--- name: in-family-law description: > Use for Indiana family-law substantive matters — paternity (**IC 31-14**), dissolution/annulment/legal separation (**IC 31-15** — **equitable distribution, NOT community property**), child support (**IC 31-16** + **Indiana Child Support Guidelines**), custody/parenting time (**IC 31-17** + **Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines**), adoption (**IC 31-19**), UCCJEA (**IC 31-21**), CHINS (**IC 31-34**), TPR (**IC 31-35**), and protection orders (**IC 34-26-5**). Reference corpus holds current statutory text, thresholds, and subsection detail. Triggers: "Indiana divorce", "IN paternity", "IC 31-14", "Indiana child support", "IC 31-16", "IN custody", "IN equitable distribution". version: 0.1.1 --- # Indiana Family Law — Subject-Matter Bundle > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Indiana family-law statutes are > amended regularly; the Indiana Child Support Guidelines > and Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines (both published > as Indiana Supreme Court rules) are revised on a > rolling basis. This skill names the controlling > chapters and describes doctrinal frameworks; **current > statutory text, dollar thresholds, day counts, combined- > income caps, and section-level rules live in the > references corpus** at `in-law-references/references/ > in-statutes-debt/` and `in-law-references/references/ > court-rules/`. Verify before relying on any specific > figure. ## At a glance — Indiana's family-law architecture - **Substantive code**: **IC Title 31** (Family and Juvenile Law) — Indiana's consolidated family / juvenile code, with civil-procedure overlay from the Indiana Trial Rules and special-action statutes at IC 34-26 (protection orders). - **Court rules**: the **Indiana Child Support Guidelines** (a court rule with detailed worksheets and a combined- income schedule) and the **Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines** (a court rule with default residential- time schedules by age cohort) supply the day-to-day practitioner framework for support + parenting cases. - **Marital property regime**: **equitable distribution** under IC 31-15-7. Indiana is NOT a community-property state. The statute creates a rebuttable presumption of equal division. - **Child-support model**: **income-shares** under the Indiana Child Support Guidelines (court rule), keyed to combined weekly adjusted gross income; with a statutory cap above which the court has discretion. - **Forum**: Circuit Court or Superior Court (general- jurisdiction trial court) — see `in-family-court` for per-county venue topology. ## Chapter pointers (substantive) | Topic | Article | Reference file | |---|---|---| | Paternity (JP cases) | IC 31-14 | `IC-31-14.md` | | Dissolution / annulment / legal separation | IC 31-15 | `IC-31-15.md` | | Child support | IC 31-16 | `IC-31-16.md` | | Custody and parenting time | IC 31-17 | `IC-31-17.md` | | Adoption | IC 31-19 | `IC-31-19.md` | | UCCJEA | IC 31-21 | `IC-31-21.md` | | Department of Child Services | IC 31-25 | `IC-31-25.md` | | Juvenile court jurisdiction | IC 31-30 | `IC-31-30.md` | | Juvenile court procedure | IC 31-32 | `IC-31-32.md` | | Children In Need of Services | IC 31-34 | `IC-31-34.md` | | Juvenile delinquency / status | IC 31-37 | `IC-31-37.md` | | Protection orders | IC 34-26-5 | `IC-34-26.md` | For residency requirements, waiting periods, combined- income caps, modification-threshold percentages, specific factor enumerations, and day counts, **read the relevant chapter file**. Don't rely on memory. ## Paternity — doctrinal framework IC 31-14 governs the establishment of paternity for children born out of wedlock and the orders that follow (custody, parenting time, support). Paternity matters file as **JP case-type** in the county's Juvenile Court or Circuit Court. ### Methods of establishment - **Paternity affidavit** — executed in the hospital at birth or later through the State Department of Health; carries statutory effect as an acknowledgment of paternity. Rescission window is short (see chapter file). - **Judicial action** — a verified petition under IC 31-14, available to the mother, the alleged father, the child (through a next friend), the prosecutor, or DCS where public assistance is involved. - **Genetic testing** — IC 31-14-6 sets the framework. A test result above the statutory threshold creates a rebuttable presumption of paternity. ### Who can file + where Venue is broader than typical Trial Rule 75 venue: a paternity action can be filed in the county of the mother's residence, the alleged father's residence, OR the child's