Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana

time line after petitioning for custody

my ex of 5 yrs.has now filed for custody,thats it.. just filed! my question is: IS there a time limit or does this just hang till he decides or he gets more money for his lawyer..its going on 12 months now since he filed..


Asked on 1/14/04, 2:42 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Mary Ann Wunder Wunder & Wunder

Re: time line after petitioning for custody

Most generally a person filing a petition to modify custody must submit to the Court an proposed form of order to set the issue for hearing. If you went to a hearing and were told to go to mediation, get an evaluation, or do something before coming back to court, then it is up to the person making the request or the person petitioning to take the necessary steps to see that the requirements are complied with. If the petition was merely filed and not followed up on, then until you are served with an order setting a hearing or ordering you to do something, there is really nothing at issue before the court. You do need to call the court to make sure there was not a ruling on the petition for a hearing you were not aware of. Some courts will hear an issue no matter how much time has passed, others will treat it as if the motion were not filed or were denied.

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Answered on 1/15/04, 11:06 am


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