How to stop child support payments in indiana

DCS: Child Support: Frequently Asked Questions

Custodial  Party -  Frequently Asked Questions

How do I establish paternity?
My child's father or mother is not paying.  How do I start receiving child Support?
What are the different ways I can receive my support? 
What happens if my child support check is lost or stolen?
How long is child support paid?
How do I get my child support order modified (increased or decreased)?
Can the prosecutor's office help me with child custody or parenting time (visitation) issues?
If the non-custodial parent has not been paying child support as ordered, are they still entitled to parenting time with the child?
How can I get verification of the support I receive?
How do I change my name/address?
Who can I call if I have other child support questions?

How do I establish paternity?
Paternity can be established in several ways.

• If the child's father is married to the child's mother, or if the child is born less than 300 days after the marriage legally ends, the husband is presumed to be the child's father.
• Paternity can also be established at the hospital within 72 hours of the child's birth by both parents signing a paternity affidavit.
• Paternity can be established at the local county health department any time before the child is emancipated by completion of the paternity affidavit. Paternity can also be determined by the court when a paternity action is filed.
• The county prosecutor's Title IV-D office may be able to help you with paternity establishment services.  You will need to call or visit their office to schedule an appointment.  Any genetic testing must be court ordered and is done when requested by any party in the legal proceeding.

My child's father or mother is not paying.  How do I start receiving child support? 
A custodial party may enroll for services at the county prosecutor's Title IV-D office in his/her county of residence. Local County Child Support Offices
It is important that you bring all relevant court orders, payment records, and information on the other parent to your appointment.  You may be asked to provide photo identification when opening your case.  Once your case has become a Title IV-D case, the county prosecutor's Title IV-D office will evaluate your circumstances to determine what the next appropriate step is in enforcing your case.  This may include sending an income withholding order (IWO) to an employer or filing a petition with the court to enforce the case.

What are the different ways I can receive my support?
Go to the Payment Disbursements page to learn more about the different ways child support can be received.

What happens if my child support check is lost or stolen?
Requests for a lost check search through the Indiana State Child Support Bureau are accepted 30 calendar days from the issue date of the check.  The process in completing a lost check search can take approximately 45 days.  If your child support check was issued by the Child Support Bureau (not a county clerk of court), you may call the Kidsline at (800) 840-8757 or (317) 233-5437 to initiate a lost check search.   If the office of the county clerk issued your check, you must contact the county clerk's office directly

How long is child support paid?
When a child turns 19 years old, the child is emancipated by operation of law, and the non-custodial parent's obligation to pay current child support terminates.  An exception is if the child is incapacitated.  In this case, the child support continues during the incapacity or until further order of the court.  A court order for the child support to extend beyond 19 years old is required.

The court shall emancipate a child prior to the age of 19, if the court finds that the child:

• Marries; or
• Goes on active duty status with the U.S. Military; or
• The child is not under the care or control of either parent or an individual or agency approved by the court.

The court may terminate a non-custodial parent's support obligation, with or without emancipating the child, if the court finds that all of the following circumstances exist:

• The child is at least 18 years old; and
• The child has not attended a secondary school or postsecondary educational institution for the prior four months; and
• Is not enrolled in a secondary school or post secondary educational institution; and
• The child is, or is capable of, supporting himself or herself through employment.

In order for a court to terminate a child support order prior to 19 years old, a petition must be filed with the court.  If a non-custodial parent owes any arrearage at the point when the court order for current child support terminates, he or she is still required to pay arrearages.

If two or more children are covered by a child support order and one child is emancipated, the amount of the child support order is not automatically reduced.  The parties must seek a modification of the court order to determine the new amount of support for the remaining child(ren).

How do I get my child support order modified (increased or decreased)?
Indiana law allows for a party to a child support order to petition the court to modify the amount of child support when:

• A substantial and continuing change of circumstance exists; or
• The previous order is at least 12 months old and the amount of support that would be calculated under the Child Support Guidelines differs from the current order by at least 20%.

Orders may be considered for modification at the request of either parent.  The county prosecutor's Title IV-D office is required to review child support orders of families receiving Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) every 3 years.  Based on the review, the county prosecutor's Title IV-D office may file a petition to modify with the court.

Can the prosecutor's Title IV-D office help me with child custody or parenting time (visitation)?
No.  Civil matters such as divorce petition, custody, or parenting time (visitation) cannot be addresses through the Title IV-D child support program.  You should seek legal advice in these matters.

