Change of Judge in a Divorce or Paternity Case

It is my opinion that Indiana has some great judges, magistrates and commissioners. Really. However, in family law cases sometimes litigants desire a change of judge. Typically this happens where one judge presides over the divorce trial and issues a ruling, and then later child support or custody needs to be modified.

Trial Rule 76, which controls motions for change of judge and venue, states:

After a final decree is entered in a dissolution of marriage case or paternity case, a party may take only one change of judge in connection with petitions to modify that decree, regardless of the number of times new petitions are filed.

The important distinction here is that typically you get only one change of judge for motions to modify. There are other ways to move for a change of judge due to cause, such as conflict or bias, but those circumstances are rare.