Custody & Visitation

When a marriage or relationship dissolves the impact on children from the relationship can be devastating. Parents and children both suffer a loss as living arrangements change and one parent faces spending less time with his or her children. To make this transition easier on your family, it is ideal if both parents can agree to custody and visitation arrangements. Custody and visitation is established at the time of the divorce and may be periodically revisited if circumstances change. 

There are two basic forms of custody in Indiana. The most common form is sole custody, where one parent has primary physical custody of a child and the non-custodial parent has visitation rights. The custodial parent has the primary responsibility for making decisions for the child. The other form of custody is joint legal custody. Under this arrangement one parent usually has primary physical custody, and the other has visitation rights. However, both parents must consult each other and discuss any important decisions, which need to be made with respect to the child. 

A third form of custody is joint, shared custody where the parties actually have a somewhat equal division of physical custody of the child. This arrangement works more smoothly if both parties live in close proximity and if they can cooperate and get along for the sake of the child.

You should know that Indiana has enacted statewide guidelines for parenting time for a non-custodial parent. The custodial parent cannot arbitrarily deny visitation, even if the non-custodial parent has failed to meet child support obligations.

To learn more about child support or visitation and your legal rights as a parent, contact one of our experienced attorneys to set an appointment.