It is a legal duty of a parent to financially support the cost of bringing up their children until they reach legal age. If you want a divorce,  you must have child support/maintenance sorted out or else the judge will not grant your divorce. Proper arrangements in place will help grant the divorce. You can negotiate a set of agreements with your spouse and his/her attorney through uncontested divorce.  Or you can also settle matters with a family court judge in a contested divorce.  Either way, working with an experienced family law attorney by your side can help make this process an equitable process.

Paying for Child Support

Ignoring a Child Support order can lead to serious consequences. Knowing how much you need to pay for support is necessary. Even after a divorce, every child still has the right to be supported by their parents the same way they would if they still live together. Support payments are paid up to the parent who has custody to help with the cost of bringing up the children, including the living expenses.

The amount of payment is based on:

1. Parent’s financial resources and gross income
2. Standard of living and tax rates depending on the state where the parent with custody is
3. Number of children, and
4. The needs of the children

Obtaining Your Rightful Child Support

If you are an unwed mother, you must first file a paternity action to establish legal fatherhood or paternity of the co-parent. This process may include DNA testing to show the degree of relatedness between the alleged father and the child. Once paternity is proven, the father can be sued in court to make him accountable to pay for child support.

Hire a Child Support Attorney

At H. Michelle Gregory LLC, we can help you obtain the child support that you seek and settle arrangements concerning support payments with your spouse/co-parent. We act in accordance with Indiana’s laws and guidelines regarding child support. See how an experienced family law attorney can help, call (812) 339-3600 and relieve some of the stress in the situation you are going through.

Indiana Child Support Resources:

• Child Support Information
• Indiana Child Support Calculator
• Indiana State Central Collection Unit