Divorce is often portrayed on television as a bitter, impassioned, dramatic expression of the real thing. While it can seem that way for the litigants, the matters that must be addressed in a divorce are ordinary but serious. The choices you make in the coming months will impact your financial well-being, your children’s well-being, and the fate of the assets held in your marital estate. There are many complicated legal issues related to divorce; an Angola divorce attorney can help you during this trying process.
There are three major issues that need to be resolved in a divorce. First, you and your former spouse both own a marital estate that must be divided in accord with the laws of Indiana. Second, the court must decide on the best interests of your children. Lastly, a decision must be made on child support payments so that the custodial parent can afford to support the children.
You and your spouse will also have to decide on and sign off on a visitation schedule for your children.
There are three ways to dissolve a marriage. The first is through litigation, the second is through mediation, and lastly, there is a new method called collaborative divorce that fills the gap between mediation and litigation.
When you see TV shows dealing with divorce, the divorces are always high-conflict litigation because that makes for good drama. However, the state of Indiana requires that all divorces first undergo a process of mediation prior to the litigation process. If no deal can be reached, then the matter heads to litigation.
While the Bellinger Law Firm handles litigation, we also provide mediation services to Indiana couples. In traditional divorces, each party has their own lawyer, and each side advocates for themselves in front of a judge. The judge then renders a final decision. Because divorces are so common now, the courts would be endlessly backlogged if every divorce was litigated. For that reason, the State of Indiana requires divorces to be mediated prior to litigation.
In a mediated divorce, one lawyer acts as a mediator or a judge to help the couple draft a divorce decree that a judge will later sign off on. The attorney’s job is to help the clients reach an agreement that saves the cost of protracted litigation and helps both partners move forward with their lives.
If you are currently considering divorce, contact the Angola divorce attorneys at The Bellinger Law Office today and we can answer any questions you may have.