Child-Related Issues
Legal Custody is the term for who makes decisions for the children. These are major life decisions, such as what doctor they see, what school they attend, what faith-based institution they attend, if any, etc.
Joint Legal Custody is where the parents have an equal say and must agree on all major decisions. This is often best for parents who can communicate respectfully and who can cooperate in the children’s best interests.
Sole Legal Custody is where one parent decides the major life issues. This is often best for parents who cannot communicate respectfully, for parents with serious disagreements about health care, education, and religion, and for parents where there is a history of domestic violence, power, and/or control.
Physical Custody is the term for where the children spend the night a majority of the time.
Joint Physical Custody is where the children live roughly half the time with each parent. This is often best for parents where there are no safety issues for the children; who live near each other; who can work together to share the children’s items such as extracurricular equipment and medical equipment; and where both parents can get the children to and from school easily.
Primary Physical Custody is where the children live with one parent a majority of the time. This is often best where the parents do not live close to each other and to the children’s school; where the children do better with one home base instead of two home bases (based on age, personality, or special needs); or where the parents have a history of domestic violence, power, and/or control.
Split Physical Custody is where one child lives primarily with one parent and the other child lives primarily with the other parent. This is rarely a good idea but can be used when there are special reasons.
Parenting Time is the term for time the children spend with the noncustodial parent or the term for the schedule for parents who share joint physical custody.
The Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines are the minimum amount of parenting time the noncustodial parent should have. That minimum is generally every other weekend, half the summer, and half the holidays.
However, the Guidelines do not typically apply to situations involving family violence, substance abuse, risk of flight with a child, or any other circumstances the court reasonably believes endanger the child's physical health or safety, or significantly impair the child's emotional development.
Common parenting time schedules for parents sharing joint physical custody are:
Alternating Weeks: This is often better for older children, who can go a full week without seeing one of their parents. Many parents choose to exchange the children after school on Monday so that the parent with the children for the week is the one with the following weekend.
5/2/2/5: One parent has children on Monday and Tuesday overnights; the other has the children on Wednesday and Thursday overnights, and the parents alternate the weekend from Friday to Monday. (The 5/2/2/5 refers to the number of days each parent has the children in a repeating pattern). This is often better for children who need a consistent, predictable schedule.
3/4/4/3: One parent has the children for three overnights; the other has them for four overnights, then the parents switch and the first parent has four overnights and the other has three nights. This schedule does allow both parents equal time but can be confusing as to which parent the children are with on which day during the week.
Often, holiday and summer schedules require different plans for different families. It is always best to write out any calendar preferences carefully in advance of negotiation, mediation, or court, so you can easily explain what you think is best for the children.
Child Support is a payment made for the children from one parent to the other.
Guidelines: The Indiana Child Support Guidelines detail what income is counted for support purposes, how to give credit for parenting time, etc.
Worksheet: Most judges require that parents bring a proposed Child Support Obligation Worksheet to court as an exhibit. You will also need one for any negotiated or mediated agreement. Indiana provides a free online calculator that you can use. Parents cannot agree to zero support order without showing the court that it is appropriate for the children.
Duration: Child support in Indiana lasts until a child reaches age nineteen (19) unless a child is emancipated before that age, or unless a child has special needs and child support should extend past that age. A Court might find that a child is emancipated before age 19 if the child is married, in the military, or living independently and supporting themselves.
Extracurricular Activities: Child support does not include payment for extracurricular activities. Most agreements and orders include language about who pays for what percentages of such activities.
Uninsured Medical Expenses: Child support does not include payment for the children’s uninsured medical expenses. Most agreements and orders include language about who pays for what percentage of the expenses.
Tax Exemptions: One parent can claim the children for all tax years, the parents can each claim a child for all tax years, or the parents can alternate claiming the children for odd or even tax years. The Child Support Guidelines, Guideline 9, discusses when each option might be appropriate.