Child Support in Indiana

Indiana bases child support on the standard of living each child would have enjoyed had the parents not lived apart. To do this we look to the gross income of both parties, the family makeup, amount of parenting time, and expenses such as healthcare and daycare. Support is first established through either a divorce or paternity action and can be modified when there is a change in circumstances such as job change, job loss, or change in custody.

 
 

CALCULATING CHILD SUPPORT

The State of Indiana has a Child Support Calculator that calculates the weekly child support amount given your families unique circumstances.  I recommend that people get familiar with the calculator so that they can periodically check to see if support needs modified and understand what goes into a child support calculation.  I also recommend that you hire an attorney to represent you in a child support related issue as the numbers can be more complex than they initially paper, for instance what do you do if a parent has occasional overtime or tip wages.  Or what if a parent is supposed to have guideline parenting time but doesn’t exercise their time regularly. We can help look into these issues and work out an appropriate child support order for your situation.

You can also review the Indiana Child Support Guidelines to learn more about how child support is calculated in Indiana.  These rules break down how support should be calculated in more complicated situations define the basic things such as gross income and how to calculate overnights.  

MODIFYING CHILD SUPPORT

There are two ways child support can be changed in Indiana and either party can petition the Court to modify child support.  The requirements are as follows:

  • At least 12 months have passed since the last support order and the new child support amount must differ by at least 20%; or

  • There is a substantial continuing change in circumstances that make the current support order unreasonable. This includes things such as job loss, change in child care, or change in family makeup.

Any modification in support will be applied retroactively to the date the request for modify child support was filed with the Court. So it is important to move quickly if there is a change in your situation.

DEVIATING FROM CHILD SUPPORT CALCULATOR RECOMMENDATION

Sometimes the child support calculator creates a figure that does not work for your family situation and the parties decide to agree to deviate from the recommended number, or the Court orders a child support obligation that is different that the calculators recommendation.  An example of this would include when one party lives in another state and the cost of both transportation and child support would limit his or her ability to exercise parenting time. Here, the parties or the Court could deviate from the recommended obligation and allow a lower support number that takes into account the significant transportation costs.

INCOME WITHHOLDING ORDER

Child support payments are required to be paid by a mandatory income-withholding order.  With an IWO, the money is taken out of the paycheck of the party that is ordered to pay and put onto a chard held by the custodial parent.  It is preferred that it happens this way so that there is a clear record of how much support has been paid by the parent that pays child support.

HOW VINING LEGAL CAN HELP

At Vining Legal, our child support lawyers have represented people in child support cases throughout Indiana, in counties including, Johnson County, Hamilton County, Boone. County, and Hendricks County.  If you are facing any kind of child support issue, please call our law firm today at (317) 759-3225 for a free consultation about your case.

ABOUT VINING LEGAL

Our law office’s primary focus is on criminal defense and family law and our family law attorneys can help you with any child custody, visitation, or child support issues.  We are a law firm based in Indianapolis and work in Marion County, Hamilton County, Johnson County, Hendricks County, and other areas throughout central Indiana.

 
 
 
 
 
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