CHILD SUPPORT IN INDIANA
How Child Support Works in Indiana
There are usually three parties in a child support case. The first is the child(ren). Second, is the custodial party. This is the person who lives with the child and has primary day-to-day responsibility for the care and control of the child. The third is the non-custodial parent. Although the non-custodial parent is often the child's father, the child's mother can also be the non-custodial parent. When a child is in the custody of another family member or in foster care, there may be 2 non-custodial parents. Regardless of their living arrangement or relationship, both of the child's parents should provide the financial support that their child needs.
Services through the Child Support Program can help establish paternity(if necessary) and to obtain child support. The Child Support Bureau has entered into cooperative agreements with county prosecutors in every Indiana county to provide child support enforcement services. If you are seeking assistance with child support, contact your local county prosecutor's office. The following link will help you locate the prosecutor's office in your area. Local Child Support Offices
Child Support Orders
Child support orders are legal obligations to provide financial support for a child, and are established by a court of law. All child support obligations in Indiana are governed by the Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines issued by the Indiana Supreme Court. The guidelines employ a methodology designed to calculate child support as a share of each parent's income estimated to have been spent on the child if the parents and child were living in an intact household. For the non-custodial parent, the calculated amount establishes the amount of child support to be paid to the custodial party for the benefit of the child(ren). The amount calculated for the custodial party is presumed to be spent directly on the child. The Guidelines also address special considerations for extraordinary education expenses and parenting time.
Emancipation of Child Support
Generally, when a child turns 19 years old, the child is emancipated by operation of law, and the non-custodial parent's obligation to pay current support terminates. The following exceptions permit the court to order that child support continue beyond the child’s 19th birthday. For child support to continue, a court order recognizing the exception is required prior to the child’s emancipation in either case where:
* The child is incapacitated; or
* The child is a full-time high school student.
Prior to turning 19 years old, judicial action (a court order) is required to terminate support. The court shall emancipate a child prior to the age of 19 years if the court finds that the child:
* Marries; or
* Goes on active duty status with the U.S. Military; or
* The child is not under the care or control of either parent or an individual or agency approved by the court
The court may terminate a non-custodial parent's support obligation, with or without emancipating the child, if the court finds all of the following circumstances exist:
* The child is at least 18 years of age; and
* The child has not attended a secondary school or postsecondary educational institution for the prior four months; and
* Is not enrolled in a secondary school or post-secondary educational institution; and
* The child is, or is capable of, supporting himself or herself through employment
In order for a court to terminate a child support order prior to 19 years old, a petition must be filed with the court. If a non-custodial parent owes any arrearage at the point when the order for child support terminates, he or she will still be required to pay the arrearage.
If 2 or more children are covered by a child support order and one child is emancipated, the amount of the child support order is NOT automatically reduced. The parties must seek a modification of the court order to determine the new amount of support for the remaining child (ren).
How Child Support Obligations are Enforced
Below is a list of some of the enforcement tools that may be used for child support enforcement when child support cases become delinquent:
- Intercepting federal and state income tax refunds, lottery winnings, employer bonus payments and insurance settlements
- Reporting of unpaid support to a credit bureau
- Suspending driver's and professional licenses as well as hunting and fishing licenses
- Applying vehicle liens
- Locating and withholding bank assets
- Denying/revoking passports
Paternity
Simply put, paternity means fatherhood. Establishing paternity gives a child a legal father. It also gives the father both rights and obligations related to helping take care of his child. It is important for the child to know who they are. By knowing both parents, a child gains a sense of identity and belonging. Both parents have the right to establish a healthy relationship with their child(ren) and a responsibility to care for their child(ren). Making the relationship legal from the beginning provides a greater opportunity for a healthy relationship and insures the father's rights to a relationship with his child. Legal fathers have all of the same parental rights and responsibilities as the mother, including the right to seek custody or parenting time.
Parents and their children should know about potentially inherited health problems. Establishing paternity provides the child a greater likelihood of having access to this information. In addition, establishing paternity is the first step in making plans to provide the financial support a child needs.
With legal paternity established, the child will have access to:
- Social Security dependent or survivor benefits
- Inheritance rights
- Veteran's benefits
- Life and health insurance benefits
How is Paternity Established?
