Our Managing Partner, Douglas E. Johnston, is scheduled to present as a speaker at an upcoming continuing legal education seminar through the Allen County Bar Association. The seminar is scheduled for July 30, 2020, at 12:00 p.m. and will cover the topics of how bankruptcy and divorce law interact.
Child Support
Not necessarily. Indiana statute alleviates the need to obtain the consent of a biological parent in certain circumstances. For instance, non-payment of child support for a period exceeding one year or lack of contact with a child for a period exceeding one year can sometimes mean you can adopt without a biological parent’s consent.
Child Custody and Visitation
If you’ve found yourself in a legal issue, our skilled legal team can handle even the most complex issues. Get the advantage for your situation, call us now to better understand your options. Our goal is to counsel you, from start to finish, so you understand the specifics of your situation and help guide you in the right direction. Call us now: 260.426.0545 CHILD CUSTODY RIGHTS Child custody issues deal with the “best interest” of the child. The Court presumes that both parents are equal in their parenting abilities. The court must determine in its discretion, what is in the “best interest” of the child taking under consideration the following factors and all other relevant factors...
Adoption
Adoption is one area of the practice of family law that most clients find to involve a very positive interaction with an attorney – and a good reason to have one! There is no doubt that the opportunity to add to the family through adoption is one of the most cherished times in life. Whether it is a step-parent adoption, a third party adoption or consulting on the effects of an adoption, it is important to understand the varied and complex rights of all parties involved. It is important to have proper guidance through all of the steps of not only the technical court proceedings, but the decisions leading up to that and implementing related strategies afterward, such as adjusting estate plans, related family law cases, and other matters.
Paternity
Premarital Agreement
Indiana Law does recognize the rights of parties to enter into prenuptial agreements, which is simply an agreement of how to divide up assets should the marriage end in divorce or at death. The agreement must be entered into before the wedding ceremony. It also should be done in sufficient time to allow both parties to fully read and understand the agreement, and contact an attorney to help review the agreement.
Legal Separation
If you’ve found yourself in a legal issue, our skilled legal team can handle even the most complex issues. Get the advantage for your situation, call us now to better understand your options. Our goal is to counsel you, from start to finish, so you understand the specifics of your situation and help guide you in the right direction. Call us now: 260.426.0545 PATERNITY OR DIVORCE OR LEGAL SEPERATION There is a big difference between a divorce (also known as a dissolution of marriage, legal separation) and a paternity action. A divorce can only be filed when a marriage has occurred. A divorce terminates the marriage. A legal separation can only be filed by a married person, but only lasts for one (1) year before it must terminate by law and the parties remain married. Its purpose is just to separate the two (2) spouses temporarily and to temporarily determine custody, support, parenting time, possession of a marital home and automobiles and determine the responsibility for debts of the parties. A paternity is when a couple has a child when they are not married (out of wedlock). The purpose of a paternity action is to establish who the parents are, custody, parenting time and child support. FATHER’S CHILD CUSTODY RIGHTS Many fathers believe they have minimum rights to their children. Sometimes fathers perceive a bias in the legal system against giving Fathers custody of their children. This perception is not found to be true. It is the attorney’s job to present all relevant facts at trial to the judge. These cases are complicated by the fact that in many homes the father works and the mother raises the children. More mothers’ are now in the workforce. In some families, not only does the mother work, but she also does the child raising, meal preparation, house cleaning, laundry, etc. We advise all fathers’ to “step up to the plate” and get equally involved with all aspects of child care and child raising. This includes doing house cleaning, laundry, meal preparation, taking children to doctors appointments and extra-curricular activities, giving bathes, putting kids to bed and playing and talking with their children. More fathers are doing these things than ever before and as a result more fathers are now getting custody of their children.
Tyler J. Rotstein is a resident of Fort Wayne, Indiana Tyler received his BA degree in business administration from Bluffton University (Ohio) in 2018. While at Bluffton, Tyler was a member of the varsity football team. Tyler earned his JD, magna cum laude, from Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law in 2022. While in law school, Tyler served as a Civil Procedure and Criminal Law Teaching Assistant while also being the Lead Articles Editor of the ONU Law Review. Tyler is admitted to the Indiana Bar and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Disticts of Indiana. He will maintain a general practice in the Fort Wayne office.
DUI/DWI
Wrongful Death
And Chicago Bar Associations. Jim’s practice involves advice to employers and business owners. He assists with strategic planning and dispute resolution. Jim has tried cases before judges and juries regarding commercial disputes, personal injury and wrongful death. Jim has been involved in youth baseball, soccer, basketball and other civic organizations in the Allen County area.
Sex Crimes
Misdemeanors
As part of the firm’s general practice, it handles infraction, misdemeanor and lesser felony matters for its clients. If you find yourself in need of an attorney to assist in a criminal matter or a potential criminal matter, you may consult in a private, confidential way about the various aspects of the matter.
Juvenile Crimes
And personal injury. Mr. Tourkow is frequently a featured speaker and presenter on family law issues. His continuing legal education seminars have been presented for the American Bar Association, the Indiana State Bar Association, and the Allen County Bar Association. He has also testified before the Indiana State Legislature regarding proposed family law legislation. Presently, Mr. Tourkow is the advisor for Father’s United for Equal Rights of Allen County. Previously, he served as the advisor for Parents Without Partners. Mr. Tourkow is the past chair of the Family and Juvenile Law Section of the Indiana State Bar Association. He is also the past chair of the Family Law Section of the Allen County Bar Association, of which he is presently co-chair.
