How to Navigate Family Court

What to expect when you file to protect your child

Many protective parents will file for divorce when they discover their spouse is abusing their child. A protective parent could also ask the court for a restraining order or a legal separation.

We believe a child should not be living with their named abuser and supervised visits with the abuser are an option. If there is abuse, request supervised visitations for the abuser based on the facts.
Most healthy parents will do what is best for the child. In most circumstances for younger children, this means primary custody with the nurturing, primary parent. Children struggle going back and forth every other day, every other week, or even a split week such as a 2-2-5 rotation.

Court Reporter and Transcripts
To appeal a case or report any wrongdoings, a court transcript is needed. Most counties do not provide court reports and the litigants are responsible for hiring a court report if they choose to do so. For due process, there should be a transcript of every hearing. New legislation would be required to have court reporters for every county and in every courtroom. Litigants must contact the court reporter to purchase the transcript directly from them.

Americans with Disability Act (ADA) - If you qualify with PTSD or any other disability (including diagnosis newly assigned by court professionals), you can apply for ADA accommodations. These can include a support person, extra time, request to record hearings to later review. See Karin Huffer’s book on Legal Abuse Syndrome.

Always be honest in your court documents. Typically the abuser will be fabricating information to disperse to the court. The abuser is in self-protection mode. Remember, the abusers job is to divert attention away from the abuse. Do not allow the abuser to get you off focus. Stand in the truth. Keep your focus on facts and the abuse.

Remain neutral in court.
Alway say “our children” and not “my children” in documents and while speaking in this process. Present the facts clearly and calmly, and ensure you want what is best for the children The facts may lead to the need for supervised visits. Your anger, frustration or resentment will not help the court make a responsible decision, regardless of how wrong the other party is in the matter. Take emotional content out of any of your documents.

Stay within the Court and do not use private evaluators or judges.
Many times, your attorney may urge you, or the court may order you, to hire a private evaluator. Avoid all private evaluators if at all possible. Most of the time the abuser is the one who can afford these evaluations that cost $8,000 to over $60,000. The protective parent usually cannot pay for these fees and the evaluators have been known to favor the parent who pays. Private judges are used more like settlement conferences. You will not be able to appeal these decisions if there are any wrongdoings in your process.

Stay calm.
The court only wants to deal with the facts. Stay calm and be respectful in court.

Indiana Family Code and Rules of Court

Knowing the law helps you navigate through the family court system. While most counties have very helpful pages on their own websites, you can view all the IN Family Law Code here as well as Rules of Court here

Judges’ Guides (these may be helpful and easier to read than the Family Law Code)

Strategies Used Against Protective Parents

Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) should never be used in Indiana or anywhere.
- Richard Gardner created PAS as a way of blaming the reporter of abuse. He also thought pedophilia and child molestation was OK. He committed suicide.
- PAS has been debunked and is not in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5).
- Abused children dislike their abusers without being told to do so.
The Judicial Council of IN teaches courts not to use PAS, but it is still being used throughout the state
Other strategies uses may include PAS with another name: delusional, parental alienator, enmeshment, man-child syndrome, coaching, manipulative, gatekeeping, and others.

The Guardian Ad Litem

The court may appoint a guardian ad litem, or GAL, to serve as a representative of your child in court. This person may or may not be a practicing lawyer. The court's intention is that the GAL will be an objective party, able to recommend what is best for a child without favoring one parent/guardian over another. This is not always what happens in practice.

Kid's Voice of Indiana is a non-profit organization that trains volunteer GALs. They have collected helpful information HERE which may of use.

If you have a grievance against a GAL and they are a lawyer, you can report them to the Disciplinary Commission. You may also be able to ask your attorney to submit a motion to remove the GAL from your case.

If the GAL lies in court and you have proof of it, you may be able to report them for perjury.

How to Report Wrongdoings

When you enter into the family court system, you believe all procedures and laws will be followed. In many cases, they are not. There are agencies that are designed to protect the public from wrongdoings. When you believe you are wronged, promptly report it. As a reminder, you will need court transcripts to better your complaint, although it is not required. While in the past, there could be retribution for reporting, we have been worked on making these agencies more accountable for ensuring family court judges, therapists, counselors and lawyers are more accountable. We are in this process of moving towards full accountability, working to ensure professionals are responsible for their actions by asking for audits and oversight hearings. Please note, these are all the agencies within Indiana. For other states, please look up the agencies in your area.

To Report a Judge's Conduct: Judicial Qualifications Commission

You can review the Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct and/or the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct to assess if you judge is guilty of misconduct.
To learn how to disqualify a judge in Indiana, see this site.

To Report a Lawyer: Disciplinary Commission

Just like judges, lawyers are required to follow the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct.
Unlike in many other states, the Indiana State Bar Association does not have disciplinary oversight of its members as it is a voluntary organization. The Indiana Supreme Court oversees attorneys through the Office of Judicial Administration.

To Report a Psychologist or Licensed Therapist: you can file a complaint with the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency here.

For perjury: You can report perjury to your District Attorney. This page has some helpful information on Indiana laws related to perjury. At this link you can find your county's prosecuting attorney.

To Report a Court-Appointed Expert: If they are licensed by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency you can report them at this website.

Keep in mind you can report a professional for operating without a license when they are in a licensed profession.

To Appeal Your Case Decision: If you disagree with a judge's ruling but no laws were broken, you can file an appeal. Information about the appellate process can be found HERE. You may also want to view the Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure.

DV LEAP is a non-profit dedicated to appealing cases for domestic violence victims, but they must limit their case load.
Step-by-step guide if you need to represent yourself in the appellate process.

Indiana Legal Help

Indiana Legal Help is an organization which provides easy-to-access information on finding a lawyer. It also provides many legal forms and answers to frequently asked questions.

Also, did you know that you have a right to an interpreter in the courtroom? At this webpage you can open a file and point to your language at the courthouse.

You may find this site easier to navigate than the State of Indiana website.

National Housing Law Project

The National Housing Law Project has compiled this extensive document to detail the housing rights of domestic violence victims. The information about Indiana begins on page 107, which you can click to in the table of contents. This information was compiled in 2017, however, and we cannot guarantee that all the information is up to date.