A man is presumed to be a child's legal father if;
- He and his wife are married when the child is born, or
- If the child is born no later than 300 days after the marriage ends
In all other cases, legal paternity must be established in one of two ways;
- Paternity Affidavit, or
- Court Order
A paternity affidavit is a legal document that permits a man and a woman to declare, under penalty of perjury, that the man is the biological father of a child. A properly executed paternity affidavit establishes legal paternity (fatherhood) and parental rights and responsibilities, without the necessity of obtaining a court order. A paternity affidavit may be completed at the hospital within 72 hours of the child's birth or at your local health department any time before the child is emancipated. If paternity is established by paternity affidavit, the Department of Health will add the father's name to the child's birth certificate.
The second way paternity can be established is by an order from the court. Either parent may file an action in an appropriate Indiana court seeking determination of paternity. The county child support office may also file an action if the case is enrolled and open (not closed) in their office. After the action is filed, the court will set a hearing date and notice will be provided to both parties. At the hearing, the parties may agree to paternity without the benefit of genetic testing, request genetic testing to determine paternity, or the court may hear evidence and make a decision about whether or not paternity should be established. If genetic testing is ordered by the court, the parties will be tested and the court will hold off on deciding the issue of paternity until the genetic testing results are available to the court. Either parent or the county child support office may request genetic testing, commonly know as DNA testing.
Income Withholding
An Income Withholding Order (IWO) is an order that a court or Title IV-D child support agency sends to the non-custodial parent's employer or income payor to instruct the employer or income payor to withhold child support payments from the non-custodial parent's income. The withheld payments are then sent to the Indiana State Central Collection Unit (INSCCU) to be applied to the child support obligation. State and Federal law require that a non-custodial parent pay by an IWO unless a court approves an alternative arrangement. It is important to pay through IWO because it helps to ensure that payments are made in a timely manner, in the correct amounts, and to the right parties. Paying by IWO allows the child support payments to be properly recorded so that the court has an accurate payment history.
You can find the Income Withholding form and instructions here.
If your case is pro se (no attorney), there are a few things you will need to know about the new form. The correct version of the IWO form MUST be used. If this form is not used, the employer can refuse the withholding order and not withhold the income.
The information you will need in order to complete the form can be found in your most recent child support order from the court. If you do not have a copy of your most recent order, you can get a copy from the office of your County Clerk. Once you have a copy of your most recent order, follow the instructions in the link above.
Annual Support Fee
WHY DID I GET A NOTICE ABOUT AN ANNUAL SUPPORT FEE?
Indiana’s Child Support Bureau sends a notice to all individuals who have a child support case with ongoing child support obligations (a current child support order) or past-due support owed as of January 1 of the current year. The notice provides information about the Annual Support Fee, the amount of Annual Support Fees owed (including unpaid fees from previous years), and information on how to pay the Annual Support Fee. If the entire amount owed is not paid before the date listed in the notice, CSB may issue an income withholding order to the individual’s employer to have the fee withheld from income.
WHAT IS THE ANNUAL SUPPORT FEE?
The Annual Support Fee is a once-a-year administrative fee for processing child support payments. The Annual Support Fee is $55.00 per child support case.
IS REQUIRED TO PAY THE ANNUAL SUPPORT FEE?
Anyone ordered to pay child support in Indiana is required to pay the Annual Support Fee. The Annual Support Fee is assessed under state law, per IC 33-37-5-6 and IC 31-16-15, each year for every child support case in Indiana, and is assessed to the person ordered to pay child support. The Annual Support Fee is charged every year, even after child support is stopped, where there is any outstanding past due support owed as of January 1st.
WHY IS THERE AN ANNUAL SUPPORT FEE?
The purpose of the Annual Support Fee is to help cover the expense to the state, and to taxpayers, for the maintenance of the case/court order. This fee helps to pay expenses such as: the cost of processing payments, postage for mailings, staff, etc.
HOW TO PAY THE ANNUAL SUPPORT FEE?
By Credit or Debit Card Online
The Annual Support Fees can be paid by credit card through our online payment service at www.childsupportbillpay.com/Indiana. Select “Annual Support fee ASFE” option. Fees apply.
By Check or Money Order
*Checks or money orders for the Annual Support Fee payments should be made payable to the Indiana State Central Collection Unit (INSCCU) and mailed to:
INSCCU - ASFE
PO Box 6271
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6271
*To ensure proper credit, Annual Support Fee payments must be clearly marked as ASFE and should be sent in as a separate payment (do not include on the same check as your regular child support payment).
By Cash
Cash payments of the annual support fee can be made via MoneyGram at participating retailers (including Walmart, CVS, and Kroger). Use Receive Code 18860 to apply your payment to the annual support fee. Cash payments of the annual support fee are assessed a $3.99 fee.
For general questions about Annual Support Fees, please call the Kidsline at 800-840-8757.