birth / residence. See `IC-31-14.md` for the full venue framework. ### Effect of establishment A paternity adjudication establishes the legal father and opens orders for: - Custody (initial determination) - Parenting time (per the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines, with court-ordered deviations) - Child support (per the Indiana Child Support Guidelines) - The child's right to inherit + claim benefits through the father - The father's right to seek custody / parenting time ### Statutory presumption favoring biological mother Indiana law historically created a presumption in favor of placing custody of a non-marital child with the biological mother. The presumption is rebuttable on the best-interests factors at IC 31-17-2-8 + the paternity- specific factors at IC 31-14-13-2. **Read the chapter file for the current presumption framework + factor enumeration.** ## Dissolution — procedural framework IC 31-15 governs divorce, annulment, and legal separation. Mechanical steps: 1. Verify petitioner's Indiana residency (county residency requirement) 2. File Verified Petition for Dissolution (state form available, not mandatory) 3. Serve respondent under Trial Rule 4 4. Mandatory waiting period before final hearing (see chapter file for current period) 5. Mandatory financial disclosures 6. Provisional orders (custody / support / restraints) on motion 7. Mediation where ordered (no statewide mandatory mediation, but most counties order it by local rule) 8. Final hearing → Decree ### No-fault Indiana is a no-fault state. The statutory ground is **irretrievable breakdown of the marriage**. Fault grounds (impotence, conviction of an infamous crime, incurable insanity for 2 years) remain technically available but are rarely used. See `IC-31-15.md`. ### Equitable distribution — IC 31-15-7 IC 31-15-7 establishes the equitable-distribution framework with a **rebuttable presumption of equal division**. The presumption is rebutted by application of the factors at IC 31-15-7-5 (contributions, economic circumstances, dissipation, etc.). Unlike community- property states, Indiana includes both marital + non- marital property in the divisible pool, subject to characterization arguments. For the factor enumeration and the contribution / dissipation / economic-circumstances analysis, see `IC-31-15.md`. ## Child support — Indiana Child Support Guidelines Indiana child support is calculated under the **Indiana Child Support Guidelines**, an Indiana Supreme Court rule with detailed worksheets (Worksheet A for sole- custody cases; Worksheet B for shared-physical-custody cases). The statutory backbone is IC 31-16. ### Calculation framework 1. Determine each parent's **weekly gross income** (broad definition; includes wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, self-employment income, investment income, government benefits) 2. Subtract guideline deductions (other court-ordered support, prior-born children, health insurance, etc.) to reach **weekly adjusted gross income** 3. Sum to **combined weekly adjusted gross income** 4. Look up the basic child support obligation on the guideline schedule 5. Apply each parent's pro rata share 6. Apply parenting-time credit (Worksheet B) for shared- physical-custody cases (using the parenting-time- credit table indexed to annual overnights) 7. Apply additional credits (uninsured medical, work- related childcare) **Combined-income cap**: above the schedule's upper bound, the court has discretion to extrapolate or apply the percentage of the parents' combined income at the top of the schedule. **Read the current cap from the Indiana Child Support Guidelines** (in `court-rules/Indiana-Child-Support-Guidelines.md` once the corpus is populated; pointer-stub for now). ### Modification Modification under IC 31-16-8 requires a **substantial and continuing change of circumstances**. Indiana has a statutory shortcut: a recalculation under the Guidelines that differs from the existing order by a defined percentage threshold creates a presumption of substantial change. **Read the current threshold from `IC-31-16.md`.