The Attorneys at Dixon & Moseley, P.C.
Strong, Trial-Ready Advocates Protecting Your Rights
In many cases, when the marriage is “done”, the question becomes “how fast can I get a divorce?”. The answer is, “it depends”. No one likes the uncertainty and turmoil associated with divorce. Often, a divorce significantly impacts family, friends, and work. So, in theory for most litigants, the sooner the divorce is complete, and the marriage dissolved, the better…
In child custody disputes, whether initially made with a divorce or paternity filing, or on with a modification petition, the court decides child-related issues before it by determining what is in the best interests of the child. With most cases, a party seeking custody, as well as the court, want to “hear” from the child in some way. This blog…
In child custody proceedings, Indiana trial court judges award or modify custody by considering all1 of the evidence in order to determine a custody arrangement in the child’s best interests. There are several statutory considerations for the court to weigh, including the physical and mental health of the parents, as well as any other facts or circumstances that may factor…
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…
Any party to a divorce, paternity, or the Court may request/order a custody evaluation. A custody evaluation is normally done to request a professional’s opinion on what is in the children’s best interests for custody, parenting time, and/or relocation. At the end of the process, an evaluator will make custody type recommendations to the Court after spending a significant amount…
In custody matters, the best interests of the children are paramount, and the process seeks to determine who shall have physical and/or legal custody of the minor children of the parties. However, the parents are the parties to a custody matter, not children, and in fact, children’s statements are generally hearsay, and not admissible in Court under the Rules of…
One common question parties wishing to appeal decisions/sentences/judgments have is how the Court of Appeals will hear the evidence underlying an appeal. A common misconception is that all appellate cases are heard before the Court of Appeals. However, it is only a fairly small percentage of cases that are heard and argued in person before the Court of Appeals, in…
With our ever technical society, utilizing all forms of technology from Facebook, Twitter, blogging, book reviews on amazon.com, and comments on news stories at any number of national and international news outlets, when does expressing one’s opinion cross the line from constitutionally protected free speech1 to a criminally punishable crime? Here at Dixon & Moseley we regularly utilize blogging to…
In Part I of this blog post, two of the “mistakes” that often occur by nothing more than human nature in a custody evaluation were discussed: (1) trying to answer psychological testing in a favorable way, and (2) coaching children to a degree before a custody evaluation. It is important to be aware of these because they can occur…
At we believe custody evaluations sometimes play a vital role in the preparation of a client’s case to facilitate it settling, typically in mediation, or to make it the best it can be for trial. The lynchpin of a custody evaluation is the evaluator’s consideration of collateral material. In basic terms, collateral information is what allows the evaluator to ascertain…