The Attorneys at Dixon & Moseley, P.C.
Strong, Trial-Ready Advocates Protecting Your Rights
Indiana’s elected judges are tasked with the important job of weighing the evidence of the parties’ positions when presented with a custody modification case or contempt of court for a wide range of circumstances, such parenting time interference. In a recent key dissent (from granting transfer [i.e., taking the case by its discretion]), the Indiana Supreme Court1 signaled that when…
Permanency and stability are keys for children; Courts are mindful of this in considering all requests for custody modification in a child’s best interests. For this reasons, Indiana trial courts and attorneys are reluctant to entertain “emergency” motions for child custody modification in all but extraordinary situations because this is incongruous with taking the time to allow the attorneys to…
Children are literally our future. When parties divorce or in paternity actions or subsequent custody modifications, most litigants (Mothers and Fathers) make three key mistakes multiple times. Sometimes this impacts their custody objective and causes negative outcomes when they are avoidable. This blog explores these three key mistakes and how to avoid them. The first is testifying in terms of…
Stability and continuity of home life for children after divorce is a strong policy found in Indiana’s custody modification statutes and case law. Specifically, a parent who does not have physical custody can file a petition to modify such custody to him or her. However, the non-custodial parent must demonstrate a substantial change in circumstances and it is in the…
Over the course of several decades of collective domestic practice, attorneys observe two reoccurring mistakes that parents make, perhaps unknowingly, that may lead to contempt or modification actions or otherwise institute ill will and make it harder to co-parent and act in the children’s best interests. This blog post explores these mistakes so divorcing or divorced parents can avoid them.…
The Line Between Abuse, Neglect and Criminal Acts in Indiana One of the strongest constitutional protections is the fundamental right to raise children without the State telling parents how to do it. However, everyone understands that freedoms and rights come with responsibilities and obligations. This is also true for children. Indiana is a conservative legal state, but has drawn lines…
Making the Factual Showings in Custody Modification Almost every two people hear about a situation and come up with a different opinion. This is because second hand reporting removes the context and non-verbal communication that may be present, such as grimaces, winces, and other body language. Because of this, the Indiana Court of Appeals and Indiana Supreme Court give great…
In Indiana, the term custody includes two distinct concepts, namely physical and legal custody. Physical custody generally refers to the parent with whom the child will spend the majority of overnights with during a year. Legal custody focuses on which parent (or both) make major decisions for the children, focusing on health, education and religion. This blog post explores these…
Most divorce cases resolve before trial. However, a small number proceed to trial or have post-divorce custody modification matters. In either case, there are three ways to undermine the strongest case that are inherent in human nature. This blog explores the matters and demonstrates why they are harmful. Avoid them. First, in original divorce cases, it is easy to make…
Indiana trial court judges are charged with the difficult task of making child custody decisions in the children’s best interests. This is daunting in contested divorce cases as the actual parents cannot agree to what is best for their own children. To assist them, judges on their own or with request of an attorney, appoint trained individuals ranging from trained…