The Attorneys at Dixon & Moseley, P.C.
Strong, Trial-Ready Advocates Protecting Your Rights
Life is messy. Divorce really is messy and emotional; this plays out in the courtroom. Trial court judges often face the presentation of evidence in final hearings that is disorganized and ranges from notes and texts to emails and photos. With highly contested divorces, there may be multiple days of hearings over many months or even years. Mostly, for this…
Three Ways to Protect “Loans” From Family and Friends in Divorce Proceedings How can I protect money my parents or friends loaned me (actually “us” legally speaking) from being divided with my spouse in the divorce? A common scenario that unfolds in a divorce is a claim by the husband or wife that certain money in the marital estate and…
This blog discusses the considerations in the division of a farm as part of the marital estate and how same may be valued in a dissolution proceeding. A farm that as part of the marital estate creates unique issues in a dissolution of marriage, and the potential for argument over the ultimate division of the farm property, which the firm…
In some divorces, there is “foreign” real estate within the total marital estate1. Typically, this falls into one of three categories: (1) a timeshare or some other similar factional ownership; (2) a home or property sited in another state; or (3) a home or property located in another country. Under the Indiana Divorce Act—Indiana’s body of law that guides judges…
Marriages fail for many reasons. There are no longer fault-based divorces in America. This means that a spouse no longer has to prove “fault” such as adultery—an affair–to obtain a divorce. This is a different legal concept than “waste”—when a spouse uses assets and monies to support illicit or illegal acts that reduce the amount the trial court has to…
The Use of Forensic Accountants and Private Investigators to Find Hidden Assets in Divorce In Indiana when you file for divorce, there is a rebuttable presumption that the Court is to divide the marital estate or assets 50/50. Sometimes there are allegations that a party has hidden monies and other assets of the marriage that has to be divided. There…
In complex or high asset divorces, attorneys sometimes face property, such as a vacation home, located abroad. The question becomes, “is this part of the marital estate?” Yes. All property no matter where located is marital property. Indiana subscribes, under the Dissolution Act, to the one pot theory where all assets brought into the marriage, acquired during the marriage, or…
In a key case decided by the Indiana Court of Appeals, it clarified two important points about family law and college 529 accounts. These are educational accounts opened by a parent or parents for payment of college expenses for their children, with a parent as an owner and the child as a beneficiary. Normally, a petition for college expenses has…
The point of divorce is to divide and financially separate each party from the other—completely if there are no children; children are subject to the continuing jurisdiction of the court until emancipated or through college. This blog covers the complexities of situations where the parties have a parcel of real property in another state or country, addressing the question: Can…
Fortunately, Indiana has a strong and growing economy with little debt. For this reason, along with its central location, many marital estates are in excess of one million dollars. Divorcing parties in this situation are fortunate in that they likely have enough money to properly account for the basic cost of a divorce which is a complex legal transaction (including…