In an important case decided today by the Indiana Court of Appeals,1 it carefully delineated for attorneys and litigants when and what are the differences between child support and educational expenses and extraordinary educational expenses. Critically, it drew the line where expenses are not related educational expenses.
Generally, divorced parents or those with children born outside of marriage believe their financial duties to children end when they turn 18; but this is not the case if the child has the ... Read More
02
Aug2017
06
Jun2017
To address a parent’s failure to pay child support for a child born within a marriage or out of wedlock, certain levels of non-support have thresholds that have been addressed by statutes. For example, at the state-level, there are statutes that make non-support a felony to prohibiting a licensed professional from renewal.
Under federal law, a significant child support arrearage may cause non-renewal or issuance of United States Passport. Today, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided an important case that shows the ways to potentially retroactively modify child support ordered ... Read More
12
Apr2017
A topic or term known to perhaps every divorced (or unwed) father in the United States is “fathers’ rights”. Gather a group of fathers together and perhaps there would be no agreement on the precise definition and how this term would, could, or should play out in the divorce or paternity. However, they would agree, on the whole, they believe they are getting “screwed” by the system.
Such term, in fact, conjures up discussions ranging from the child support formula (unreasonable amounts it computes for non-custodial fathers) and denial ... Read More
11
Jan2017
While most domestic cases resolve before trial, those that are tried generally involve unique legal issues, or more commonly, extremely contentious issues such as child custody, amount of parenting time or child support (the two are linked), or serious issues about valuation of assets. Indiana judges get a “hot record”, meaning they are given great deference in judging the witness’s credibility. This blog covers four ways to “torpedo” your case by being a witness that lacks credibility.
The first is ... Read More
01
Dec2016
The economic impact of divorce is clear: it costs more to operate two households than one. For this reason, spouses’ standards of living may well decline post-divorce. That said, aside from the relative percentages of gross weekly income for child support, which may differ significantly, there is the issue of uninsured medical expenses and extra-curricular activities.
Like most families, these are beyond the regular family budget and hard to manage and pay in an intact family. Therefore, this often becomes a battle ground ... Read More
19
Jul2016
The Indiana Supreme Court has adopted the Indiana Child Support Guidelines as a tool to assist in determining the correct amount of child support based upon a duty to support a child, using the financial resources of the parties, needs of a child, and the standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the parties remained together. In any case there are certain events that can trigger the need to modify the court ordered child support amount. The most important thing to ... Read More
07
Jul2016
All issues involving child custody and child support have significant social, political, economic and psychological dynamics operating within the legal system and controlling laws. Two key policies that support the law is to maintain the child with a style of living as if the parents were married and meet the child’s best interests.
In the very broad area, this blog post explores three trends that are slowly changing domestic law across the country: joint custody, child support ending at age 18, and third parties ... Read More
22
Jun2016
A common misconception between parents of young children during divorce is that “child support” stops when the child(ren) turn 18. This is not the case necessarily in Indiana, which is the subject of this blog.
First, it is important to note that Indiana is one of the few states that has a statute in the Divorce and Paternity Act providing that a parent may be ordered to pay educational ... Read More
20
Apr2016
What They Are and Why They Matter to You
Everyone that has been divorced, ended a relationship, or has had any contact with a divorcing person knows divorces are difficult to impossible for several reasons. At the most basic level, a divorce reflects love and hate and conflict and uncertainty for the future.
This blog post explores the most common dynamics in divorce so you can identify it and be aware of such in your divorce or that of a friend, family member or for general educational purposes. The ... Read More
22
Mar2016
The Divorce Act and cases that control Indiana divorce law are driven by policies that favor the parties reaching agreements. Particularly where children are involved, agreements avoid the “warfare” that sometimes ensues with contested custody cases.
However, all such agreements must be in the children’s best interests. Ultimately, Indiana’s trial court judges stand in loco parentis (act as a parental figure) and review agreements to ensure all such agreements between the parties over their children are, in fact, in their best interests. In ... Read More