Police cannot require you to unlock your smartphone ruled the Indiana Court of appeals. “A modern smartphone, with its central purpose of connecting its owner to the Internet and its ability to store and share incredible amounts of information in ‘the Cloud’ of online...
Firm News
Are you Thinking about Filing for Divorce? If so, Time is Running Out Before The End of Year and There are Tax Consequences in 2018
Under Indiana law there is what is commonly known as a mandatory waiting period after the filing before a divorce can be final. (The legal term is dissolution of marriage but for this article the term divorce is used). Pursuant to I.C. 31-15-2-10, "in an action for a...
Should You Hire a Lawyer for a Simple Child Support Matter? The answer is almost never a simple child support matter
SHOULD I HIRE AN ATTORNEY FOR MY CHILD SUPPORT CASE? Indiana parents risk unfair support obligations due to complex state laws By Doug Mentes, Esq. There are reports of not only parents, but attorneys and judges also, having trouble figuring out the calculations...
New Parenting Calendar Tool Available But Has Bugs So do not Blindly Follow
Parents who are under an order for Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines now have a new tool that assists them in making sure that they comply with the parenting order. If you go to https://public.courts.in.gov/PTC/#/ you can set up a calendar that automatically fills in...
Have You Recently Lost A Job Due To Accident Or Illness While Either Ordered To Pay Or Receive Child Support?
Many people do not understand that if they have had a change in their income due to accident or illness while they are ordered to pay or receive child support that they should immediately consult a family law attorney to see what affect, if any, it will have on the...
It is Graduation Time, What Next? Do You have a Child of Divorce or Paternity Graduating High School, Turning 19 or Planning on Post Secondary Education?
In 2012 Indiana law underwent a significant change regarding the children of divorced or never married parents. I.C. 31-16-6-6 was changed to make the age of emancipation for child support 19 instead of the previous 21. Because of this change, the child support duty...
Filing Your Own Paternity Case in Indiana
First, I have provided links to several resources.If the word has a line under it, you can click on it and go to the resource. As family law attorneys and mediators, we often receive calls asking about people filing their own paternity cases. When asked if...
End of Year Divorce Planning
Do you have a divorce pending as a lawyer or a party? If your divorce is eligible to be final before the end of the year do not forget to consider the income tax implications of the date of the divorce. Also, remember that courts may not be open the full day or at all...
The Status of Same-Sex Adoption in Indiana or, As we in Our Firm Call it, Adoption and Children of Same-Sex Marriage
Indiana is now required to recognize same-sex marriage For a historical background, prior to Baskin v. Bogan and Bowling v. Pence same-sex marriage was not legal in Indiana. Marion County previously had a local rule which required the adopting couple be...
Indiana Court Holds Landlords Liable to Occupant
LANDLORD HELD LIABLE IN SUIT BY OCCUPANT On September 28, 2017, the Indiana Court of Appeals, in Richter v. Laurenz Place, LLC, reversed the trial court’s judgment for the Defendant landlord. The Plaintiff, Kristopher Richter, sued his previous landlord, Laurenz...