Please read below to help you answer some of the questions you may have about your situation
Q: How much is this going to cost me?
A: At your initial consultation, Attorney Schnitzius will assess the complexity of your case and set the amount of the retainer. A retainer is a deposit against future legal work.
Q: What are the various types of adoptions?
A: There are 4 different types of adoptions (list the ones on the website & private adoptions). Courts require parties seeking to adopt to hire counsel. Only in other types of family matters can you typically represent yourself.
Q: How do these types of adoptions differ from one another?
A: In an agency sponsored adoption, the agency is matching the prospective adoptive couple with the biological mother and baby. The agency will typically perform a home study. In a step-parent adoption, the child is being adopted by the step-parent with the consent of the biological parents. A step-parent adoption may also be appropriate if one of the biological parents passes away.
A grandparent adoption comes about due to the death of the parents or placement by the Indiana Department of Child Services in a termination of parental rights case.
In the event that a child is placed with a family, and the permanency plan becomes adoption, Attorney Schnitzius will work with the Indiana Department of Child Services to finalize the adoption. This is what is considered to be a state sponsored adoption.
Q: Do I have to go to court for my divorce?
A: No, you don't have to go to court. Only a small percentage of divorces are finalized in a courtroom. Terms of a divorce can be settled between the parties themselves, between two attorneys, in mediation or a combination of all of the aforementioned methods. To learn more about mediation, click here.
Q: How is child support determined?
A: Child support is determined by calculating each parties gross weekly income, the amount paid for the child's health insurance (on a weekly basis), daycare expenses and the amount of overnights spent with each parents.