Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines 2021

Ending a marriage is quite a heartbreaking and scary experience for both partners. It is a stage where the future of both individuals is unpredictable. Besides emotional trauma related to their relationship and future, another problem arises here: custody of their child. For parents, nothing is more important than their child’s mental stability and career development. In Indiana, young children, such as teens, do not have the audacity to raise their opinions in custody decisions.

With time, when a child gets older, he can express which of his parents he wants to spend the rest of his life with. This child’s preference is of enormous value when parents separate from each other in Indiana. If a child wishes for his custody in Indiana, he cannot control things regarding custody until he is 14 years old. This step is necessary to reduce any undue influence from any of the parents. According to Indiana parenting time guidelines, a child’s wish and consent are considered to some extent while making decisions about his custody. He can not take an ultimate decision, and the court can even change the decision according to the consequences.

[lwptoc]

How does it work?

Parents can hire a lawyer to resolve these issues or let the judge make decisions on his own. The judge plays the role of a legislative authority who gives his best to make sure that all the arrangements serve a child’s best interests. Legal custody is the right of mother and father, but custody is given depending on what they can provide best to the child. For instance, in which school he wants to secure admission, which type of medical care and treatment will he receive if he falls sick, or should he be baptized into a certain religion or faith.

Sometimes, a misconception comes to mind that the court favors the mother. It’s not true because the court makes decisions based on what’s best for the child. If an inverted father is legally designated as the married man, he has equal rights as a father. The custodial parent is taking care of the child and paying his expenses, but there are also some responsibilities of a non-custodial parent. The non-custodial parent has to pay 25% of his gross income. If a non-custodial parent earns less, he has to pay almost $500 per month for the child.

Parenting Time Guidelines Indiana; Physical Custody of Child

Most of the time, both parents are given legal custody of the child. Still, physical custody is something else. As explained in the parenting time guidelines Indiana, physical custody will include the child living with either of his parents. If both parents share physical custody, then they have to spend substantial time with the child. This type of custody is also known as a joint custody arrangement.

Sometimes, judges can give the authority of physical custody to only one parent, which is known as sole physical custody. The other parent with no custody authority or sole or joint physical custody will be known as a non-custodial parent. The non-custodial parent, either father or mother, still has some rights, such as visiting rights. They can meet their child under a custody order and after following predefined rules and regulations.

Visitation Rights of Parents

According to Indiana parenting time guidelines, custody orders and visitation rights are designed according to the child’s requirements. If a parent does not harm the child mentally or physically, he is provided with the right of regular visitation. Sometimes young children refuse to visit the non-custodial parent. In this case, the non-custodial parent may receive a lot of blame. Custodial parents have a powerful influence on the child. They cannot judge their site to gain sympathy by saying that their two-year-old refuses to visit the non-custodial parent. It could be different if the child is mature and he is refusing to show up for a visit. Parents have less influence and controlling power on older children.

Parenting Time guidelines Indiana suggests that a non-custodial parent is not responsible for paying child support to the custodial parent. This allows non-custodial parents for a credit of 27% of all overnights in a year. Having child legal custody does not matter in paying fees and other expenses. Sometimes, parents share 50-50. Indiana is not just a state for mothers or a state for fathers. There are equal rights for both of the parents. If the parents are separated, both parents will be given equal rights to take care of their child and regular visitations.

Custody of Newly Born Child

In Indiana parenting time guidelines, unmarried fathers have different rights than married fathers. A father can file a case to claim for his child after 72 hours of the birth if the partners are unmarried. Father can voluntarily call the child his own once he is born, and this action must be taken within 72 hours. He can simply execute an affidavit from the hospital after childbirth.

CONCLUSION

In Indiana, a child’s future is always given utmost priority when his parents get a divorce. The court takes a decision considering multiple factors related to both the partners before assigning custody to one.

Related: First-Time Parents: Here Are the Must Have Baby Bath Essentials