The law in Indiana instructs the judge not to favor either parent in the granting of custody.

There is no express law either encouraging or discouraging joint physical custody as opposed to sole physical custody. In all cases, the judge will simply try to set up the custody situation that is best for the child.

Factors the judge will consider in deciding about joint legal custody include:

• Whether the parties themselves agreed to joint legal custody.
• Whether each party is a fit and suitable parent.
• Whether the parties are willing and able to communicate and cooperate for the child's benefit.
• The wishes of the child, if the child is at least 14 years of age.
• Whether the child has a close and beneficial relationship with both parties.
• Whether the parties live near each other and plan to continue to do so.
• The physical and emotional environment in each home.

The Indiana laws do not mention anything about joint physical custody, where a child spends a roughly equivalent portion of time at each home.

Section 31-1-11.5-21(f),(g).

The advantage of a court listening to a child's preference is that the child may be better off staying with the parent he or she prefers. Also, the child may have a valuable perspective to add.

The disadvantage is that it could lead the parents to start coaching or bribing the child, or bad-mouthing the other parent, to the child's detriment.

In Indiana, the judge may interview the child in his office to find out the child's wishes. If the judge wants, lawyers may be present at the interview and the results recorded for the trial record.

Section 31-1-11.5-21(d).

If a spouse who has custody of a child wants to relocate outside Indiana or more than 100 miles from his current residence, that spouse must file a notice with the court and send a copy to the other parent.

Although the judge will not prevent the party from moving, the judge may order the custody, visitation, and support orders to be modified to reflect the new situation. The court will consider the distance, hardship and expense for the non-custodial parent to travel to visit the child at the new address.

The court might even order custody to be changed to the in-state resident, if the change in circumstances makes the original custody award unreasonable.

Section 31-1-11.5-20, 31-1-11.5-22(d).

If one spouse prevents another from visitation, the thwarted spouse still must pay spousal maintenance and child support

The overall spirit of the Uniform Custody Act is that the courts of the various states involved should cooperate to figure out what court is the most appropriate to hear the case.

Under the Uniform Custody Act, a state's court will hear the case if any of the following is true:

• The state is the child's home state.
• The state had been the child's home state within six months before the case started, and the child was moved out of the state, and a parent or someone acting as a parent lives in the state.
• It is in the best interest of the child for the court to take the case because the child and at least one parent have a significant connection with the state, and there exists in the state substantial evidence about the child's present and future care, protection, training, and relationships.
• The child is present in the state and there is some kind of emergency, such as an abusive parent or neglect.
• It appears that no other state will take the case and the court determines that it is in the best interest of the child that this court do so. The court generally will not take a case if the matter is already being heard elsewhere. The court will generally honor the custody decrees of another state.

The purposes of the federal law that requires each state to set guidelines are:

• Uniformity. The child support awards should be consistent from judge to judge.
• Fairness. Child support awards should have some published, rational basis that can be reviewed and discussed.
• Efficiency. Judges should be able to set support amounts without having to hear days of testimony.

The mathematical formulas for each state are based on the payer's income (and often on the payee's as well).

Although the formula varies from state to state, in general, the formula does something like this:

• Figures the payer's (and sometimes payee's) "net income";
• Deducts certain specified special expenses, such as health care or child care;
• Takes a percentage (e.g., 30%) of what's left, and that's the support amount.

The states that look at both spouses' incomes will set a "total support" dollar amount based on the combined incomes, then apportion that total between the spouses. (In this scheme, only the payer, the non-custodial parent, actually pays cash. The other parent is assumed to be contributing by paying the children's daily expenses.)

Factors the courts will consider, in addition to the guidelines, are the following:

• The financial resources of the custodial parent.
• The child's standard of living had the marriage continued.
• The physical and mental condition of the child.
• The child's educational needs.
• The financial resources and needs of the noncustodial parent.
• Provision for private school and college education, where appropriate.
• Special medical or dental expenses, where appropriate.
• If there are subsequent children born, this reduces the support payable by that parent.
• Work-related child care expenses incurred by the custodial parent will increase the payment.
• Extraordinary uninsured health expenses for chronic long-term conditions will increase the payment.
• Time spent with the non-custodial parent. Support may be reduced during extended visits (7 days or more). Also, if the custodial parent actually cares for the child or children for 2 days every two weeks (alternate weekends), then the order might be reduced by up to 10%.
• Support for an elderly parent.
• Expenditures by the non-custodial parent for child care or school clothes.
• Medical expenses of the noncustodial parent.
• Housing provided by the military.
• Substantial travel expenses incurred for visitation by the noncustodial parent.
• Substantial daily transportation expenses for employment of either parent.
• Any other circumstance the judge believes warrants a deviation from the guidelines.

The child support order may also include an order to set aside part of the parent (or parents') property for child support.

Child support awards may be modified whenever there is a dramatic change in circumstances. The language of the law is that the change must be "so substantial and continuing as to make the terms unreasonable."

Child support awards may also be modified if:

• The award is more than 20% different than the guideline amount; and
• The child support order is at least a year old.

The kinds of changes that can trigger a modification include a large increase or decrease in the income of either party.

By making it relatively difficult to obtain a modification, the law's goal is to discourage repeated litigation over relatively small amounts.

There are two effects of this kind of approach. One is to encourage the parties to adjust to their circumstances with less continuing reliance on the other party. The other is to reduce litigation and unclog the court system.

If the payer dies, that does not automatically terminate or even modify the child support order. However, representatives of the estate may petition for an adjustment.

A typical age for child support to run is until age 21.

However, support may terminate earlier if any of the following occurs:

• The child is emancipated before reaching age 21. (Although in that case, an order to pay educational expenses will continue to be in effect.)
• The child is 18, has not attended school for 4 months, is not enrolled in school, and can support himself through employment.

Section 31-1-11.5-12(e).