Fort Wayne and Auburn, Indiana Attorney at Law
A divorce is initiated in Indiana by filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The Petition must allege that the person filing the Petition has been a resident of Indiana for six (6) months, and of the County in which he / she intends to file for three (3) months. It must list the date of marriage, date of separation, children that were born to the parties, and indicate whether the Wife is pregnant. If the Wife is filing, it should list whether she seeks the restoration of her maiden name. Lastly, it must cite grounds for divorce. With rare exceptions, this is usually "the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage."
Once filed, Indiana's Rules of Trial Procedure indicate that a divorce may not be finalized until sixty (60) days have passed. Many times, the parties have immediate needs that require prompt attention, regarding issues of custody, support, parenting time, possession of property, preservation of assets, and allocation of debt. They have a need for prompt resolution of these issues, and are unable to wait sixty (60) days, let alone the months that follow if no agreement can be reached. To provide this relief, a party may seek Provisional Orders, or temporary Orders that resolve these issues on a temporary basis until the parties or the Court can provide more permanent relief. It is typical to attend a Provisional Order hearing within a few weeks of filing the Petition.
Once temporary relief is in place providing guidance on these issues, the parties can focus on finalizing the divorce. A divorce can end by dismissal of the Petition, a Marital Settlement Agreement, a mediated Agreement, or a Final Hearing. A guiding principle to keep in mind when finalizing a divorce is how to allocate the estate. In Indiana, there is a presumption that if all of the estate's debts and assets could be liquidated, then each side should end up with half of this net estate. Many times parties mistakenly believe they are entitled to "half the equity in the house," when in reality, they are entitled to half the net value of all assets of the marriage. To establish this amount, we utilize a "marital balance sheet."
There are a number of exceptions to this equal division presumption that a Court may take into consideration. A Court may find that the duration of the marriage, the earning abilities of each party, the extent to which property was acquired before the marriage or through gift or inheritance, or the extent to which a spouse has dissipated assets are bases to deviate from this presumption.
Nordmann Law Offices provides a more thorough explanation of all these ideas at a free initial consultation.
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Nordmann Law Offices
Fort Wayne Office
110 West Berry Street
2010 National Center
Fort Wayne, IN 46802-2316
260-420-5511 (phone)
260-420-5521 (fax)
Auburn Office
600 South Main Street
Auburn, IN 46706
260-925-5200 (phone)
260-420-5521 (fax)
Based in Fort Wayne and Auburn, Indiana, Nordmann Law Offices represents clients in Fort Wayne, Auburn, Angola, Indianapolis, Decatur, Bluffton, Columbia City, Huntington, Albion, LaGrange, and Kendallville; as well as Steuben County, De Kalb County, Allen County, Noble County, Wells County, Adams County, Huntington County, Whitley County, Marion County, and LaGrange County, Indiana.
