Indiana Family Law

Abstract

These volumes are intended to provide attorneys, scholars and students with a comprehensive source for Indiana family law, together with various practice materials. The forms, checklists, etc., will, of course, need to be tailored to suit the particular case, local rules and practice.

A prominent theme reflected in these volumes is the gradual erosion over the years, in Indiana as in other states, of the trial court's discretion in family law cases. The increased legislative role in dictating a result in areas where the judge previously enjoyed unfettered discretion is evident in many areas, e.g. custody of children, parenting time and division of marital property. The reviewing courts have also shown a willingness to make rules for family law, e.g. Indiana's child support and parenting time guidelines, promulgated by the supreme court. The constitutionalization and federalization of family law have further limited the trial court's power of decision when addressing, for example, the rights of non-marital children and their parents, custody disputes between natural parents and third parties, and interstate jurisdictional disputes, which often accompany enforcement of child custody and support orders. It is therefore appropriate to remind the attorney that while much of the decision-making in Indiana family law continues to be reviewed by the abuse of discretion standard (a test of reasonableness rather than whether the trial court was right or wrong) and the clearly erroneous standard, counsel can expect the trend to be greater scrutiny on appeal with increased attention to errors of law. With greater guidance from Indiana's legislature and appellate courts, it is reasonable to expect consistent development of the law through more meaningful appellate review, which clarifies the boundaries of family law and thereby permits attorneys to counsel clients with an ordered set of legal expectations and, it is hoped, encourage greater numbers of domestic disputes to be resolved amicably through mediation where appropriate.

No legal treatise can adequately explore the many social and behavioral science sources of information and available extralegal procedures for resolving what our clients perceive as legal problems. These volumes are not intended to serve as a resource for family-based problems which should be referred to other non-law professionals.