In Indiana, the law provides for a “no-fault” divorce. This means that if one party wants the divorce, the court will be obligated to grant it. Closely related to the “no-fault” system is the fact that the reasons why one party wants a divorce does not have any impact. Neither party is required to explain why they want the divorce.

The issue surrounding the children include many things, including custody. It is difficult to summarize in a brief answer, but Indiana recognized two different types of custody – joint legal custody and sole custody. Joint legal custody means the parents share decision making authority for major life decisions, such as health care, religious upbringing and education. Sole custody means that the custodial parent makes those decisions.

A necessary part of every divorce is dividing up assets and debts. The presumption under the law is that those are divided equally. Further, anything of value is subject to being divided. That includes future pensions, 401k Accounts, cars, home equity, bank accounts, and many other things. Thus, for your retirement account, whether it is a pension plan (payments at retirement) or a 401k (lump sum tax deferred retirement account), it is subject to being divided.

Indiana Law does recognize the rights of parties to enter into prenuptial agreements, which is simply an agreement of how to divide up assets should the marriage end in divorce or at death. The agreement must be entered into before the wedding ceremony. It also should be done in sufficient time to allow both parties to fully read and understand the agreement, and contact an attorney to help review the agreement.

No. In fact, most divorces are settled without having to go to court for a final contested hearing. There might be some preliminary hearings on temporary matters, however, often the courts will direct the parties to attend mediation, and most attorneys will reach out to the other side in an effort to resolve the case without court or mediation.

Mediation is a process where the parties get together with their attorneys and a neutral mediator. The mediator will try to help the parties find a solution to whatever issues remain in the case. Mediation usually does not happen immediately, but can happen whenever the parties have sufficient information to make their final decisions. Most attorneys feel mediation is an excellent way to resolve the case without the extra expense of motions and risks of going to court. Closely related to mediation is arbitration. With arbitration, you can select your own arbitrator (usually a lawyer who is a mediator and experienced in divorce law) to make decisions instead of going to a court fight. This often can be less expensive, and occur more quickly, than waiting for court.