New Child Support Calculator for Attorneys - Indiana Child Support

The State of Indiana has published another free child support calculator intended to be used for attorneys and other legal professionals. It is a streamlined version of the calculator designed for parents. The new version is handy to have because it allows for easy changes to the worksheet and it is quicker to run different scenarios.

It should be noted that both the online calculators handle the negative support scenario that is presumed by the Indiana Child Support Guidelines as amended, effective 2010.

See all of our support postings here.

Child Support & Divorce - Child Support Order Will Not Predate Divorce Petition

On March 31, 2010, the Court of Appeals held that a child support order cannot predate the filing of the divorce petition. The Court of Appeals stated:

If child support is requested, pursuant to the foregoing authority, this has heretofore been the point at which support commences or can commence. Prior to this event (i.e., the filing of a dissolution petition), the court has no jurisdiction to issue orders pertaining to matters involving the children of the marriage except in situations involving criminal neglect or abuse. There are no such allegations in the instant case. Until a dissolution petition is filed, the parents are free to decide between themselves financial matters involving the children, such as whether they will pay an allowance, whether they will buy cars for their children, or whether they will pay for a college education, to cite just a few examples. This autonomy ends with the filing of a dissolution petition. With the filing of the petition, the parties immediately confer considerable authority upon the court to make decisions, from that time forward, previously reserved only for the parents. In our view, that rule and the bright line it represents should remain inviolate.

However, there was a dissent by Judge Najam in this case. If you are interested in this topic I strongly encourage you to read the entire opinion.

Facebook and Divorce - Status Update: I was sooooo drunk at the concert last night!

The link to this post is to a Time magazine article that discusses facebook and divorce. Really a good article for anyone dealing with a divorce or attorneys that have a litigation practice.

Cyber-research (some call it cyber-stalking) is the new private investigator. Facebook posts will provide personal information ("I was sooooo drunk at the concert last night"), as well as time stamps and pictures. This information can be used as effective cross-examination or to leverage settlement of certain issues. Further, on the internet people spin themselves inaccurately. Some might call this lying. At a one day hearing where the judge will only know the parties for a few hours, but yet make decisions that carry long-lasting effects, the little white lies posted on the internet can do real damage to a witnesses credibility. If a judge thinks you are not credible, as they say - forgeta 'bout it.

It is not limited to Facebook. Information on 'dating-sites', MySpace or LinkedIn may include estimates of income, occupation details and, again, pictures. Do most people under or over report their income range on a dating site? Obviously over-report. This information can be helpful or damaging at a child support or attorney fee hearing.

Go check your internet profiles and think twice about updating your status with last nights exploits.

UPDATE - The IRS is using FB to track down debtors. Seems like our online lives are being scrutinized from all directions. See link to a WSJ article here