Madison County Local Rules: LR48-AR00-18 Children in the Middle Seminars

Our unified courts (that is Superior Court 1, 2, and 3) and our Circuit Court require divorces with children to include the Children in the Middle Seminar. This local rule sets out how it is supposed to operate.

LR48-AR00-18 CHILDREN AND DISSOLUTION PROCEEDINGS
A. In all dissolution actions where there are minor children of the marriage, the Petitioner and Respondent shall separately attend a dissolution education workshop approved by the courtSeminars must be completed within thirty (30) days after a petition for separation or dissolution is filed.
B. Children over the age of 6 and under the age of 17 shall attend the court approved dissolution education program for minor children.

C. Seminar scheduling shall be arranged with the Office of Court administration (phone 641-9503), Room 417, Courthouse, Anderson, Indiana. Each party shall pay a fee of twenty five dollars ($25.00) for the dissolution education seminar. The parties shall equally divide the cost of ten dollars ($10.00) per child (not to exceed twenty dollars ($20.00) per family) for the dissolution education seminar for children. Seminar fees may be deferred upon a showing of indigence. The Clerk shall maintain a trust account for the collection of these fees and said fees shall be
disbursed by Court order.

D. The Clerk shall bring this rule to the attention of all dissolution petitioners and shall collect the petitioner’s fee at the time of filing. The respondent’s fee is due at the time of scheduling. The Clerk shall cause a copy of the rule to accompany the summons for service upon respondents.

E. Failure to comply with this rule may be considered civil contempt, and may delay the issuance of a final decree.

F. Upon its own motion or upon the motion of a party, the Court may require compliance in all cases involving the custody of children or in redocketed cases.

In all the years since the rule went into effect, I have not seen the use of contempt under E or any use of F. I do have a case where the mother still has not completed the seminar and the court has delayed signing the Decree.

For all of our local rules, follow this link.