Bryan Lee Ciyou Family Law Blog

The Castle Doctrine is an ancient legal concept or maxim. It dates from Roman times and its law. The concept is fairly straightforward. The castle, sometime ringed by a wall or mote, and/or its adjacent fields, stock, and storehouses could be (had to be) defended by force from all intruders and other attacks.... Read More

The Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines and commentary set forth when a non-custodial parent should have the kids. They were adopted by the Indiana Supreme Court and are presumed to apply to all custody orders issued by all of Indiana’s trial courts.... Read More

One in two marriages ends in divorce. Approximately 40,000 divorces were filed in Indiana last year. Human nature causes all of us to question our marriages from time to time: We only see the public side of the other couples, or what they want us to see; it is easy to think everyone else has it better.... Read More

Ciyou & Dixon, P.C. divorce attorneys routinely field questions about technological advances that may be used to gather critical evidence. Indeed, the tools that are available sometimes allow amazing pieces of evidence to be captured, authenticated, and have an evidentiary basis laid for their admission into evidence and use in the courtroom proceedings.... Read More

Parenting Coordinator questions are frequently asked of Ciyou & Dixon, P.C. divorce attorneys. To understand the answers, some history of custody and visitation (now called parenting time) is in order.... Read More

The first is simply what a spouse contemplates and does just before meeting with a divorce attorney (or after) to facilitate the process. This is a common conversation that Ciyou & Dixon, P.C. attorneys have with clients: “Please bring us the following documents: your last three years’ tax returns, last six pay stubs, a completed financial declaration, a copy of your most recent statements on any financial account . . . .”... Read More

Ciyou & Dixon, P.C. is asked this question on a frequent basis. Clients see the provision for changing counties of venue as applicable to their situation. This rule was revised several years ago, making it harder to change venue from the county where the matter occurred and in which it is filed for trial — although, if the parties agree, they may file in a different county.... Read More

At Ciyou & Dixon, we have handled virtually every type of Indiana paternity case, from the straightforward in establishing paternity to the novel and unusual, such as challenging DNA results. The area is fairly technical since the legal system evolved around the traditional model of a married man and wife and family, and child born in wedlock.... Read More

Every experienced divorce attorney has had the conversation with a client about custody of the beloved family dog, affectionately named “Rover” in this post. In the times of high emotion and stress that often accompany a divorce, the unconditional love given by a pet may make all the difference.... Read More

They are not. Indiana’s one-pot theory pulls all assets and liabilities brought into the marriage or acquired during the marriage but before the filing of a divorce into the “pot” or marital estate for division.... Read More