Articles Posted in Family Law

SENATE BILL No. 85 has passed as of July 1^st, 2010 which now prohibits a person from disclaiming property interests if the person is delinquent in child support payments. As of July 1, 2010, a disclaimer of an interest in property is barred if the person is delinquent in child support payments. Lawmakers believe this addition to child support laws will increase collections and possibly federal IV-D funding which is based on total child support dollars collected by the state.

Indiana Enforcement Action for Child Support Delinquency

This new addition is only one of the many ways that Indiana enforces child support laws. According to Indiana law, enforcement action must take place when a person pays less than the awarded amount or fails to pay child support, including:

 In our very mobile society, relocation of a custodial parent after a divorce or paternity is quite common.  Indiana family law lawyers have found many reasons  for custodial parent moves.

This is especially true in these very difficult economic times when a move from where a custodial parent lives may be necessary in order to obtain employment.  If the move is a substantial distance from the original location, there is no doubt that such a change in location may cause a great amount of grief and heartbreak for the non-custodial parent.  Sometimes a move is made for other economic and/or quality of life reasons such as a move to an area where there is a lot of family.  Unfortunately, sometimes, the reason for relocation after a very acrimonious and hard fought divorce or custody battle may be for the purpose of taking a child away from the non-custodial parent, and not for a legally acceptable reason.

Indiana Relocation Custodial and Non-Custodial Parent Rights

Paternity rights in Indiana have been leveraged for fathers effective July 1, 2010, based on a new Indiana law ( Indiana Code 16-37-2-2.1).  Currently, when a child is born out-of -wedlock, Indiana law allows for the establishment of paternity by the filing of a Petition to Establish Paternity or the signing of a paternity affidavit by both parents.  Assuming that the paternity affidavit is properly signed and all Indiana Code Requirements are met, the mother has sole and physical custody, while the father is entitled to “reasonable parenting time”.   This means that the child lives with her mom and the mom also makes all decisions concerning health care, education, and religious upbringing.

Pursuant to the new statute regarding paternity rights, the child will still live with the mother.  However, the parties can agree to share joint legal custody.  In other words, the father and mother will jointly make decisions concerning healthcare, education and religious upbringing.  Both parents will have equal access to school and medical records.

This paternity right statute does not mention what happens when there are disagreements between parents concerning, education, health care and similar decisions that may occur sometime in the future.  However, in non- affidavit cases, if the parties disagree and cannot resolve their disagreements, the parties can petition the court to modify custody so that one parent has sole custody and will make all decisions.  In all likelihood, the same procedure will apply under this statute.