In addition to the guilty grounds for divorce, Indiana, like all other states, allows a spouse to file for divorce through no fault of his or her own. A no-fault divorce on your part means that you don`t have to show the court that your spouse did something wrong for the court to grant your divorce. To file for divorce in Indiana through no fault of your own, file the divorce petition with the court and declare that the divorce is irretrievably broken. In a case of no-fault divorce, if one of the spouses wishes to divorce, there is nothing the other spouse can do to prevent it. The final step in the divorce process in Indiana takes place after the court approves the settlement agreement or makes its decision after a final hearing: a dissolution judgment is recorded. The judgment makes the divorce official and final. Mediation is another step in the Indiana divorce process that can take place at any time after the divorce. In fact, the parties were even able to mediate before the application for dissolution was filed in order to reach agreements for an uncontested divorce. As a general rule, however, the parties made a discovery or exchange of information prior to mediation. How to choose the right lawyer? It`s like asking, “How do you choose the right car?” Ask your family or friends for a recommendation. Or call a few lawyers to discuss your case.
Read reviews from potential lawyers to see what their former clients think of them. Most lawyers have free consultations to discuss your potential divorce case. Ask each lawyer about their fees and hourly rate. See which lawyer you connect with best or which lawyer is familiar with the law and the issues you face and can answer all your questions intelligently. These are all good signs that the lawyer is a good choice. In mediation, the parties are usually separated in separate rooms and may not even see each other. The mediator will act as a mediator to find out what each party wants and try to get the parties to come to the center for an agreement. One party can give up what it wants, and the other party can give up something in return. Lawyers act as lawyers for their clients and explain to the mediator the facts that they believe will support their clients` claims and the facts that they believe support what they believe could be attributed to them at the last hearing (trial) if the parties do not reach an agreement. In mediation, you can resolve all issues or some can be decided, but others can be left to the judge at a final hearing. For example, you could agree to a division of the parties` property, but leave custody issues to the judge. As much as we would all like to believe in a perfect ending, marriages don`t always last forever.
However, couples should know that divorce is not the only option when the marriage falters in Indiana. Legal separation in Indiana can offer many of the same solutions as divorce, but without ending the marriage. If you think legal separation might be the right next step for your marriage, The Indiana Legal Separation Attorneys at Keffer Hirschauer LLP can help. There are many benefits of legal separation in Indiana. This includes a “period of reflection” before one of the spouses takes the last step towards divorce. Since the government has an interest in preserving the marriage, the court wants a consensual outcome between the spouses. Indiana legislatures have stated in I.C. ยง 31-15-9-1 that arbitration may include referrals to one of the following entities: A divorce claim (or motion for dissolution) is filed in your county of residence (for at least three months) in the state where you have lived for at least six months. The petition can be submitted by hand to the district office where you are submitting it. One concern I hear from clients is that they do not know where the spouse currently lives, or that their spouse has left the country, so they cannot serve them with a copy of the petition and subpoena. Indiana`s divorce laws provide that the other party must be served in the same manner as service of subpoenas in civil lawsuits.
Another method of serving another individual application is publication. Indiana also recognizes legal separation as a temporary alternative to divorce. Legal separation may be an attractive option for you if you are separated from your spouse and want matrimonial property and custody issues to be decided without ending the marriage. After one year, however, the legal separation ends and the spouses have the option to return to their marital status or continue the divorce. Under Indiana`s divorce laws, Indiana is a state not guilty of divorce. This means that in Indiana, the spouse filing the divorce does not have to prove the fault of the other spouse, such as infidelity or any other reason. Most petitions simply say that there was an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, and that is enough. In addition to the irremediable failure of the marriage, Indiana also recognizes three other reasons for divorce, but they rarely come into play: This is called notification or service of the divorce petition. To proceed with the legal separation, the court must agree that the conditions of the marriage make it unbearable for the parties to continue living together.
The court must also declare that the marriage must be maintained. If the court hearing the application for legal separation finds that these conditions are met, it may issue a decree on legal separation. A legal separation order cannot be issued by the court if an action for dissolution of marriage, the legal name of the divorce, has already been filed. Well, as a disclaimer, this article is not meant to be legal advice.. .