How to File for Divorce in Indiana: Residency, Grounds & Waiting Period

In Indiana, at least one spouse must have lived in the state for 6 months and in the county where the case is filed for 3 months immediately before filing a Verified Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. Indiana is a no-fault state, so most couples file on the ground that the marriage is "irretrievably broken." Even in an uncontested case, state law requires a mandatory waiting period of at least 60 days from filing before the court can hold the final hearing — this waiting period cannot be waived, even if both spouses agree on everything.

Residency Requirements to File in Indiana

Before a court in Indiana can accept a divorce case, one spouse must meet two separate residency tests at the same time:

• Residency in the State of Indiana for at least 6 months, and
• Residency in the county where the petition is filed for at least 3 months

Both periods must be satisfied immediately before the petition is filed. Indiana law also specifically addresses service members: a person stationed at a U.S. military installation in Indiana meets the state residency requirement, even if Indiana is not their permanent home of record. This is meaningful for military families who may be stationed in Indiana without long-term ties to the state.

Grounds for Divorce (Dissolution) in Indiana

Indiana calls a divorce a "dissolution of marriage," and the case is started by filing a Verified Petition for Dissolution. Indiana is a no-fault state, meaning a court can grant a dissolution simply because the marriage is irretrievably broken — neither spouse has to prove the other did anything wrong.

Indiana law also recognizes several fault-based grounds, though these are used far less often than the no-fault ground:

• Felony conviction of one spouse occurring after the marriage
• Impotence existing at the time of the marriage
• Incurable insanity of one spouse, if it has continued for at least 2 years

Because the no-fault ground is available and does not require proving misconduct, most Indiana petitions cite irretrievable breakdown rather than one of the fault-based grounds.

The Mandatory 60-Day Waiting Period — Time-Sensitive

Flag: this is a hard deadline built into Indiana law, not a guideline. Indiana requires that the final hearing in a dissolution case be held no earlier than 60 days after the petition is filed. This waiting period applies even when both spouses agree on every issue and have already signed a settlement agreement — the court still cannot finalize the divorce before the 60 days run. In practice this means the fastest an uncontested Indiana divorce can typically be finalized is a little over two months from filing, assuming there are no other delays such as scheduling, service of process on the other spouse, or unresolved issues.

What You Can Do in Indiana

1. Confirm you meet residency. Verify that you (or your spouse) have lived in Indiana for 6 months and in the filing county for 3 months. Military members stationed at an Indiana installation should confirm with the court that this meets the residency rule for their situation.
2. Get the correct forms. Indiana's Self-Service Legal Center (accessible through IndianaLegalHelp.org and the state courts' self-service site) provides free packets. The packet you need differs depending on whether the couple has minor children together and whether both spouses agree on the terms — using the wrong packet can cause delay, so match the packet to your situation before filing.
3. File the Verified Petition for Dissolution in the appropriate county court and arrange for your spouse to be formally served, if they have not joined the petition.
4. Address property, and — if applicable — custody, parenting time, and child support either by agreement or through the court process, while the 60-day period runs.
5. Watch the calendar. Track the 60-day mark from the filing date so you know the earliest date a final hearing can occur, and confirm your specific hearing date and any local scheduling requirements with your county court.
6. If either spouse is on active military duty and deployment or duty materially affects their ability to participate, know that a stay of the case may be available (see below) — raise this with the court promptly rather than letting a hearing proceed without you.

Because filing packets, local scheduling practices, and specific procedural steps can vary, confirm current requirements with your Indiana county clerk or the court's self-help center before you file.

Property Division in Indiana

Indiana divides marital property using "equitable distribution," starting from a rebuttable presumption that an equal (50/50) division of the marital estate is just and reasonable. Because this presumption can be rebutted with evidence, the actual division in a specific case can move away from an even split depending on the facts the court considers. If you and your spouse disagree about property, this is an area where confirming how the presumption applies to your situation with your county court — or reviewing the statute itself — is worthwhile before assuming an automatic 50/50 outcome.

If You Have Children: Child Support and Parenting Time

If minor children are involved, Indiana's dissolution process also addresses child support and parenting time, generally guided by the Indiana Child Support Guidelines (effective January 1, 2024). A few general points from those guidelines:

• Child support calculations are based on each parent's weekly gross income — actual income if a parent is employed to full capacity, potential income if a parent is unemployed or underemployed, and the value of certain "in kind" benefits.
• A parent can receive a parenting time credit toward support based on the number of overnights per year the children spend with the noncustodial parent; the guidelines start from an assumption that the children primarily live in one household, with a rebuttable presumption about how support is calculated from there.

The guidelines do not set out a single fixed dollar figure that applies to every family — the calculation depends on each parent's income and parenting-time arrangement. If children are part of your case, be sure to use the packet designed for divorces involving minor children, and confirm current worksheet requirements with your court.

Military Families: Special Protections

Divorce involving a servicemember carries a few additional, federally protected considerations:

• Stays of proceedings (SCRA): Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a servicemember whose military duties materially affect their ability to appear in the case can obtain a stay of at least 90 days in a divorce, custody, or support proceeding. This protects a deployed or active-duty spouse from a default judgment or from being forced to litigate while unable to participate.
• Division of military retired pay (USFSPA): Federal law allows an Indiana court to treat a servicemember's "disposable retired pay" as marital property that can be divided in the divorce, subject to Indiana's equitable distribution rules described above. Direct payment of a share to a former spouse through the Defense Finance and Accounting Service is only available when the couple was married at least 10 years overlapping at least 10 years of the servicemember's military service (the "10/10 rule"). Falling short of the 10/10 rule does not necessarily prevent a court from awarding a share of retired pay as part of the property division — it affects only whether payment can be made directly by DFAS rather than by the servicemember.

If either spouse is a current servicemember, raise these issues early with the court, since they interact directly with the residency, timing, and property-division rules described above.

This article is for general information only about Indiana law and does not substitute for advice from a licensed attorney about your specific situation.