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How is child support determined in Indiana?

On Behalf of | Jun 23, 2017 | Divorce

Like many dads in Indianapolis, you have every intention of doing all that you can to support your children. That includes even after you may have separated from their mother. At the same time, you also may need to support yourself as well as a new spouse and any children you may have with her. Thus, it is important for you to understand exactly how the state determines your child support obligation to ensure that you are not paying any more than you have to.

The guidelines regulating the Indiana child support calculator can be found in the Indiana Rules of Court. To start, the state determines the weekly gross income of both you and your spouse. This includes any money that you receive from:

  •          Salaries and wages
  •          Commissions, bonuses and overtime pay
  •          Partnership distributions and pensions
  •          Social Security, unemployment, workers’ compensation and disability insurance benefits, as well as severance pay
  •          Dividends, trust income, earned interest, annuity payments, capital gains, gifts and inheritances
  •          Alimony or maintenance payments

If you are unemployed (or underemployed), the court determines your potential income based off your earning potential.

Next, deductions to your weekly gross income are calculated taking into account your obligation to support children not included in your child support order, as well as any alimony or maintenance you are required to pay. This determines your weekly adjusted income. Your child support obligation is then determined by adding both yours and your ex-spouses incomes together and matching that amount to the state’s predetermined weekly support payment calculator. Additional amounts may be added to cover the cost of health insurance, work-related child care and your kids’ education. The obligation is then apportioned between both you and your spouse based upon your respective weekly adjusted incomes.

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