Indianapolis Law Blog

When Indiana couples decide to divorce, they may frequently consider the immediate financial issues, from dealing with spousal support to dividing property. At the same time, it is important to note that divorce can have a significant effect on both parties' retirement, even if that milestone remains years ahead. In many cases, retirement accounts and pension funds may be some of the largest marital assets to be handled in property division, and both parties may find themselves needing to dramatically escalate their retirement savings after a split.

Even though an IRA is owned by one individual, that does not prevent it from being considered a marital asset. In general, any type of account that is acquired during the marriage is considered marital property subject to division in a divorce. In addition, pensions are also generally considered marital property. The portion of the pension that was accumulated during the marriage is subject to division; this means that the effects can be much more substantial when people in a long marriage separate, while a short marriage may have relatively little effect.

Many divorcees often cite the process of separating from their husbands and wives of many years as one of the most difficult periods of their lives. While several of them often bring up the stressful events that led to the divorce or their time in court, not a lot of them discuss what happened immediately afterwards.

While you do have comfort in living independently after the court approves your divorce papers, there’s numerous tasks you must take care of now that you’re single. Adjusting to the post-divorce life is especially difficult for spouses formerly married to someone serving in the military. Knowing what obstacles lie ahead of you after the divorce may make you approach the proceedings differently.

If an Indiana driver is caught drunk while behind the wheel, chances are they'll get arrested. The accused will then have to enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty. Pleading guilty is an admission that the charges are right, leading the accused directly to sentencing. Should the defendant wish to plead not guilty, they will have to attend a preliminary hearing before their case goes to trial.

In a nutshell, a preliminary hearing is sort of a trial before the trial where a judge listens to the case from both the prosecutor and the defense attorney and then decides whether there is enough evidence for the trial to move forward. In other words, the judge has to decide whether the prosecution has amassed enough evidence to convince a jury of the culpability of the defendant and whether this evidence will hold up in trial after the defense has tried to discredit it.

Married couples in Indiana who choose to get divorced will likely need to figure out what to do about the marital home. The first step in making a decision is determining how much the home is worth. That can be done by getting an appraisal, and each spouse should get their own appraisal to ensure that it is done in an accurate manner. Once the home's value has been determined, a couple can choose how to split the equity.

One common method of doing so is to sell the home and split the proceeds. If one person wants to keep the home, the loan can be refinanced to take the other spouse off it. During the refinance process, equity can be pulled out of the home and split with the person who is leaving. The final option is to share the property until it makes more sense to sell or refinance.