A dissolution of marriage in Indiana requires that at least one spouse has lived in the state for six months and in the filing county for three months, that the filing spouse states one of four statutory grounds, and that at least 60 days pass between filing the petition and the court entering a final decree. In between, the court handles property division, custody, support, and any maintenance, either by approving the spouses’ agreement or by deciding contested issues at a final hearing.
Who Can File and Where
Before a court will accept your petition, one spouse must have lived in Indiana (or been stationed at a military installation in the state) for at least six months, and that same spouse or the other must have lived in the filing county for at least three months.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-15-2-6 – Residence; Filing in County of Guardian’s Residence Military members stationed in Indiana meet the requirement even if their legal domicile is somewhere else.
If neither spouse meets the threshold, the court will dismiss the case. Indiana courts can end the marriage itself when only one spouse lives in the state, but disputes over out-of-state property or children living elsewhere can slow things down.
Grounds for Divorce
Indiana recognizes four grounds, and no others:2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-15-2-3 – Grounds for Decree
- Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage
- Conviction of either party of a felony after the marriage
- Impotence existing at the time of the marriage
- Incurable insanity for at least two years
The overwhelming majority of filers choose irretrievable breakdown. The fault-based grounds require evidence (criminal records, medical testimony, documentation), which raises the cost and length of the case. A fault finding can influence property division or maintenance, but most attorneys recommend no-fault filings unless there is a specific strategic reason to do otherwise.
Filing and Serving the Petition
The case begins when one spouse files a verified Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with the circuit or superior court in the appropriate county. The petition must include each spouse’s residence and length of residence, the date of the marriage, the date of separation, the names and ages of any children under 21 or any incapacitated children, the grounds, and the relief requested.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-15-2-5 – Verified Petition; Averments; Guardian Filing Petition Indiana does not require a separation period before filing, but the separation date helps the court decide the cutoff for marital property.
Once filed, the petition must be served. Indiana’s rules allow service by registered or certified mail with a return receipt, by personal delivery, or by leaving a copy at the respondent’s home followed by a first-class mailing.4Indiana Courts. Rule 4.1 – Summons: Service on Individuals Service by publication may be available when a spouse’s location is genuinely unknown. The respondent then has 20 days to file an answer.5Indiana Courts. Rule 6 – Time Improper service can delay or dismiss the case.
The 60-Day Wait and Provisional Orders
Indiana requires at least 60 days between the filing of the petition and the final decree.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-15-2-10 – Final Hearing Many cases take considerably longer. During that time, bills still come due and children still need care, so either spouse can ask the court for provisional orders covering:
- Temporary maintenance for a lower-earning spouse
- Temporary custody and child support
- Possession of the family home or specific assets
- Protective orders where domestic violence is a concern
Provisional orders stay in effect until the final decree or until the court modifies them.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-15-4-1 – Motions The court can also order counseling at this stage. Asking for a provisional order early is often what keeps a household functional while the case moves forward.
How Property Gets Divided
Indiana starts from a presumption that marital property should be divided equally. A spouse who wants an unequal split has to present evidence that overcomes that presumption.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-15-7-5 – Presumption for Equal Division of Marital Property; Rebuttal That is a sharper starting point than the pure “equitable distribution” rule used in some states.
The property subject to division includes everything acquired during the marriage, everything either spouse owned before the marriage, and property received by gift or inheritance.9Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-15-7-4 – Division of Property Pre-marital property and inheritances are not automatically shielded in Indiana. Where the property came from is instead a factor the court weighs when deciding whether to deviate from an equal split.
Other factors that can justify an unequal division include each spouse’s contribution to acquiring the property (through income or homemaking), each spouse’s economic circumstances at the time of division (including the value of keeping the home for a custodial parent), each spouse’s earning ability, and any conduct involving wasting or hiding assets. Reckless gambling, concealed purchases, or transfers to third parties to put assets out of reach are the kinds of behavior that lead judges to award the other spouse more.
Retirement Accounts and QDROs
Retirement accounts are often the biggest asset after the house, and dividing them takes an extra step. For private-sector plans governed by ERISA, the court must issue a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). Without a valid QDRO, the plan can only pay the participant, no matter what the decree says.10U.S. Department of Labor. Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Under ERISA: A Practical Guide to Dividing Retirement Benefits
A QDRO directs the plan administrator to pay a portion of benefits to the other spouse as the alternate payee. Drafting matters: a poorly worded QDRO can produce the wrong amount, the wrong schedule, or outright rejection by the administrator. Government and church plans are typically outside ERISA and follow different procedures depending on the employer. Transfers of property between spouses incident to divorce are generally not taxable at the time of transfer under federal law, but the receiving spouse inherits the original cost basis, which matters at sale.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1041 – Transfers of Property Between Spouses or Incident to Divorce
Spousal Maintenance
Indiana does not treat maintenance as automatic. A court may award it only after specific findings, and only in three categories:12Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-15-7-2 – Findings Concerning Maintenance
- Incapacity maintenance, when a spouse is physically or mentally incapacitated to the point that it materially affects self-support. It can continue as long as the incapacity persists, subject to review.
