Grant v. Hager

Summary

The Indiana Supreme Court held that the Indiana Child Support Guidelines create a rebuttable presumption that a custodial parent does not owe child support to a noncustodial parent when shared parenting time and income calculations produce that result. However, a trial court may deviate from the presumption and order such payments if it finds that applying the guideline amount would be unjust and makes the written findings required by Indiana Child Support Rule 3. The court reversed and remanded because the trial court had not made the required findings.

Holdings

1. The Indiana Child Support Guidelines do not authorize the payment of child support from a custodial parent to a noncustodial parent. Under the guideline calculation in these circumstances, there is a rebuttable presumption that neither party owes support to the other.
2. A trial court has authority to order a custodial parent to pay child support to a noncustodial parent if it finds that applying the guideline amount would be unjust and makes the written findings required by Indiana Child Support Rule 3.
3. The trial court's order could not stand because the court did not make the written findings required for a deviation and apparently believed that the Guidelines themselves authorized the custodial-parent payment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Indiana Child Support Guidelines authorize a custodial parent to pay child support to a noncustodial parent when application of the Parenting Time Credit produces a negative obligation for the noncustodial parent.
2. Whether a trial court may order such a payment by deviating from the guideline presumption under Indiana Child Support Rules 2 and 3.
3. Whether the trial court's order could stand when the court did not make the written findings required to support a deviation from the guideline amount.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded