Parents in Indianapolis need to provide for their children. They need to provide love and support as well as provide for their financial needs. This means that they need to ensure they have a roof over their heads, food to eat and clothing. That can be expensive enough, but as parents know there are many other costs they incur for their children. They need to pay for medical insurance, their various activities, entertainment, internet, phones and many other costs.
If the parents are divorced or no longer in a relationship with the parent, it can be easy to allow that parent that has the children more often to provide for these financial needs. However, both parents need to provide financially for their children. To ensure that this occurs, the parent with less time with their children may be required to pay child support. The amount that the parent will pay depends on a number of factors, but one of the most important factors is the income of each parent.
Weekly gross income determination
Income for child support purposes may be different than people’s taxable income though. Child support is based on the parents’ weekly gross income. This includes both actual income and potential income if the parent is unemployed. Gross income includes, wages, commissions, bonuses, dividends, trust income, capital gains, workers’ compensation benefits, gifts, inheritances and other forms of income. It also includes self-employment income, which is gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses for the business.
When parents are going through a divorce in Indiana, there are many different important decisions that must be made. Child custody will be determined as well as when the children will be with each parent. There will also be a child support order issued. This determination will start with the parents’ income, but there are guidelines that are followed to determine the total amount of child support. These calculations can be more complicated than they seem though and consulting with experienced attorneys could be beneficial.