- Caregiver maintenance, when a spouse is the custodian of a child whose incapacity prevents the parent from working.
- Rehabilitative maintenance, to support a lower-earning spouse while they get training or education. The statute caps this at three years from the date of the decree.
For rehabilitative maintenance, the court looks at each spouse’s education at the time of marriage and at filing, whether the requesting spouse interrupted a career for homemaking or child care, each spouse’s earning capacity, and the time and expense needed to gain marketable skills. Fifteen years out of the workforce raising children carries real weight; a recent graduate degree and current work experience makes a request much harder.
Taxes on maintenance changed with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. For any divorce finalized after December 31, 2018, maintenance is not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient.13Internal Revenue Service. Divorce or Separation May Have an Effect on Taxes That shift matters when negotiating amounts, because the payer no longer gets a tax benefit.
Child Custody
Indiana courts decide custody on the child’s best interests, with no presumption favoring either parent. The statute lists specific factors:14Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-2-8 – Custody Order
- The age and sex of the child
- The wishes of each parent
- The child’s wishes, with more weight at age 14 or older
- The child’s relationship with each parent, siblings, and other significant people
- The child’s adjustment to home, school, and community
- The mental and physical health of everyone involved
- Any pattern of domestic violence by either parent
- Whether a de facto custodian has been caring for the child
Custody has two components. Legal custody is who makes major decisions on education, health care, and religion. Physical custody is where the child lives day to day. Either can be sole or joint, and many Indiana judges favor joint legal custody absent a reason not to.
If a parent plans to move and the move would increase the distance between the parents’ homes by more than 20 miles and require changing the child’s school, the parent must file a notice of intent to relocate with the court that issued the order. The other parent can object, which triggers a hearing on the child’s best interests.15Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-2.2-1 – Notice of Intent to Move Residence Moving without filing damages a parent’s credibility with the court.
Child Support
Indiana uses an Income Shares Model, which estimates what the parents would have spent on the child together and splits that amount proportionally by income.16Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Child Support Guidelines – Guideline 1 – Preface The calculation accounts for both parents’ gross incomes, existing support obligations for other children, health insurance, childcare, and parenting time.
The duty to pay generally ends at age 19.17Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-16-6-6 – Duty to Support Child; Cessation It can end earlier if the child is emancipated by joining the military or marrying, continue longer if the child is incapacitated, or be extended past 19 by notice if the child is still in high school. Educational support petitions for post-secondary costs are also available, with filing deadlines that depend on when the original support order was entered.
When a parent falls behind, enforcement tools include wage garnishment, tax refund interception, and license suspension. A court can hold a delinquent parent in contempt, with fines or jail time possible. Child support and other domestic support obligations are not dischargeable in bankruptcy.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
Finalizing the Divorce
Once the 60 days have run, there are two paths. If the spouses agree on everything, they can file verified pleadings with a written waiver of the final hearing and either a statement that no issues are contested or a written settlement agreement. The court can then enter a summary dissolution decree without anyone appearing.19Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-15-2-13 – Summary Dissolution Decree
If disputes remain, the court holds a final hearing where each side presents evidence and testimony. The judge then enters the decree, which ends the marriage and sets out every obligation: who gets which property, custody and parenting time, child support, and any maintenance. Both parties are bound by its terms, and violations can result in contempt proceedings.
Changing the Order Later
Indiana law allows modifications to custody, child support, and maintenance when circumstances change.
Custody modifications require showing that the change is in the child’s best interests. The threshold is deliberately high because stability matters.
Child support can be modified either by showing a change so substantial and continuing that the existing order has become unreasonable, or by showing that applying the current guidelines would produce an amount more than 20 percent different from the existing order, as long as at least 12 months have passed since the order was entered or last modified.20Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-16-8-1 – Modification or Revocation of Child Support Order or Maintenance Order Job loss, a significant raise, or a child’s changing needs can all support a petition.
Maintenance modifications depend on the type. Rehabilitative maintenance is capped at three years and generally cannot be extended. Incapacity-based maintenance can be adjusted if the recipient’s condition changes. Simply disliking the original terms is not enough.