Jeff Arnold recently teamed up with local attorney and former law partner Amy Noe Dudas to win a rare outright reversal of a child custody order before the Indiana Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals found that the Union Circuit Court judge had failed to consider the relevant laws and the child’s best interests in granting the father’s petition to modify custody. As a result, the Court of Appeals reversed the award of custody to the father and restored custody of the child to her grandmother, where she had been living for the past three years. Facts of the Case The now ten-year-old child wh ..read more

As discussed in a previous blog post, major changes to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines (ITPG) went into effect on January 1, 2022. We previously discussed several of these changes, but some of the additional issues that the amended IPTG address include: Parenting time during public health emergencies Clarification on make-up parenting time Addition of a section on shared parenting and removal of a section on parallel parenting How Does a Public Health Emergency Affect Parenting Time Orders? The COVID-19 pandemic created various problems for families with children, and especially those wi ..read more

The Indiana Supreme Court made some major changes to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines (ITPG) that took effect on January 1, 2022. This version of the IPTG will apply to new or modified parenting time orders that reference the IPTG that a court issues on or after January 1, 2022. Some of the major changes, which we will discuss in greater detail below, include: Publication of an online calendar to help parents create a parenting time schedule for the year Clarification on what a parent can and cannot do to restrict communication between the child and the other parent Changes to reduce conf ..read more

  In a rural community like Wayne County, having a driver’s license is an absolute must. You generally need to be able to drive to get to work, transport your children, and get medical treatment. When you lose your driver’s license, the consequences as to your ability to support your family can be severe. If you have a driver’s license suspension due to a DUI or another reason, you may be eligible for a “specialized driving privilege,” which can allow you to legally drive on a limited basis. Eligibility for Specialized Driving Privileges You might be eligible for specialized driving privi ..read more

During the recent legislative session, lawmakers passed 167 new laws that Governor Eric Holcomb signed into law. While a few of these laws went into effect immediately due to their urgent nature, most new laws take effect July 1, 2021. Here’s what you should know about the new Indiana laws for 2021. Driver’s License Suspensions HEA 1199 changes various aspects of driver’s license suspensions in Indiana. License suspensions are a common penalty in DUI cases, among other types of criminal offenses. The goal of this legislation was to reduce license suspensions based on mostly economic reasons. S ..read more

If you or a loved one gets arrested, you likely are unsure what to do, especially if you have never been arrested before. While every case is different, here is a general idea of what to expect when you get arrested and what you should do to protect your legal rights. You can get arrested on a warrant that a judge has issued after finding probable cause that you committed a crime. However, you also can get arrested without a warrant, often if a police officer witnessed you committing a crime. The arresting officer will place you in handcuffs and read you your Miranda rights. He or she will tak ..read more

Although DUI or OWI charges and penalties are the same statewide, every county court handles these charges a little bit differently. As a result, the procedures and penalties that you can expect when you are facing first time DUI charges can vary significantly from one county to another. Here is what you can expect when you are charged with a first-time DUI offense in Wayne County, Indiana. In Wayne County, you have two options for resolving an OWI charge: Serve seven days in the Wayne County Jail, OR Complete the “OWIP” or “Operating While Intoxicated Program,” which is a lengthy intensive tr ..read more

One of the many issues that you will encounter during your divorce is how to divide up property that either you, your spouse, or both of you have obtained during your marriage. Property does not only include homes and real estate, but it also includes bank accounts, retirement or investment accounts, personal property like furniture, motor vehicles, and anything of any value. Your divorce decree should state which spouse gets what property, whether you can reach an agreement with your spouse or the judge makes a decision after a court hearing. Property that the Court Can Divide in a Divorce Un ..read more

Shared parenting after a divorce is a relatively new concept that is gaining ground in courts in Indiana and other states across the nation. Instead of more traditional custody and visitation arrangements, many judges now are leaning toward co-parenting or shared parenting relationships. In this kind of arrangement, parties often have their children in their care for relatively equal amounts of time and cooperate to make decisions for the best interest of their children. Traditional Custody and Parenting Time Models Historically, one parent usually received custody of the children following a ..read more

Indiana Code § 9-30-5-1 establishes the criminal offense of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated, which refers to driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Many people commonly refer to this offense as DUI. Throughout this blog post, then, we will use the terms DUI and OWI to refer to this offense. Drivers commit DUI when they operate motor vehicles while they have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of 0.08% or more or while they have a Schedule I or II controlled substance, or its metabolite in their systems. The level of charge that you will face for an OWI can depend on ..read more