Preparing for Your Appointment

Civil Cases
Criminal Cases

Civil Cases

Personal Injury
Things that might be helpful to bring with you:

• police report
• names and addresses of all involved parties and/or witnesses
• any written or oral statements given
• medical bills and/or documentation of injuries
• written estimates of any property damage
• insurance information
• pictures of injuries or any property damage
• "diary" of your daily/weekly symptoms, limitations, observations, etc.)

At your first visit, you can expect to:

• sign a fee agreement
• sign medical and/or employment authorizations giving the attorney authority to request your medical/employment records

It is important to know that a civil suit for personal injury must be filed before the statute of limitations runs out -- the time limits vary state by state, and also depends on the type of case. If you do not file within the specified time, you will be forever barred from relief, so if you are thinking about filing a civil suit, you should contact an attorney as soon as possible. It is very important to DOCUMENT everything -- including your injuries, your healing process, your limitations, and/or any statements made. You should keep your attorney informed at all times of any change in address or phone number. Pictures provide excellent documentation by providing visual accounts of the seriousness and progression of any injury or damage. Personal injury cases can take up to 5 years to litigate. Most personal injury cases are usually taken on a fee contingent basis.

Family Law

1. Divorce

Information that your attorney will need you to bring with you:

• names, addresses, social security numbers, birth dates, date of marriage and date of separation of the parties involved
• names, addresses, social security numbers, birth dates of all children
• a copy of any pleadings that have already been filed in court by one of the parties

At your first visit, you can expect to sign a fee agreement as well as pay the filing fee. Depending on the complexity of the divorce -- whether it is contested or uncontested -- your attorney's fees could either be flat rate or an hourly fee.

It is important to know that:

• Indiana provides for no-fault divorce
• there is a mandatory waiting/cooling-off period of a minimum of 60 days from the date of filing a Petition for Dissolution to the date of the final hearing
• Indiana adheres to strict guidelines concerning parental behavior and minor children found in the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines
• a divorce is not FINAL until the Dissolution Decree is signed by the judge at the final hearing

2. Emancipation/Custody/Visitation/Paternity

Your attorney will need you to bring:

• names, current addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, birth dates, date of divorce, county/state of divorce of the biological parents
• names, addresses, social security numbers, birth dates of all children
• proof of child support paid
• your reason for seeking emancipation/custody/visitation/paternity
• current status of child -- is the child attending school or college; has the child graduated or gotten married
• a copy of any pleadings that have already been filed by one of the parties

At your first visit, you can expect to: sign a fee agreement -- depending on the complexity, this could either be flat rate or hourly fee. It is important to keep your attorney informed at all times of any change in address or phone number.

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR CLIENTS:

If you received a summons/complaint regarding a civil suit filed against you, naming you as a Defendant, you MUST respond within a specified period of time (usually 20 days) or a default judgment may be entered against you. Thus, if you intend to be represented by an attorney, it is extremely important that you contact one immediately.

A new rule was recently imposed by the courts regarding public access to sensitive information (such as social security numbers, bank account numbers, etc.); see http://www.in.gov/judiciary/rules/admin/index.html#r9.



For a FREE consultation, please call the office toll free at 1-866-40-DEPPE (866-403-3773).