USA – INDIANA Law and Practice Contributed by: Andrew Z. Soshnick, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
withholding order, or any other remedies available for the enforcement of a court order (see Indiana Code, Section 31-15-7-10). In an effort to avoid enforcement issues, the receiving party may request security, such as pledge of assets, liens on stock or membership units, direct payment provisions, life insurance, and other assurances. International enforcement of financial orders is per ‑ mitted in Indiana – again, with more scrutiny given to orders from non-Hague Convention countries. 2.8 Media Access and Transparency in Financial Proceedings In Indiana, the media and press are able to report on financial cases. Courts are open to the public. How ‑ ever, if there are issues that would fall within the con ‑ fidentiality of the Indiana Rules on Access to Public Records Act, courts may restrict access to proceed ‑ ings and court documents. Trade secrets, confidential and proprietary financial and other information, and other types of non-public information may be pro ‑ tected from disclosure. There are two primary methods of seeking anonymity of proceedings. Parties may file a divorce case in any county in Indiana (subject to the other party request ‑ ing to move the case back to a county of residence) to try to limit likelihood of access. Some counties permit filings with initials as opposed to full names, but that is discretionary. Indiana allows for public access to the Chronological Case Summary of Filings and Pro ‑ ceedings (but not the actual filings for non-lawyers) for most types of family law cases (but not orders of protection, adoptions, and other categories). 2.9 ADR in Financial Matters Indiana has rules for ADR. Mediation, arbitration, and private judging is available to assist parties to resolve financial disputes. Several Indiana counties, by local rule, require media ‑ tion before a final hearing. If a party is non-compliant, courts can impose sanctions. Mediated agreements on financial issues are gener ‑ ally enforceable upon execution and are approved by courts as an order of the court. Agreements are
favoured under Indiana law to promote amicable reso ‑ lution of disputes (see Indiana Code, Section 31-15- 2-17).
3. Child Law 3.1 Choice of Jurisdiction in Children Proceedings
Indiana does not separate financial issues from chil ‑ dren’s issues in divorce cases. However, there are separate statutes that address jurisdiction for child custody proceedings if children’s issues are not part of a divorce case, such as paternity, post-divorce chil ‑ dren’s issues, guardianships, and children’s issues from other jurisdictions. Indiana has adopted a version of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (styled UCCJA rather than Uniform Child Custody Jurisdic ‑ tion and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA)) (see Indiana Code, Section 31-21-1-1 et seq). While not absolute, the six-month home state rule – the state where the child has lived with a parent or a person acting as a parent for at least the last six consecutive months is the child’s “home state” – applies in many situations. There are exceptions for emergencies and other situ ‑ ations. In addition to home state considerations, the best interests of children are considered when estab ‑ lishing jurisdiction. Home state is most relevant for children in determin ‑ ing jurisdiction when children’s issues are not part of a divorce case. In those instances, for the parents, having some nexus to Indiana is relevant – although the three-month county and six-month state require ‑ ments are not technically applied as in divorce cases. 3.2 Living/Contact Arrangements and Child Maintenance Custody Disputes If there is a dispute over custody and parenting time, courts will address those issues upon application of a party. Indiana has statutes and case law that gov ‑ ern the determination of both legal custody (making major life decisions for children) and physical custody (deciding what parenting time each parent will have). “Children” are defined as under the age of 18, for purposes of custody and parenting time (see Indiana Code, Section 31-9-2-13). Courts may make orders
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