Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines Amended
New Indiana’s child support rules and guidelines went into effect January 1, 2024.
Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines are established to determine the appropriate amount in support based on the combined income of both parents and other relevant factors, such as the non-custodial parent’s parenting time. Each case is distinct, depending on the parent’s and child’s circumstances.
Previous child support guidelines were revised in 1989, and based on economic data from 1972 and 1973. The new guidelines are based on economic data gathered from 2013 to 2019. In a vast number of circumstances, the application of these revisions will result in an increase in child support.
The most significant change in Indiana’s child support guidelines relates to contribution toward uninsured expenses, or those expenses that are not covered by insurance.
Previously, there was a “6%” model in place wherein a recipient of child support had to pay the first 6% of these expenses before seeking contribution from the other parent. The 6% was based on the parties’ specific incomes. This rule led to substantial bookkeeping for the parent receiving child support, and had resulted in a heavy use of judicial resources.
As of January 1, 2024, the 6% rule is abolished. Parties will now pay their share of the uninsured expense within a specific timeframe.
The revised Indiana guidelines also account in a new way for how child-related expenses are apportioned. This includes a formula designed to provide a consistent approach to calculating support in various parenting time scenarios where a parent has different parenting time schedules with children in the same family. A formula is also provided to calculate child support in a split custody situation, where both parents have custody of a child/children of the same parties.
However impactful these new guidelines may be for your situation, keep in mind that the statutory requirements for modification still exist, and these support modifications are not automatically made after January 1, 2024.
It is important to evaluate how the new Indiana guidelines can be applied to your specific support and custody agreement. The Family Law team at Cohen & Malad, LLP is ready to help. Contact our experienced attorneys for more information and to discuss your facts today.
