• General Topics
  
• Dissolution of Marriage
  
• Custody, Visitation & Child Support
  

Indiana is a "no-fault" State, meaning that an "irretrievable breakdown" of the marriage is sufficient for a dissolution of the marriage. You do not have to state any specific reason for the dissolution, and your spouse is not required to agree to the dissolution. Indiana has abolished absolute and limited divorce.

The residency requirement is that at least one of the parties (not necessarily both) has lived in the State of Indiana for at least one hundred eighty (180) days prior to filing the dissolution action, and a resident of the county where the petition is filed for three (3) months preceding the filing of the petition.

Even if you and your spouse both agree you want a dissolution, it is only "uncontested" if you agree to every provision concerning custody, visitation, support, maintenance, and division of property and debts. If any of these matters are disputed and cannot be settled through negotiations, your dissolution is NOT uncontested and a trial may be necessary.

If your spouse has been physically violent to you, you can obtain an Order of Protection from the Court before or after filing for a dissolution of marriage. You do not need to also file a dissolution of marriage action to obtain an Order of Protection, although they can be filed at the same time.

Currently, there is no legal significance with respect to whether the Husband or the Wife files the Petition.

No dissolution can be granted until at least 60 days have passed since your spouse was served with the Petition. This is a minimum period of time. Most uncontested matters are completed three to four months after service. Contested matters can take as long as 12-18 months or longer, depending on the Court's calendar. The time that it will take to obtain a dissolution varies with each individual case.

It is not necessary that the parties appear in Court to obtain the final decree of dissolution of marriage. If the parties agree to the issues, each can waive a hearing in the matter and file their stipulations with the Court. If matters in the dissolution are contested and the parties are not able to reach an agreement, the matter will end up in Court.