The Attorneys at Dixon & Moseley, P.C.
Strong, Trial-Ready Advocates Protecting Your Rights
Divorce, paternity, or other domestic litigation is a stressful process, and can often lead to anger, bitterness, and miscommunication between parents. However, as we embark on a new year, take a moment to read these five (5) tips for ringing in the New Year more harmonious parenting time. 1. Be understanding of scheduling issues Especially around the holidays, everyone’s schedule…
In Indiana, there are 3 competing theories to obtaining custody of a minor child. The three ways to obtain custody are: first, the natural parent presumption (lawful adoptions will fall in line with this custody theory as well); second, guardianships; and third, de facto custodians. There is a statutory presumption, meaning that unless other evidence is presented to the contrary,…
With today’s ever-expanding accepted concept of what makes up a “family”, which is far beyond the nuclear family definition, such as step parents and step siblings, aunts, uncles or grandparents caring for his or her sister or brother, or child’s children, there is much confusion as to who has the legal rights to the care and custody of child if…
During divorce, paternity, or subsequent custody proceedings, the issues of physical and legal custody are often the singular legal objective. Previous blogs have discussed the general distinction between physical and legal custody. Namely, that physical custody involves where the child sleeps the majority of the time, and legal custody refers to decision-making for the child. Legal custody is generally defined…
Domestic matters are often fraught with complexities, one such major issue being parents’ inability or unwillingness to get along with the other parent. Often, domestic law cases involve extreme emotional issues that can cause communication problems. Compound this with both parents wanting as much time as possible with the child(ren), and it can create a situation where the parents are…
During family law litigation, parents face a spectrum of emotions, ranging from frustration, anger, and a sense of loss, all interacting with one another. This is quite frequent when child custody disputes are in play. In almost any domestic litigation scenarios, aware parents can use these emotions to deal with stressors in an incremental fashion to return to a state…
This blog series has focused on the bodies of law, loosely dealing with jurisdiction, that provide remedies for parents having their children taken or kidnapped from their legal custody by the other parent. We have discussed how there are both state and federal remedies to prevent and/or return children who have been taken or abducted within the United States. However,…
The UCCJA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act), also known as UCCJEA or by other slightly different acronyms in some states, is a Uniform Act adopted in some form (it differs state to state) by the states in the 1980s to aid in the question of which state has jurisdiction over child custody matters. While federal law is supreme to state…
As noted earlier, while most divorce and family law litigation is contentious and a stressful and difficult time for families, rarely does it result in one parent taking or actually kidnapping1 a child from the other parent. However, in those rare circumstances, there is a federal law, the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA)2 to help return children to their custodial…
While thankfully not a common occurrence in most domestic disputes and litigation, parents embattled in a custody or divorce dispute have kidnapped their own children and left the state or even country. This is obviously a worst-case scenario for any parent, and there are several laws that cover this devastating matter to prevent the same from occurring. Due to the…