Dedicated To Helping Indiana’s Families With Legal Issues
At Sterba & Swope, LLP, we provide a wide variety of family law services. Our attorneys have decades of experience helping individuals and families with their legal issues involving family law. Additionally. attorney Jill Swope is a Certified Family Law Specialist, as certified by the Family Law Certification Board.
Helping With A Broad Range Of Services
In addition to assisting clients with the full range of family law legal services, including
- divorce
- property division
- child custody and parenting time
- child support actions and enforcement
- step-parent adoptions
- adoptions
- paternity
- parental rights issues
- grandparent visitation
- mediations
We can help you and your family with:
- Name changes We can assist you in changing your name, or your child’s name, from the name that is listed on an original birth certificate. Certain requirements exist under state law for a Petition for Name Change to be approved, and we can explain the process to you during an initial consultation.
- Prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements With an eye toward avoiding future disagreement or litigation, people are able to enter into pre-nuptial agreements, and in certain limited circumstances, post-nuptial agreements. We are happy to discuss the availability of these options with clients and explore the ability to protect what is important to clients on a case-by-case basis under Indiana law.
- Appeals: When one or both parties do not agree with a final decision rendered by a trial court, they have the option of appealing that decision. Appeals in Indiana have very specific time parameters and requirements. As a result, you must take action within those limited frames or your right to appeal or respond is waived. We are happy to discuss the appropriateness of an appeal in your case, whether we represented you at the trial court level or not. We have successfully initiated and defended appeals to both the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court over the course of the last 19 years.
In January 2009, Lake County adopted new Local Rules of Family Law, which have, at their core, the objective of a cooperative approach to the resolution of family law matters. The adoption of the cooperative model is a change in philosophy from the traditional adversarial process in family law matters. The new Rules have the goal of protecting the best interests of children by serving the healthy and child-sensitive functioning of families, and this includes paternity matters.
To accomplish this cooperative approach, the attorneys at Sterba & Swope, LLP, and other attorneys in Lake County have executed a Family Law Attorney Pledge.
Our Pledge As Family Law Attorneys
We have pledged to: (1) make every reasonable effort to avoid court filings and hearings; (2) educate our clients on the dangers of parental conflict; (3) work to develop a culture of cooperation in resolving all child-based issues; (4) consistently practice cooperation, courtesy and respect with all persons involved in cases; (5) make reasonable effort to timely provide discoverable information; (6) tailor our pleadings, communications and advocacy to civilly address issues instead of igniting litigation; and (7) work cooperatively with colleagues, pro se litigants and the courts to assure the safety of all family members.
We can assist you in addressing all aspects of a paternity matter; advocating for you and your child’s best interest whether it be in Court or outside of the Courtroom.
Contact Us For Help With Your Legal Needs
For assistance in Lake and Porter Counties, call our Schererville office at 219-319-5239 or use our online contact form to make an appointment with our attorneys.