Elisabeth M. Edwards is a founding attorney at Wanzer Edwards, PC where she practices in the areas of family law and divorce, including collaborative law, family mediation and arbitration, and parenting coordination. Elisabeth is also frequently appointed as a Guardian ad litem.
Ms. Edwards completed her undergraduate degree at Hanover College, majoring in English. She went on to earn her Juris Doctor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
Ms. Edwards’s professional career involvements include serving as the President of the Board of Directors of the Protective Order Pro Bono Project of Greater Indianapolis, Inc. until she assisted with its merger into the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence in 2007. Ms. Edwards has been recognized as a 2008 Up and Coming Lawyer in the “Leadership in the Law” special edition of the Indiana Lawyer, and as a Rising Star by SuperLawyers Magazine from 2010-2016 and as a SuperLawyer from 2018-Present.
Ms. Edwards is a member of the Indianapolis Bar (“IndyBar”) Association, Family Law Section, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. She served as the Chair of the Family Law Section in 2020. She also graduated from the 2007 IndyBar Bar Leader Series, Class IV, and served on the Bar Leader Series Steering Committee until 2011. She has served as an at-large member of the IndyBar Association Board of Directors, and on various committees of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation. Her professional memberships also include the Family and Juvenile Law Divisions of the Indiana State Bar Association, the Hendricks County Bar Association (“HCBA”), the Indiana Chapter of the Association of Family & Conciliation Courts (“AFCC”), and the Indiana Association of Mediators. She served as Vice-President of the HCBA in 2015 and served as President in 2016. Ms. Edwards served on the Board of the Central Indiana Association of Collaborative Professionals from 2011-2020, serving as Treasurer from 2011-2015, Vice President from 2015-2017, and President from 2017-2019. She hopes to make Collaborative Law a top choice among divorcing parents in central Indiana.
More recently, Ms. Edwards served as the Chair of the IndyBar Destination CLE in November 2022 and was honored to serve as President of the IndyBar Foundation Board in 2023. She is currently serving as IndyBar Foundation Immediate Past President. Ms. Edwards also completed Co-Parenting Specialist Training with Mosten Guthrie Academy in May 2022 and is committed to using skills learned in this training in her Parenting Coordination and general family law practice.
Ms. Edwards is a frequent speaker and writer in the legal field. She has appeared on Fox 59 news and on WIBC’s radio program, “Pete the Planner” to discuss family law issues. She and co-founder of Wanzer Edwards, Holly Wanzer, have co-authored numerous articles for the Indiana Lawyer, the IndyBar Association and Foundation website, the IndyBar Record, as well as the WE Law monthly blog. Additionally, Ms. Edwards has authored or co-authored numerous seminars for ICLEF, IndyBar, Hendricks County Bar Association, National Business Institute, Julian Center, Heartland Pro Bono Council and Execsense. Elisabeth most recently has helped train new Parenting Coordinators for the IndyBar Association in 2023.
Ms. Edwards has served since 2014 on the Board for the Housing Corporation of the Hanover College Chi Omega Fraternity and currently serves as Secretary. She also served on the Hanover College Alumni Leadership Council from 2015-2021, serving as President in 2019-2020. She continues to serve Hanover on other alumni committees, as needed. Ms. Edwards also served as Secretary to the Board of Directors for the Avon Junior Athletic Association from 2015-2020.
In her spare time, Elisabeth is an avid reader, book club member and enjoys singing – whether in a virtual choir or karaoke — weight training, and yoga as well as spending time with her husband, son, and dog.
Posts
But that Account is in MY Name!
Imagine a cooking pot large enough to hold everything you own. Into that pot you will place every piece of property and every debt to be divided during your divorce regardless of whether the property and debt is in wife’s name, husband’s name or in joint names. This is the essence of Indiana’s legal “one pot” theory. The divorce process requires making a list of everything that you and your spouse own and everything that you owe. This list helps your attorney assess how you and your soon to be former spouse will become separate financial entities. While you will [...]
My Kid Just Turned 19. Now What?
Your oldest child is counting down the days until he or she turns 19. You may wistfully remember the days of young childhood and you may also celebrate that your obligation to pay weekly child support for that child is likely ending. Keep in mind, however, that child support payments do not end or change automatically. You need to take some action to ensure that weekly child support ends for an emancipated child and to ensure that you are in compliance with your court order to pay support for younger siblings. If your 19-year-old child is your only or last [...]
Alcohol Problems During Parenting Time
According to a Gallup poll, the percentage of U.S. adults aged 18 and older who say they drink alcohol averaged 63% over the past two years. The drinking rate ticks up to 65% when narrowed to adults of legal drinking age, which is 21 and older nationwide. Unless your court order prohibits alcohol use prior to or during parenting time, it is absolutely permissible to have a drink. But when is drinking a problem during parenting time? To begin, drinking in excess and then driving is illegal and especially dangerous when transporting a child. A parent with a criminal charge [...]
I Got a Bad Court Order . . . Now What?
When you take your case to trial and ask the court to decide what the order will be, you have a range of possible outcomes. You could have a best day in court where you get all the orders that you sought. You could also have a worst day in court where you get none of the orders you sought. Your order could and often is somewhere in between. When the worst happens and you get an order you hate, what are your options? The first thing to do when you get an order from the court that you view [...]
