Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Indiana

I live in Kentucky. My wife is being sued in Indiana for 2013 Hospital Bills. Due to poverty, we can't afford an attorney. I have been the one Filing Motions(Dismiss, MSJ, Etc), and Responses, and Arguments, Request for Jury Trial, Interrogatories, Requests for Admissions, Request for Proof. I now am appearing at a court-ordered Mediation, and then some days later the MSJ Hearing (Both sides filed for MSJ). My wife, "Defendant," cannot be there, for the Mediation, and probably the MSJ Hearing. I have found very little, but most indicates that ONLY HER REP (Counsel for her) is required to show for either. I am her "counsel of record" and the court and Plaintiff are aware of this. I searched, but can't definitively find: I am her legal rep on file with the court, and I am going in her stead. Is there going to be any issue with that, in Indiana?


Asked on 11/04/16, 8:46 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kenneth Wilk Rubino Ruman Crosmer & Polen

If you can't afford an attorney, why don't you go to legal aid. Also, some law firms offer pro bono representation. Believe me when I tell you that you are not doing your wife any good whatsoever by trying to act as her amateur "counsel of record". You may just make matters worse. If you wife actually owes the money, why not just admit it. You can always file bankruptcy. There is no requirement that your wife has to come to court but she may need to be present at the mediation. It's not a good idea for her to be absent because that could be interpreted as her either not caring about what happens or else regarded as being disrespectful to the court.

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Answered on 11/05/16, 12:27 pm


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