If the non-custodial parents has not been paying child support as ordered, are they still entitled to parenting time with the child?
Yes.  There is no legal correlation between the payment of child support and exercising parenting time (visitation) rights with the child(ren).

How can I get verification of the support I receive?
Payment information is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, via the Child Support Bureau's automated Kidsline at (800) 840-8757 or (317) 233-5437.   This information can also be obtained by choosing "Check Support Payments" in the menu at the top left.  An official "certified" computer printout can be obtained from the office of the county clerk where the support order was entered.  A small fee may be required so please check with your county clerk's office.

How do I change my name/address?
You can change your name/address by contacting your local office of the county clerk or by calling the Kidsline at (800) 840-8757 or (317) 233-5437.  If you are a Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) recipient, you must contact your TANF caseworker to change your address.

Who can I call if I have other child support questions?
A Customer Service Representative is available via the Kidsline at (800) 840-8757 or (317) 233-5437 from 7:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. EST (Indianapolis time) Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays.  If you have an established child support case that is being enforced by a county prosecutor's IV-D office, you should contact that office.

DCS: Child Support: Child Support Orders

• Child Support
• Custodial Party Information
• Current: Child Support Orders

Child support orders are legal obligations to provide financial support for a child(ren), and are established by a court of law.  All child support obligations in Indiana are governed by the Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines issued by the Indiana Supreme Court.  The guidelines employ a methodology designed to calculate child support as the share of each parent's income estimated to have been spent on the child if the parents and child were living in an intact household.   For the non-custodial parent, the calculated amount establishes the amount of child support to be paid to the Custodial Party for the benefit of the child(ren).  The amount calculated for the custodial party is presumed to be spent directly on the child(ren).  The Guidelines also address special considerations for extraordinary education expenses and parenting time(visitation).

When a child turns 19 years old, the child is emancipated by operation of law, and the non-custodial parent's obligation to pay current child support terminates.  An exception is if the child is incapacitated.  In this case, the child support continues during the incapacity or until further order of the court.  A court order for the child support to extend beyond 19 years old is required.

The court shall emancipate a child prior to the age of 19 if the court finds that the child:

• Marries; or
• Goes on active duty status with the US Military; or
• The child is not under the care or control of either parent or an individual or agency approved by the court.

The court may terminate a non-custodial parent's support obligation, with or without emancipating the child if the court finds that all of the following circumstances exist:

• The child is at least 18 years old; and
• The child has not attended a secondary school or post-secondary educational institution for the prior 4 months; and
• Is not enrolled in a secondary school or post-secondary educational institution; and
• The child is, or is capable of, supporting himself or herself through employment.

In order for a court to terminate a child support order prior to 19, a petition must be filed with the court.  If a non-custodial parent owes any arrearage at the point when the order for child support terminates, he or she is still required to pay the arrearages.

If two or more children are covered by a child support order and one child is emancipated, the amount of the child support is not automatically reduced.   The parties must seek a modification of the court order to determine the new amount of support for the remaining child(ren).

If you are ordered to pay support, you are also responsible for payment of the annual support fee (ASFE) for each of your court orders.  This fee is sometimes referred to as a "docket fee" or a "clerk fee".  The current annual support fee is $55.00.  For more information about annual support fees, please click Annual Support Fees.

How are child support obligations enforced?

Some of the enforcement tools that may be used include:

• Withholding support payments from wages, unemployment compensation and other benefits
• Intercepting federal and state income tax refunds, lottery winnings, and insurance settlements
• Reporting of unpaid support to a credit bureau
• Suspending driver's and professional licenses as well as hunting and fishing licenses
• Applying vehicle liens
• Locating and withholding bank assets
• Cross matching parents who owe support with employer new hire reports
• Denying/revoking passports
• Interfacing data with numerous other federal and state agency systems

How to Pay Court-Ordered Support

Income Withholding
If an Income Withholding Order (IWO) was sent to your employer or income payor, they will forward the support withheld from your earnings to the Indiana State Central Collection Unit (INSCCU).   However, you are responsible for paying child support until the IWO becomes effective.