Restraining Order
“Joint legal custody” means both parents have equal rights to the decisions dealing with the child’s religion, education and medical treatment. In other words, both parents must agree to a change of schools, churches, doctors and whether non-emergency medical and dental treatment can be done. If the parents cannot agree, the court may have to make the decision. If that becomes necessary, the court usually destroys the joint custody arrangement and grants only one parent soul legal custody. At our firm, we will sit down with you and go over the facts of your case and give you an opinion of your chances of getting custody and what you can do to improve your chances of getting custody. CHILD VISITATION ISSUES Every parent is entitled to visitation which the court now calls “parenting time”. Our Supreme Court has instituted the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines as its minimum parenting time order. This can be found at http://www.in.gov\judiciary\rules\parenting. It basically gives the non-custodial parent alternate weekends, an evening per week, alternate holidays and extended parenting time in the summer. ENFORCING VISITATION RIGHTS Some parents have a problem with the other parent interfering with parenting time – being late, not allowing it or constantly calling or planning events on the other parent’s time. We can help enforce your rights. We often hear of complaints that one parent tries to dictate to the other parent what their parenting time will be. You have alternatives to enforce your parenting time. We may be able to get you a temporary restraining order which would restrain a parent from interfering with your parenting time and/or we can file a contempt of court action against them. Either of these alternatives may result in the person disobeying a court order to spend time in jail, pay attorney fees and/or giving “make up” parenting time equal to what the parent has lost. Our job is to help our clients enforce their legally granted parenting time. MODIFICATION OF VISITATION Also, just because the court has ordered a specific parenting time schedule as to the amount of days and times, a person can always return to court and request the court modify that order and increase or decrease parenting time if doing so is in the best interest of the child.
The firm can assist clients in a variety of business matters varying from the initial assessment and recommendation of the type of business entity, to the organization and implementation of the business, and to the successful sale or transfer of the business. When a person starts a business, that person typically becomes involved in numerous matters ranging from how to start up the business, to managing employee situations, to passing the business on to a second generation. All of these situations require careful analysis and thorough discussion for creating and implementing the plan. Our attorneys are familiar with these matters and can assist you in a smooth handling of them.
WORKERS COMPENSATION OVERVIEW Injured at work? Unsure of what to do next? Getting injured at work is often a very scary thing in life. You depend upon your job for income, keeping your family secure and paying your bills. When you’re injured at work you also may worry about whether you will be fired because you make a claim. Will your company hold your job for you? Will you be compensated for your injury, time and trouble? The experienced Workers Compensation attorneys at TCRJ can answer all of these important questions, and guide you on what steps to take next.
If you sustained a personal injury in a bicycling accident and are about to deal with an insurance company, consult with a TCRJ attorney first. The reality is insurance companies want to settle for the smallest amount they can get away with, possibly leaving you with unpaid bills, loss of time at work or future medical expenses without compensation. This can be a very stressful time, so let us help you through it.
Medical Malpractice
Similar to most law firms representing victims of medical malpractice, TCRJ works on a contingency fee basis. We receive no fee if there is no recovery.
Auto Accidents
Social Security Disability
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY OVERVIEW Working through the Social Security Disability process can be very confusing. A case can turn on a seemingly very simple medical condition. Having the assistance of an attorney to guide you through not only the legal
Joshua I. Tourkow is a senior partner of Tourkow, Crell, Rosenblatt & Johnston and has been a practicing attorney for over 45 years. His primary areas of practice consist of divorce, custody, parenting time, support, paternity, wills, estate planning, other family law matters
Wills
Trusts
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is a legal document that allows you to designate who would help you manage your financial, personal and health care affairs while you are still alive and can’t do it yourself. Thus, before a will becomes effective, you may have needs and you want the right person handling those. The power of attorney lets you designate that person, as well as identify what things that person can do for you.
Probate
Douglas E. Johnston is the Managing Partner of Tourkow Crell Rosenblatt & Johnston and has been a practicing attorney for over 35 years. He is a Registered Civil and Family Law Mediator and arbitrates Family Law Cases in Indiana. Doug has been a speaker at various Continuing Legal Education Seminars on topics of Bankruptcy, Family Law and Probate Law, including matters of the connection between bankruptcy and divorce. He has also spoken on the topics of mediation and arbitration. Doug has been a member of the Allen County Bar Association for over 35 years, has served on the Family Law Section Executive Board, various committees and as President of the Association for 2008-2009. He was born and raised in Garrett, Indiana, and is the primary staff attorney for the Garrett Office. He also is Counsel for the Garrett Redevelopment Commission and the Allen County, Fort Wayne Capital Improvement Board of Managers. He has been selected as one of the “ Best Lawyers in America ” for 2008 through 2017 and also has a superb rating with AVVO.
The cost of a bankruptcy will vary, both as to its complexity and to its type. A business bankruptcy can be very expensive. A relatively straight forward Chapter 7 Bankruptcy usually is the least expensive bankruptcy, depending on complexity. A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is somewhat more expensive because there is extra work involved and stretches over a longer period of time.