Indiana Divorce Legal Questions

You asked:  I agreed to have my soon to be ex-husband to have a temporary residence of our house during the provisional order, can I retract the order?Additional Details:I would like to refinance our house under my name and will give him half of the equity but he refused and wanted to sell the house instead. We cant agree on this term, what should I do? I would want to keep the house for me and my son but he wants us to move out because I signed the provisional order that he has the temporary residence of our home. The order is already past 30 days. Is it still valid? Can I file to appeal? Can I still refinance it eventhough he refuses? What should I do? I am a Michigan attorney, but may be able to offer some guidance.  Unless an order terminates on its own, the only way to get it changed is either by agreement or by filing a new motion to modify the order.  If your husband refuses to allow you to buy him out, then you will either have to file a motion asking the Court's help, or list it for sale.  Normally, all terms of sale, including listing and accepting price, must be mutually agreed.  In today's market, the house may not sell for the price he wants, and your offer may look better.  By filing a motion, the Court may permit you to have the right of refusal.  In other words, if a seller offers $100,000, you may have the option of buying it for $105,000.  These are issues that should be discussed with local counsel. Stu Shafer... Read More

You asked:  my husband is currently incarcerated in New Castle, IN Prison. I want to divorce him before he gets out which is June 22,2012. I need to know how?Additional Details:I need to know if I can file this divorce myself? I do not have any money and am currently living with my mother taking care of our three children. Is it free to divorce an inmate? my husband is currently incarcerated in New Castle, IN Prison. I want to divorce him before he gets out which is June 22,2012. I need to know how?Additional Details:I need to know if I can file this divorce myself? I do not have any money and am currently living with my mother taking care of our three children. Is it free to divorce an inmate? I am a Michigan attorney, but may be able to give you some guidance.  While no one wants to have to pay an attorney, I strongly recommend that you consult with a local attorney because there are custody and parenting time issues involved.  Michigan has a 6 month waiting period.  I do not know if there is a waiting period in Indiana.  You may want to call the local bar association to see if there is a Legal Aid or Pro Bono Legal Services available.  Also, if you are unable to use an attorney, you should check with the Court to see if they have forms you could file and whether the Court will waive the filing fee because of your financial situation.  Stu Shafer... Read More

You asked:  i am legally separated and have been for almost 2 years. do i have to file married filing joint. I am a Michigan attorney, and your question is better directed to either a local accountant or attorney; however, I think I can give you some guidance.  I think you are asking whether you are required to file tax returns a married, but separate.  I believe the two of you could agree to file joint tax returns, but if either of you do not want to file joint tax returns, then you may file married, but separate.  Both of you are not able to take the same deductions, and the two of you should agree as to which one of you takes the deductions. Stu Shafer... Read More

You asked:  If there is a protective order in place and the person it is against comes into the residence and takes a gun, is there any legal justice to be done?Additional Details:I filed a protective order in Feb of 2012 against my soon to be ex husband. He knew the protective order was in place but it stated clearly in the order it did not affect his parental time with the children. He came to the marital residence for parenting time. A few weeks later I had to have him arrested on violation of the protective order. As I am going through things in the house I have discovered he took one of our guns. When I questioned him about it he said he took so he could sell it for money. Is this something that I need to inform the judge about? I am a little concerned and I did not know if there was anything I could do. We technically are not allowed to remove anything from the house until assets have been divided. I am a Michigan attorney, and would recommend that you discuss this with a local attorney; however, I may be able to give you some guidance.  First, if you have an attorney, you should call your attorney to discuss this.  Second, you should check the Protection Order.  In Michigan, most Protection Orders prohibit the defendant from possessing a gun.  If your Order has that provision, then he is in violation of the order.  Third, you indicate that the Order prohibits him from entering the home, but allows him to exercise parenting time.  If the Order does not provide that he gets to exercise parenting time in the home, then he could exercise parenting time somewhere else.  If you let him in the home, then it is unlikely the court would violate him, but if you tell him that in the future he should exercise parenting time somewhere else, then he no longer should be in the home.  Fifth, it there is an order that prohibit him from taking items from the home, or if there is an order that prohibits either of you from selling items without the agreement of both parties, then he is in violation of that order, and you should so advise the Court. Stu Shafer... Read More

I don't practice in your state, but as a general matter, that personal guarantee probably would not be severed because of a divorce, unless that was written into the document. One thing you might think about doing is getting someone from his side of the family to step in and guarantee *your guarantee*, but that would probably come at some cost negotiation-wise from your soon to be ex. Lots of luck.... Read More

You can file a Petition for Rule to Show Cause against him for his failure to comply with the Divorce Decree. In the event the judge agrees that your ex-husband is in violation of the court order, you may be entitled to recover the attorney fees you had to pay to hire an attorney to file the Petition for you. The downside is that if he filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and the debts were not considered maintenance or support, he may not be responsible to pay the debts. In that case, you do not have any recourse against your ex-husband. You may qualify to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy to discharge debts that are dischargeable if you meet the requirements. ... Read More

In your situation, transferring the deed to your wife by quitclaim (or other) deed will make her the owner of the property, but it will NOT take your name off the mortgages.  When you signed the mortgage documents, you entered into a contract between you and the bank/lender.  Only that lender/bank can remove you from a mortgage.  Normally, the only method of having your name removed would be for your wife to refinance the home and have the new mortgage placed solely in her name.... Read More