Indiana

Maintenance and Depression

Initially my attraction rested on the idea that there are attorneys who foment litigation there as we have here. Not the most pleasant thing for attorneys to talk about but there are those who will make mountains out of molehills and have fee bills to match those mountains.

I kept reading for another reason. It seems that some Rhode Island attorneys use the depression caused by a divorce to seek alimony. The alimony being sought appears to correspond to Indiana's rehabilitative maintenance:

If the court finds a spouse to be physically or mentally incapacitated to the extent that the ability of the incapacitated spouse to support himself or herself is materially affected, the court may find that maintenance for the spouse is necessary during the period of incapacity, subject to further order of the court.

I am left wondering what to do when faced with the sort of case as the one in Rhode Island. I think most people are going to be depressed by a contested divorce. I suspect every judge I know of will think the same things I do. There needs to be evidence of a medical/psychological condition and not a mere bad day. There had better be a condition that puts the depressed party into the type of care that they cannot go to work.

I never found judges willing to award maintenance. I think a mere claim of depression will make them more willing to aware maintenance.

If you need an Indiana lawyer for your divorce case, give me a call.

Full post as published by Sam Hasler's Indiana Divorce & Family Law Blog on September 09, 2008 (boomark / email).