The Attorneys at Dixon & Moseley, P.C.
Strong, Trial-Ready Advocates Protecting Your Rights
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…
Every parent has heard or seen a story about a couple whose child is taken and secreted in another state by the other when troubles develop in the relationship. This has been a problem since the 1960s. In 1968, a uniform act was proposed that would ultimately be adopted in all states in some forms by the early 1980s. This…
In the 1960s and 1970s, the trend of one parent taking a child to another state or country was recognized and remedies were implemented. There are over 200,000 parental abductions each year. This blog post summarizes the four legal remedies available for inter-state and international custody disputes where one parent simply leaves with the child. Within the United States, a…
Under Indiana law, a trial court starts dividing the marital estate with the presumption of an equal division. There are numerous reasons for the court to deviate and award the other spouse more if it is fair (equitable in legal parlance). A category that is often overlooked is “dissipation” of marital assets, which means the illicit or illegal acts of…
Be Informed, Not the Criminal Defendant By any account, Indiana is unique in its identification with the right to keep and bear arms. For instance, hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers have a License to Carry Handgun. While the need for a license, and in some general sense understanding of the need for training on safe gun handling is widely accepted…
Every judge in every county and attorneys observe certain cases where the parents cannot agree on anything and are constantly in court post-divorce as it relates to children. The miracle of courts is it allows a dispute to be resolved when every other institution and solution fails. But it exacts a price on the parents, judges and lawyer—and ultimately the…
Divorce and child custody cases present common issues and unique ones to every family that comes to Court. To assist attorneys in making their client’s best case, Indiana judges sometimes gather and present seminars for practitioners to give them guidance in what helps best present every case. The Indianapolis Bar Association presented a seminar with Marion County and surrounding counties’…
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…
The Divorce Act and cases that control Indiana divorce law are driven by policies that favor the parties reaching agreements. Particularly where children are involved, agreements avoid the “warfare” that sometimes ensues with contested custody cases. However, all such agreements must be in the children’s best interests. Ultimately, Indiana’s trial court judges stand in loco parentis (act as a parental…
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…