Modernizing Indiana Child Support Guidelines

Context
Indiana has recognized the need to update child support policies to reflect today’s economic realities. In 2024, the Child Support Guidelines Review Committee increased child support obligations to account for inflation and rising costs of living.

However, several other parts of the guidelines have remained unchanged for many years. Reviewing these areas could help ensure Indiana’s child support framework remains consistent with today’s labor market, modern family structures, and current economic conditions.

 
Areas That May Benefit From Review

1. Outdated Income Assumptions When Imputing Income
When a parent in Indiana is not working, courts often estimate that parent’s income using the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour—a wage that has remained unchanged since 2009.

Because this benchmark has not been updated for more than a decade, it may not accurately reflect Indiana’s current labor market or realistic earning opportunities. As a result, estimated income may not reflect a parent’s true earning capacity.

Recommendation
Review the benchmark used when imputing income and consider replacing the $7.25 federal minimum wage assumption with an Indiana-based benchmark that reflects current wage data from the Indiana Department of Labor. Using a state-level benchmark could help ensure that estimated income more accurately reflects realistic earning opportunities within Indiana’s labor market.

2. Clarifying Voluntary vs. Involuntary Unemployment
Indiana courts already have discretion to consider a parent’s earning ability when determining child support.

However, the guidelines provide limited direction in situations where a parent chooses to remain out of the workforce — including when a parent and their partner decide that one parent will stay home to care for children in a new household.

Caregiving is valuable and plays an important role in many families. At the same time, clearer guidance could help courts ensure that when a parent chooses to remain out of the workforce to care for children in a new household, the financial responsibility for children from a previous relationship is not unintentionally shifted onto the other parent.

This issue may arise in situations where shared children are already school-aged, but a parent chooses to remain out of the workforce in order to stay home with children in a new household.

Recommendation
Provide clearer guidance distinguishing voluntary and involuntary unemployment within the child support guidelines. This could include clarifying that when a parent chooses to remain out of the workforce to care for children in a new household — including circumstances where shared children are already school-aged — that decision may be considered voluntary unemployment for purposes of determining earning capacity in child support calculations involving children from a previous relationship.

 
3. Alignment of Tax Benefits with Financial Responsibility
Child-related tax benefits can significantly affect the financial stability of each household.

Currently, the allocation of tax benefits is not always addressed at the same time child support obligations are calculated, which can lead to inconsistencies between financial responsibility and tax benefits.

Recommendation
Encourage courts to address the allocation of child-related tax benefits when child support orders are created or modified. This could include incorporating IRS Form 8332 into the child support calculation process so the matter is addressed at the time support is determined.

The allocation of child-related tax benefits should align with IRS guidelines, which generally grant the dependency exemption to the parent providing more than 50% of the child’s financial support. Child support orders should address this issue at the time support is calculated or modified and allocate the dependency benefit to the parent providing the majority of the child’s financial support.

Why This Matters for Children and Families
Child support policies work best when they reflect realistic financial capacity and are applied consistently across cases.

When guidelines are clear, aligned with current economic conditions, and reflective of modern Indiana families, they can help:

• ensure financial responsibility is shared fairly between parents
• reduce financial strain on one household
• limit unnecessary conflict between parents
• promote greater stability for children

 
Request for Policy Review
We respectfully ask the organizations responsible for shaping Indiana family law to review these areas of the guidelines:

• Indiana Child Support Guidelines Review Committee
• Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines Committee
• Supreme Court Domestic Relations Committee
• Indiana Judicial Conference

Reviewing these areas could help ensure Indiana’s child support policies continue to reflect today’s families, today’s economy, and the best interests of children.

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If you believe Indiana’s child support guidelines should reflect today’s wages, today’s economy, and today’s families, please sign and share this petition.