 401k or a pension or through federal Social Security benefits. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal statute that sets the minimum…
During the recession, it was understandable that many parents paying child support sought modification of those orders, to more accurately reflect the reduced income they were earning at the time. Child support orders in Indiana can still be enforced for parents who are receiving unemployment benefits, but the amount may…
After enduring one failed marriage – or two – fewer couples are finding themselves willing to tie the knot once again. A recent report by the National Center for Family & Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University revealed that the U.S. remarriage rate has plunged by 40 percent over…
Once upon a time, it used to be a foregone conclusion that a divorcing husband would be expected to pay alimony to his ex-wife, possibly for the rest of her life. Highland divorce lawyers know the tides shifted dramatically. In fact, there has been legislation mulled in at least a…