Fort Wayne and Auburn, Indiana Attorney at Law
I. CUSTODY. In Indiana, there are two types of custody that parties should be aware of. The first is known as "primary" or "physical" custody. This refers to the primary residence where a child lives. Secondly, we have "legal" custody, which means that a parent with legal custody (often both parents, or "joint" legal custody) is entitled to consultation and to share decision making authority regarding major decisions affecting the child. These decisions include, but are not limited to, decisions regarding health care, education, and religious training.
An initial primary physical child custody determination is made based upon "the best interests of the child," not the parents! There are a number of factors that a Court will utilize when determining a child's best interests. These include, but are not limited to:
- The age and sex of the child;
- The wishes of the parents;
- The wishes of the child, with more consideration given to those wishes once the child is fourteen (14); (please note that this does not give the child the sole authority to decide the custody arrangement, it merely gives the child "a greater voice;"
- The interaction of the child with his home, school, and community;
- The interaction of the child with his siblings, parents, and any other third parties that affect his best interests;
- Evidence of a history of domestic or family violence;
- The mental or physical health of all individuals involved; and
- Evidence the child has been cared for by a de facto custodian.
All of these factors, in addition to any other relevant circumstances, are to be taken into consideration by a Court. Please note, however, that this is the standard for an initial custody determination. A modification requires a higher burden of proof. For more on modifications of child custody, visit "Modifications and Enforcements" in our practice area webpage. Nordmann Law Offices provides a more thorough explanation of all these ideas at a free initial consultation.
II. CHILD SUPPORT. Child Support is customarily Ordered to assist a custodial parent with ongoing expenses associated with rearing a child. Indiana's Child Support Guidelines, like those of many other States, primarily base the amount of support to be paid upon the gross weekly income of the parents. The rationale for this approach is that the Guidelines seek to minimize the disruption that will occur to children in an inherently disruptive process. (You will find that this is a recurring theme in Indiana family law). Child Support is designed to afford the children the standard of living that they are accustomed to having. This is why a parent earning minimum wage might pay $30.00 per week in support, and professional football player Michael Strahan, defensive end for the New York Giants, was Ordered to pay $18,000.00 per month! (Source - New York Post Website, January 13, 2007).
There are other factors that also form the basis of a support amount. These factors include whether there are subsequent children in a parent's home, a support obligation for older children, college expenses, the amount of spousal maintenance paid, the amounts of health insurance premiums and work-related child care costs, and the number of overnights a non-custodial parent exercises in a year. For a demonstration of how these factors work together to form a support amount, please click this link to the Indiana Supreme Court's online child support calculator:
https://secure.in.gov/judiciary/childsupport/calculator/support.pl
Please note that this calculator is not necessarily indicative of what a support amount will be. You should consult with an attorney to ascertain what the appropriate figures are to supply to the calculator. Additionally, a Court has the discretion to deviate from the presumed amount of support based upon appropriate circumstances. You should discuss these with your attorney. Lastly, this calculator is not necessarily indicative of whether a previously determined amount of support remains appropriate. For more on modification of a child support Order, visit "Modifications and Enforcements" in our practice area webpage. Nordmann Law Offices provides a more thorough explanation of all these ideas at a free initial consultation.
III. PARENTING TIME / VISITATION. A noncustodial parent of a child in Indiana is presumptively entitled by law to a reasonable amount of parenting time. There are exceptions to this in very limited cases. To deviate from this presumption, a custodial parent bears the burden of demonstrating that parenting time with the noncustodial parent will result in physical harm to the child, or that parenting time may impair the child's emotional development. Otherwise, a noncustodial parent is entitled to reasonable time.
The hope is that parents will work together to implement a shared arrangement that is in the best interests of a child, rather than having a Court issue an Order. A Court's Order may leave parents with a sense that their parenting time has been imposed or restricted against their will, and may fuel animosity. A Court will typically not disturb an agreement reached between the parties regarding how to share time with their child.
In the event that parents are unable to reach an agreement regarding parenting time, our Courts will likely start with the presumption that the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines as adopted by the Indiana Supreme Court are in the best interests of the child. The Guidelines are divided into three sections. The first is a section on general rules when exercising time: how to exchange information, transportation responsibilities, what an appropriate amount of clothes to send consists of, how to resolve disagreements, and many other circumstances. The second section discusses specific parenting time allocation. Generally, when a child is very young, frequent periods of parenting time that are short in duration are favored. As the child ages, longer periods that are less frequent becomes the presumption. Then as the child reaches his teen years, a flexible schedule should be considered to permit the child to engage in extracurricular events. The third section discusses some suggestions when distance is a major factor in exercising parenting time.
There are obviously a number of circumstances which may call for a deviation from the Parenting Time Guidelines. After all, no two cases are the same. To access the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines, please click this link to the Indiana Supreme Court's website: http://www.in.gov/judiciary/rules/parenting/
Nordmann Law Offices provides a more thorough explanation of all these ideas at a free initial consultation.
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Nordmann Law Offices
Fort Wayne Office
110 West Berry Street
2010 National Center
Fort Wayne, IN 46802-2316
260-420-5511 (phone)
260-420-5521 (fax)
Auburn Office
600 South Main Street
Auburn, IN 46706
260-925-5200 (phone)
260-420-5521 (fax)
Based in Fort Wayne and Auburn, Indiana, Nordmann Law Offices represents clients in Fort Wayne, Auburn, Angola, Indianapolis, Decatur, Bluffton, Columbia City, Huntington, Albion, LaGrange, and Kendallville; as well as Steuben County, De Kalb County, Allen County, Noble County, Wells County, Adams County, Huntington County, Whitley County, Marion County, and LaGrange County, Indiana.
