Use of Spousal Income in Child Support Calculations
There are few things as frustrating for my family law clients as when their former spouse or significant other, which whom they share a child, marries someone of substantial means and quits working to be a stay at home parent. For a long period of time, the Indiana Supreme Court had a long-standing rule that if a parent was not working, you had two options to calculate their income for child support purposes: (1) Voluntary Unemployment/Underemployment or (2) Imputing Income. As any legal professional will tell you, most courts will impute minimum wage in the amount of Two Hundred Ninety Dollars ($290.00) per week to any person that is currently not working. However, if your former spouse had quit their employment because they did not need the additional income, clients were forced to argue for the imputed amount of weekly gross income to be based upon the other party's former wages. These options continued to provide a great source of frustration for clients because they felt that the other parent's new household income should go into their calculation.
Thankfully, the Supreme Court recognized that argument and addressed it through the Indiana Child Support Guidelines. In the 2017 Indiana Child Support Guidelines, section 3(A)(d) dictated that the issue of imputing income to a parent whose living expenses have been substantially reduced due to financial resources other than the parent's own earnings is a fact-sensitive situation that requires careful consideration of all of the evidence in each case. They Supreme Court went on to state that payments made by a subsequent spouse that reduce a parent's costs for rent, utilities, or groceries, may be used as a basis for imputing income. This means that if your former spouse or significant other marries someone else that makes a good deal a money and pays most of the bills, then you might be able to get their income to count in a child support calculation.
I've represented numerous people in the past that have argued that it was not fair they had to pay a high amount of support because their ex was a stay-at-home parent because they could afford not to work with their new spouse. While this used to mean that their income would be imputed at a straight minimum wage standard, with the new changes in the Indiana Child Support Guidelines, the Supreme Court has finally leveled the playing field.
The problem with this change is that it can also serve to increase your child support obligation if you marry someone or even live with someone that is fairly well-off financially. For better or for worse, this change in the Child Support Guidelines could have a significant impact on what you either pay or receive in child support.
If you have questions or want to have your case evaluated to determine if this issue could reduce or even increase your child support obligation, contact our office to schedule your free 30 minute consultation today!
July 3, 2017
I've represented numerous people in the past that have argued that it was not fair they had to pay a high amount of support because their ex was a stay-at-home parent because they could afford not to work with their new spouse. While this used to mean that their income would be imputed at a straight minimum wage standard, with the new changes in the Indiana Child Support Guidelines, the Supreme Court has finally leveled the playing field.
The problem with this change is that it can also serve to increase your child support obligation if you marry someone or even live with someone that is fairly well-off financially. For better or for worse, this change in the Child Support Guidelines could have a significant impact on what you either pay or receive in child support.
If you have questions or want to have your case evaluated to determine if this issue could reduce or even increase your child support obligation, contact our office to schedule your free 30 minute consultation today!
July 3, 2017
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