Another Woman is involved

[risa7n]

Hello, I live in Indiana. I have been married for 7&1/2 years. Two children, 6 & 1 years old. My husband is wanting a divorce & has been "talking" to another woman, whom is divorcing her husband. They have been plotting this for a year, to leave & run off together. I am a stay at home mother, no income of my own. I know they have seen eachother, Is this adultry? What are my options?
How can i protect myself & children from being subjected to this other woman? Can I keep my children away from her, since they commited adultry? Need help, ASAP! Thanks.

 

[dorenephilpot]

Yes, from what you've said, I'm guessing there is some adultery going on. However, that probably doesn't matter legally because Indiana is a no-fault state. That means that the court doesn't care WHY you split up, only that the marriage cannot be salvaged.

In other words, you don't have to cite a reason to get a divorce here.

Now, adultery can be useful in a custody battle, however, if you can show that the children witnessed immoral acts. Otherwise, it's really not that legally relevant to the case.

You can file for divorce, ask for maintenance while the divorce is pending (or alternatively have the court order him to keep the house expenses up while it's pending). You are also entitled to child support.

When you file for divorce and kids are involved, the court will have a provisional hearing to decide temporarily who has custody and who pays child support/maintenance and how much. Those orders stay in effect while the divorce is pending.

Then after a 60-day waiting period is up, you can be divorced by doing either a settlement agreement in which you spell out all the terms and then both sign off on it and file it with the court OR if you cannot come to a settlement agreement, you can request a final hearing. The courts here will set a date for a final hearing but then order you to go to mediation first. If the mediation fails, then you go to the final hearing, and the court decides what happens from there.

Hope this information helps. Let us know if you have other questions. OK?