I’ve Been Arrested for OWI in Indiana, What Happens Now? Being arrested and charged with OWI in Indiana can have devastating effects on your and your family’s life. Of course, the circumstances in every case differ, but jail time may always be on the table, and getting immediate, competent, skilled, professional legal advice and guidance is mandatory. Of course, your arrest is the first step of any OWI case in Indiana. This begins your initial stage of getting through the Indiana OWI court process. The police will usually stop you if they have a suspicion that you are driving under the influen ..read more

General Facts About Indiana’s OWI Checkpoints You Must Know. Many states do not use OWI (aka DUI) checkpoints, but they are still used throughout Indiana. For example, nine checkpoints have been used in Hamilton County over the last four years. These resulted in 19 OWI arrests and charges. According to a recent study done in Indianapolis, OWI checkpoints are found to be highly effective when it comes to reducing drunk driving charges in most downtown areas and may significantly reduce alcohol-related accidents. That said, OWI checkpoints in Indiana continue to be used. Therefore, you must unde ..read more

Although Indiana does not tax estates or gifts, the federal government does maintain a steep tax rate on these for individuals who leave qualifying estates or give large amounts of gifts. As the IRS describes it, the estate tax is a “tax on your right to transfer property at your death.” This is why gifts and estates are taxed together—in case a taxpayer tries to give away their estate before death to avoid taxation. The estate tax exemption includes not only the value of the estate but the total value of taxable gifts that the deceased person made in their lifetime, as far back as 1977. Howev ..read more

Handling an estate through probate can be a famously lengthy and drawn-out process, but in Indiana, state law makes it possible to have an estate settled in six months or less if there are no complications. However, that is not guaranteed, and a full probate case can take a year or more. A quick probate requires a small, simple, well-organized estate; a conscientious and harmonious family or group of distributees; and a well-staffed court that processes filings expeditiously. Few of us can expect to have all of these. Nonetheless, a little estate planning can allow loved ones to receive gifts ..read more

When a person dies, their remaining property and assets are known as their probate estate. The decedent’s next of kin—or those named in their will—may have interests in the property from the estate, but that does not mean they can take possession of it just because the decedent died. In order for others to take legal ownership of the estate’s property, someone must serve as a personal representative for the decedent and oversee the administration of the estate. Administration involves making the appropriate court filings in the county where the decedent lived, compiling and presenting an inven ..read more

Planning your estate is largely a matter of asset protection. To preserve your property and resources for your loved ones, you need to keep them as safe as possible from creditors and from lengthy, unnecessary, and expensive legal processes, such as probate and taxes. Fortunately, the state of Indiana does not currently levy estate tax, gift tax, or inheritance tax on the estates of those who died after 2012. However, Indiana estates remain vulnerable to taxation in at least three ways: Federal gift tax In order to discourage people from giving away all of their assets before death to avoid t ..read more

For ordinary drivers, truck crashes are perhaps the most terrifying and overwhelming of auto accidents. According to the 2020 data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), 83 percent of those killed in large truck accidents were not the ones in the truck. In Indiana alone, there were 157 deaths due to large truck or bus crashes that year. If you have been through an accident involving a truck or another commercial motor vehicle (CMV), you may want to know how to stop the driver from causing another crash like yours. The federal government and the state of Indiana both take ..read more

Indiana’s License Point System As in most states, Indiana’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) has a point system that determines the consequences when a driver has a record of repeated traffic violations. Following a traffic violation, your license will receive a point score, and those points will remain on your license record for two years. Even if it happened outside of Indiana—say, speeding down the interstate—the BMV can add points to your license if your violation was also against Indiana law. Most of us try to do our best on the road, but even two points here and there can add up. It is wis ..read more

Spring is coming, and it will soon be time to put away the snowmobiles and get ready for outdoor fun on ATVs, dirt bikes, and jet skis. A day in the sun often includes alcoholic beverages, and it’s all too common for people to drink while they take spins on their favorite recreational vehicles or even while they take a drive out into the country. Sometimes people believe that it’s legal to drink at the wheel, or the handlebars, if they do it on property that belongs to them or to someone else who does not mind. That’s not true in Indiana. Here, the law does not make an exception for drinking a ..read more

If you have been involved in a construction accident in Indiana, what can you do to protect your rights? The answer depends on whether you were an employee on the job site and how the accident happened. You may need to act fast to make sure you have followed all the necessary steps under Indiana law. Whether you were a worker, a neighbor, or just passing by, an attorney will be able to help you determine who is liable. When a Construction Accident Involves You or Your Property What happens when construction damages property or causes an injury to a third party? A passerby might be struck by fa ..read more