Big changes to the 2022 Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines

View fullsize

Changes to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines were approved by the Indiana Supreme Court.  The approved Guidelines will go into effect on January 1 2022.  The new Guidelines can be found here.   

Existing parenting time orders in effect on January 1, 2022 shall be enforced according to the parenting time guidelines that were in effect on the date the parenting time order was issued. Also, changes to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines does not alone constitute good cause for amendment of an existing parenting time visitation order; however, a court or parties to a proceeding may refer to these guidelines in making changes to a parenting time order after the effective date of the guidelines.  

Here is a list of some of the most significant changes:

• Publication on an online calendaring tool.

• A child’s communication with their parent may not be recorded.

• Discouraging the use of a police station as a place to transfer children.

• A parent may restrict access from a telephone, tablet, or other device used to communicate with the other parent as punishment for a child, but such punishment shall not prevent communications with the other parent;

• A new section on Shared Parenting and the principles of how to put it into practice;

• Parenting time during a public health emergency;

• Changes aimed to reduce the potential for third-party conflict when children are dropped off/picked up between homes;

• Clarification regarding make-up time issues;

• Addition of factors which determine “regular care responsibilities”

• Uniformity of pick-up and drop-off times on holidays and birthdays;

• Transportation to and from extracurricular activities;

• Text messaging as a common type of communication;

• Immunity of parenting coordinators; and

• Removal of the section on parallel parenting

To contact me to discuss how these changes may affect your situation, go here.

Summer Camp & Extraordinary Expenses - Indiana Child Support Law

This post discusses how the  Indiana Child Support Guidelines  suggest summer camps and summer activities should be shared by the parents, as well as other practical considerations related to summer expenses.  

First, it is important to note that the basic child support payment does not include costs associated with summer camps and the like.  Consider the language of  the Guidelines:

Other Extraordinary Expenses

The economic data used in developing the Child Support Guideline Schedules do not include components related to those expenses of an ”optional” nature such as costs related to summer camp, soccer leagues, scouting and the like.  When both parents agree that the child(ren) may participate in optional activities, the parents should pay their pro rata share of these expenses.  

So, when parents agree the costs are generally split pro rata (per the respective income percentages set forth on the child support worksheet or in the support order).  However, where parents do not agree the judge, and, therefore the attorneys, will analyze the necessity of the expenses and the reasonableness of the expenses. 

Believe it or not, I’ve seen one parent simply not agree to any camps, activities, or extraordinary expenses, because they believe that by not agreeing they can save themselves from having to pay anything towards these expenses.  This is not a reasonable position, and it is important to note that the Guidelines do not support this position; rather, they provide that the court can assign the responsibility to pay for these expenses considering:

·        Each parent’s ability to pay;

·        Which parent is encouraging the activity;

·        Whether the child(ren) has/have historically participated in the activity; and,

·        The reasons a parent encourages or opposes participation in the activity. 

If you are in a dispute involving the responsibility to pay extraordinary expenses please review the Guidelines and the appropriate support order. If these disputes continually occur consider modifying the support order at issue and adding specific provisions to address how decisions regarding extraordinary expenses should be reached and how they will be paid.  Sometimes it is helpful to state how long one parent has to reimburse the other parent.  Also, mediation, a collaborative law meeting  and/or a parenting coordinator are good alternatives to litigation to help resolve these disputes.  

To discuss this further please contact me.