INDIANAPOLIS — Life is getting more expensive.
That is one of the reasons that changes are coming January 1, 2024, to Indiana's Child Support calculations and guidelines.
Emily Schmale, who practices family law at Church Church Hittle & Antrim, said updates like these are rare.
"Anything we can do to make co-parenting more successful, I think is a benefit to our entire community," Schmale said.
Schmale said there are three big takeaways from these updates.
First, recipients of child support may see an increase anywhere from 14 to 17 percent.
"The committee that studied this update found that there was new and better data available on how families across all income levels are spending money on their children," Schmale said.
The second change addresses kids' medical expenses that fall outside of insurance.
Those expenses might include counseling and orthodontist work.
Currently, families follow what is called the 6% rule. The algorithm, which is described by some as a confusing, works like a deductible between parents.
Moving forward, payment and reimbursement will be a simplified sharing model.
"If a child needs medical care of any kind that isn't covered by whatever insurance plan is used by that family, that's an uninsured medical expense that will now be divided pursuant to incomes," Schmale said.
Parents are also asked to turn in those medical receipts sooner rather than later.
Schmale added that the court said parents will not be reimbursing one another for over the counter medications or basic medical supplies like Band-Aids.
"Parents will buy those and keep them at their homes without asking or expecting the other to keep track of that and reimburse."
Schmale said her final takeaway tackles time spent at a parent's house.
Right now, there is only one line for overnights in the calculation even if you have multiple kids.
The new calculation will let you add overnights for each child if they spend a different number of overnights at the other parent's house.
That way, parents can spend more time on parenting and less time on paperwork.
These changes are not automatic for existing agreements.
As a result, parents will need to figure out if the updates are worth filing new paperwork.
To help estimate impact, the Indiana Supreme Court offers a child support calculator. The new version, however, is not yet out.
The Court Technology team is scheduled to update the application on or around January 1.