Guidelines for Child Custody and Visitation for Indiana

Obtaining Custody and Visitation In the State of Indiana

Unmarried Parents:  If you are an unmarried mother you have full custody of your child.  However, there may be instances when you may still need a written order from the court which documents your parental rights such as when you and the father are having difficulty with custody and visitation issues and a written visitation order is needed to avoid conflict, or you need to provide written proof of parentage to get your child(ren) a passport, etc.  The same rules apply to unmarried fathers.  If you want to pursue any of these orders against the father, paternity must be established.

If you are an unmarried father before you can get any custody or visitation orders from the court you must first establish paternity of the child(ren).  This is usually done at the birth of your child by signing a voluntary affidavit of paternity usually provided by the social worker at the hospital where your child was born.  The other way paternity is established is by making a request in court or private DNA test submitted in open court.  The state must first determine that you are the legal father of the child before it can order payment of child support or determining child custody.  If paternity has been established you can ask the court for custody and visitation or parenting time orders.  In Indiana, no unmarried man can have his name on the child’s birth certificate without signing  a paternity affidavit first.  If paternity has not been established you must petition the court to establish paternity along with custody and visitation orders. 

MARRIED PARENTS:  Parents married at the time their child is born have legal and physical custody of their child.  However, there may be times when a written court order regarding custody and visitation is necessary for married parents such as when married parents have separated and need a court order to facilitate custody and parenting time, or visitation.  Another instance could be when parents are divorcing and need a custody and visitation order while their divorce is pending.  If you are currently married to the other parent of your child(ren) and seeking court orders for child support, you must be prepared to file for a legal separation and divorce.  By filing for a legal separation or divorce, a court will have the proceeding it needs to order you able to see your children and get support for your children.  The difference between the two is with a legal separation, you arre telling the court that you are not ready for a divorce, but want the law to recognize that you are separate from your spouse.  A legal separation order is good for only a year.  A divorce is a formal proceeding to legally separate you from your spouse forever.

GRANDPARENT AND THIRD PARTY CUSTODY VISITATION:  Third parties such as step-parents, aunts, siblings and grandparents sometimes find it necessary to ask the court for help in maintaining contact with a grandchild or family member.  In these situations custody is not readily available to third parties, including grandparents, unless the child’s parents agree such as guardianship of a minor.  However, the court can consider visitation for third parties as long as one of the parents is deceased and the grandparent seeking visitation is the parent of the deceased.

MODIFICATION OF CUSTODY ORDERS, INCLUDING CHILD SUPPORT:  If you already have a custody or support order, but it is no longer working because there has been a “significant and continuing change in circumstances” such as the custodial parent has moved which requires a new enforceable parenting schedule, or the custodial parent can no longer care for the child(ren) then you will need to ask the court to modify your custody order to fit the new circumstances.  This also applies to child support orders.  If there has been a significant change in circumstances since the original order was made you can ask the court to modify child support.  It is important to note that in order to seek a modification, you will need a copy of the order – divorce decree, child support order, or child custody order, and any prior modifications – that you seek to modify. These documents and the content inside them provide the basis for your new request.

REGISTRATION OF OUT OF STATE CUSTODY ORDERS:  If you have a custody order that needs to be modified but the child and custodial parent, or yourself no longer live in the state that issued the original order you will need to petition the court in the state where the child and mother have lived for several months to register your custody order there in order to ask the court to modify it.  Generally the court that issued the original order will retain jurisdiction, however, as a matter of convenience you can ask that the order be enforced or modified in another state.

ENFORCEMENT OF CURRENT COURT ORDERS:  If you have a custody order which the other parent is not obeying and it is interfering with your parental rights you can ask the court to enforce the order and hold the other parent in contempt.  This is generally used to make the other parent comply with the order.  You can ask the court for makeup time with the child(ren) or even that the other parent be jailed for violating the court order.  You can ask for monetary sanctions to deter the other parent from violating an order in the future.  Generally, a judge will only award sanctions/penalties in certain cases where the violation was willful and purposeful.

Note the foregoing is meant to provide general information regarding custody procedures in Indiana and should not be considered as legal advice specific to your case.  You will be given the opportunity to provide About The Children with more information specific to your case after you have reviewed this page.

www.AboutTheChildren.org

800 787 4981

Related articles

• Which Child Custody Plan is Best For You and Your Children? (aboutthechildrenblog.com)
• How To Provide Emotional Stability As a Parent (aboutthechildrenblog.com)
• Parental Relocation in Child Custody and Visitation situations (aboutthechildrenblog.com)
• Let’s Define Our Child Custody Terms (aboutthechildrenblog.com)

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