When a parent divorces or separates from a partner, one of the first thoughts he or she may have is how to support the children on less money. Each child has the right to financial support from both parents until the child becomes a legal adult, and this right is enforceable by court order. When parents are together, mutual support of the child is built into the household structure, but this support system is undone when the household separates. While the majority of parents acknowledge and willingly pay child support, there is often disagreement about how much that amount should be. To ensure the amount paid is sufficient to support a child, provisions for this obligation are built into divorce and other family law proceedings, such as legal separation and paternity. Indiana law expects both parents to contribute towards costs for a child’s basic needs, education, and healthcare. A discussion of how courts evaluate child support awards, and the guidelines used to determine the monthly amount, will follow below.

Child Support Awards

Generally, courts will allocate child support between both parents, with the non-custodial parent being ordered to pay the other parent. However, Indiana law does permit a court to place the entire child support obligation on one parent. In order to decide how child support should be structured, the court will look at a number of factors, including:

• The financial resources of the custodial parent;
• The standard of living the child would have experienced if the divorce or separation did not happen;
• The child’s physical and mental health and educational needs; and
• The financial resources of the non-custodial parent.

Once a decision is made as to which parent should pay support, the court may also assess whether additional support should be added for the child’s education, which could include covering costs through college. In addition, one or both parents will be required to provide health insurance coverage if available and at a reasonable cost.

Child support orders terminate, minus post-secondary education needs, when the child turns 19, unless the child is either emancipated earlier or incapacitated. In the event of incapacity, child support continues until the incapacity is over or by a court order.

Calculating the Child Support Amount

When calculating the monthly child support amount, the gross weekly income of each parent is combined, minus certain allowed deductions, to arrive at the weekly adjusted income. This figure is then applied to the state child support guideline table to determine the appropriate amount of basic support. Each parent is apportioned a percentage of the weekly support obligation based upon each parent’s weekly adjusted income. For example, if the parents’ combined weekly adjusted income is $1,000, the weekly child support amount is $152, and each parent is assigned the appropriate share of support. The amount indicated by the table is presumed to be correct, but a court can deviate from this amount if circumstances establish it to be unfair. In addition to basic support, amounts for health insurance premiums, work-related child care and extraordinary medical and educational expenses may be added to the final weekly support obligation. Further, the non-custodial parent is entitled to a credit towards the child support obligation based upon the number of overnights he or she has with the child each year. The rules for calculating child support are technical and complicated and should be discussed with an experienced family law attorney.

Get Help

Child support is a central issue in many family law cases, and is often a source of dispute. Talk to an experienced family law attorney about your rights and obligations before agreeing to any settlement or engaging in legal action. Christopher L. Arrington is a Danville family law attorney who can answer all your questions about child support, and assist with establishing, enforcing, or modifying a child support order. Contact the Danville office to schedule an appointment.