Indiana Divorce
In order to have a legal divorce in Indiana, individuals must first
meet the residency requirements for the state. The court must also
accept the requirements, and if the court finds that the jurisdiction
falls elsewhere, the case will be dismissed.
When a divorce petition is first entered at least one of the
individuals involved in the divorce must be a resident of the state of
Indiana. In the case of armed forces, an individual must be stationed
in Indiana for a minimum of six months to be considered a resident for
petitioning. All divorce proceedings are to be filed to the county
circuit court where at least one individual has residence. If the
individual petitioning for divorce does not reside in Indiana, the
proceedings are to be filed in the Indiana county of the other spouse.
Divorcing Grounds in Indiana
All divorces, no matter where they be in the United States, need to be
based on certain legal grounds. The grounds for an Indiana divorce will
need to follow Indiana laws. Both individuals petitioning for divorce
will conclude on what grounds they will be filing for divorce. If only
one individual is bringing the proceedings to the court, then he or she
will have to decide on his or her own and prepare to defend these
grounds to a judge.
Indiana has two different types of divorcing grounds. The first is
called no fault grounds where the marriage has been deemed
irretrievable. In these cases couples counseling can often precede a
divorce petition.
The second type of divorce is called fault grounds and has three
subsections. The first is where one of the individuals involved in the
marriage has been convicted of a felony offense. The second is where
impotence has been the cause for the breaking of the marriage. And the
final subsection is that of mental insanity for a period of two years
or more and having been deemed incurable.
The Granting of Spousal Support
Though many divorce cases end in spousal support, not all do. There is
no Indiana law that states that spousal support is mandatory, as it is
awarded depending on the circumstances of the case. This kind of
support can be awarded on a permanent basis or a temporary basis.
When spousal support is to be rewarded, if the individuals involved
cannot reach an understanding, then the court will weigh the case and
the finances of each and will decided accordingly.
The court can take several variances into consideration beforehand.
These include supporting a spouse while he or she is mentally
incapacitated; determining the property and funds involved as to
provide for necessities; how many children are involved, if any, and
who will be caring for them; the previous education of each individual
when the marriage commenced and ended and if the education was halted
due to the marriage; the capacity for how each individual will be able
to earn finances after the divorce; and the ability to acquire
sufficient education in the future.