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Feb
26
Avoiding Court Hearings Part of New Lake Co. Indiana Family Law Rules
Filed Under Lake County Courts | 2 Comments
Avoiding unnecessary motions and hearings is another goal of the Lake County Family Law rules, according to its commentary for L.R.45-F.L.00-3.
“Attorneys must change their primary focus in family cases,” states the commentary.
“Instead of gathering evidence or other ‘case building,’ the attorney’s primary focus must be on defusing the underlying source(s) of conflict(s) by helping the family to find the ways to reach resolution of their issues by using means which are less destructive than litigation.” See Commentary, L.R.45-F.L.00-3.
As a part of their duty to work as co-problem-solvers with the court in all family cases, if safe to do so, attorneys should:
(1) speak with all clients, as early as possible and as often as necessary, about the advantages and judicial expectations of safe cooperation in family cases;
(2) refer clients to all co-parenting classes, counseling, mediation, and other problem-solving processes that appear to counsel to be promising resources for their clients;
(3) work with other counsel to ensure safety in families where domestic violence has been, or reasonably could be, an issue;
(4) work with other counsel in all cases to reduce conflict, build cooperation, and protect children;
(5) avoid unnecessary motions and hearings; and
(6) use the least divisive processes in pursuing safety, fairness, cooperation, and the protection of the best interests of children …
Feb
26
Lake County’s New Family Law Rules Promise Fundamental Changes
Filed Under ChristopherHedges.com | Comments Off
Lake County, Indiana’s new family law rules shake up the old notions of family law often portrayed on television shows and movies. If the Lake County local rules work, divorce and other family law matters not be so filled with conflict and tension as they may have been in the past.
The new Lake County, Indiana Family Law local rules require “fundamental changes in the local legal culture, including the manner in which attorneys approach family cases,” according the commentary on L.R.45-F.L.00-3 which outlines the general obligations of cooperation of attorneys and parties.
The Circuit and Superior Courts of Lake County recognized that conflict in family cases is destructive and often dangerous. Litigating family cases does not end or resolve the conflict; it heightens the conflict. The cooperative model for handling family cases is implemented in order to minimize such conflict and, instead, foster the healthy and child-sensitive functioning of families.
The Lake County family law local rules seek to set the tone for dissolution, divorce and other family law matters even before cases are brought before the courts. The rules stress that attorneys have a vital rule in reducing conflict and setting the tone of cooperation for Lake County family law cases.
Actions taken in the earliest stages of parents’ separation and other family crises, whether those actions are helpful or destructive, often define much of the future of the family case and the family; and, attorneys’ language and conduct in these earliest days are often crucial to the future course of both the case and the future functioning of the family. Until the case is filed, the courts have no involvement and are powerless to help families at that point; however, at such early stages, attorneys can either set a tone of beneficial cooperation or of destructive conflict for the families they touch.