** ## Custody and parenting time — IC 31-17 ### Best-interests factors IC 31-17-2-8 enumerates the best-interests factors the court considers when making the initial custody determination + parenting-time order. For the full enumeration, see `IC-31-17.md`. Common categories: - Wishes of parents - Wishes of child (with age-dependent weight) - Child's interaction + relationships - Adjustment to home / school / community - Mental + physical health - Evidence of domestic / family violence - Evidence of de facto custodian status (post-2002 amendment recognizing non-parent caregivers) ### Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines The **Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines** (a court rule) publish default residential-time schedules by age cohort (infant 0-3 / toddler 3-5 / school-age 5-13 / adolescent 13+). Courts presumptively apply the Guidelines unless deviation is in the child's best interests. Both the standard schedule and the shared- custody worksheet feed into the child-support Worksheet B calculation. ### Relocation IC 31-17-2.2 governs relocation by a custodial parent. Notice to the non-relocating parent is required; the non-relocating parent may object; the court applies the best-interests factors + relocation-specific factors. For the notice-period day count and the relocation- specific factors, see `IC-31-17.md`. ## Adoption — IC 31-19 Indiana adoption proceedings file as **AD case-type**. Available paths: - **Direct placement adoption** — birth parents place with adoptive parents directly - **Agency adoption** — through a licensed child-placing agency - **Stepparent adoption** — IC 31-19-15 (streamlined) - **Adult adoption** — IC 31-19-1 - **Foster-parent adoption** — IC 31-19-2 + DCS coordination Common procedural anchors: - Consent of biological parents (or termination of parental rights via JT case) - Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) applicability check - Home study by licensed agency - Background checks - Adoption hearing → Decree See `IC-31-19.md` for procedural specifics. ## UCCJEA — IC 31-21 Indiana's enactment of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. **Home-state jurisdiction** governs initial custody determinations: - "Home state" = state where child lived with parent for 6 consecutive months before commencement (or since birth if less than 6 months old) - Emergency jurisdiction for child present in IN + needs protection - Continuing exclusive jurisdiction once initial order entered For the home-state definition, emergency-jurisdiction mechanics, and the continuing-exclusive-jurisdiction framework, see `IC-31-21.md`. ## CHINS + TPR — IC 31-34 + IC 31-35 When DCS (IC 31-25) becomes involved, the case file in the Juvenile Division (or Circuit Court directly in counties without a separate Juvenile Court) as a **JC case-type** under IC 31-34. ### CHINS procedural framework 1. **Preliminary inquiry / fact-finding** by DCS 2. **Petition** filed by DCS or prosecutor; case docketed 3. **Initial hearing** — informal-adjustment vs. formal- adjudication paths 4. **Fact-finding hearing** → adjudication 5. **Dispositional hearing** → disposition (home with services, removal, foster care, etc.) 6. **Periodic review** (every 6 months) 7. **Permanency planning** (within 12 months of removal) 8. **Termination of parental rights (TPR)** at IC 31-35 if reunification fails — separate JT case ### Right to counsel Indigent parents have a right to assigned counsel in CHINS and TPR proceedings. The court appoints CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) or GAL for the child. See `IC-31-32.md` and `IC-31-34.md` for the procedural framework. ## Juvenile delinquency / status offenses — IC 31-37 Distinct from CHINS — **JD cases** address acts that would be a crime if committed by an adult; **JS cases** address status offenses (truancy, runaway, incorrigible). The procedural framework lives in IC 31-37 + IC 31-32. ## Protection orders — IC 34-26-5 Indiana's civil protection orders file as **PO case-type** under IC 34-26-5 (NOT IC 31). Available: - DV protection order (qualifying intimate-partner / household relationship) - Stalking / repeat-violation protection order - Workplace violence protection order (for employers seeking on behalf of employees) Ex parte temporary order on showing of immediate / present danger; full hearing within the statutory window; final order duration set by statute (renewable). For qualifying relationships, hearing-window day count, and order duration, see `IC-34-26.md`. ## Common-law marriage Indiana **does not recognize common-law marriage** (abolished by statute decades ago). Indiana will honor a common-law marriage validly created in another jurisdiction that recognizes it (under conflict-of-laws principles). ## Composition with other in- skills - `in-family-court` — venue mechanics + per-county routing (including Bartholomew Circuit Court for JP cases) - `in-statewide-format` — Trial Rule 5(E) format - `in-discovery` — Trial Rule 26-37 discovery - `in-post-judgment` — modification + enforcement - `in-pro-se` — pro-se framework - `in-fact-check` — citation verification