How do I pay child support before the IWO is in effect?
Only cash payments can be accepted by the office of the County Clerk in the county where your court order originated. Payments by personal check, money order, cashier's check or certified check are to be made payable to INSCCU and mailed to:

INSCCU
PO Box 7130
Indianapolis, IN  46207-7130

When sending a payment to INSCCU, please include the following information:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your phone number
• Your child support case number
• Last 4 digits of your social security number
• Your court cause number
• Payment amount

If you have more than one child support case, you may either:

• Send one check, money order, cashier's or certified check per case, or
• Send one check, money order, cashier's or certified check that covers the amount due on all of your cases.   If you send one check to be applied to more than one case, please be sure to identify the amount of payment to be applied to each case and list each child support case number individually.

A Child Support Remittance Form to include with your payment is available for download here. It is important that all information is completed.  If you do not know your child support case number or court cause number, you may contact the Kidsline at (800) 840-8757 or (317) 233-5437.  Customer Service representatives are available Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. excluding state holidays.

Child support payments can be made online or by phone.  Annual Support Fees (ASFE) cannot be made online or by phone.  To make a child support payment online, please click Make a Child Support Payment.

To make a child support payment by credit/debit card over the phone, call 1-855-972-9427.  When prompted, enter the information requested from the automated phone system which includes:

• Social Security number
• 10 digit child support case number
• payment amount
• credit/debit card information
• phone number

At this time, we cannot accept payment by electronic check; however you can use credit and debit cards.   You will not need a PIN number.  You will need your child support case number and your social security number to make a payment.  Enter the 10 digit case number by using leading zeros (e.g. 0000221133).  If you do not know your child support case number, please call the Kidsline at (800) 840-8757 or (317) 233-5437.

On your credit card statement, the transaction will be listed as "IN Child Support Payment".  There is a convenience fee associated with making a phone or online payment. This fee is 2.25% of the total payment paid.  The convenience fee will be listed as "Child Support Conv.Fee".  This fee is non-refundable and is not applied to your case.  If you have any questions regarding the transaction, please call the phone number listed on the credit card statement.

If you make a mistake with the payment, you can contact the Kidsline at (800) 840-8757 or (317) 233-5437 regarding any questions.  Please review each payment carefully before you submit it. Once transactions are submitted, they cannot be canceled or changed.

How to Cancel Child Support?

It is necessary to apply to the court to determine the place of residence of the child with the father and cancel the alimony.

To stop paying child support legally, you must apply to the court in the order of action or writ proceedings to obtain a court decision or order to cancel child support . An executive document must be submitted to the bailiff service to stop the collection of alimony payments.

Child support can be canceled by a court decision or by agreement of the parents . At the same time, it is necessary that the property interests of the child are not violated. Therefore, the cancellation procedure is controlled by the court or notary.

Can single parent support be cancelled?

In the case when a child changed his place of residence from one parent who received child support to the one who paid them, it is possible to resolve the issue of canceling the calculation of alimony. The same should be done if the mother and child have left in an unknown direction and there has been no news from them for several years.

How is fixed child support determined?

Child support in a fixed amount is assigned as a multiple of the subsistence minimum for children in the region of residence of the recipient of the alimony, and in the absence of such an indicator in the subject of the country, the corresponding subsistence minimum for children established in the whole of the Russian Federation is used.

How to cancel child support?

For to cancel child support legally, the ex-father needs to go to court. The application must be accompanied by documents confirming the renunciation of paternity and the adoption of the child by another person. After the adoption of the court decision, the obligation to support the minor is removed.

How to write an application for termination of alimony payments?

An application for the cancellation of alimony for a child is filed with the district court at the place of residence of the recipient of alimony in cases of adoption or inaction of a bailiff or employer if there are grounds for terminating the collection. The amount of the state duty is determined based on the totality of the remaining payments for no more than a year.

Is it possible to cancel alimony from bailiffs?

Presentation of a writ of execution for collection alimony is the right, not the obligation of the claimant, and nothing prevents or not to file a writ of execution at all or to withdraw it in the future.

How to suspend child support payments?

In order to stop paying alimony , it is enough for a parent to prepare an evidence base and apply to the appropriate court with an application to stop collecting alimony (go to the sample). From the moment the court makes a decision, the parties cease to depend on each other, and maintenance payments cease.

Can child support payments be cancelled?

To stop paying child support legally, you must apply to the court in the order of action or writ proceedings to obtain a court decision or order to cancel child support . An executive document must be submitted to the bailiff service to stop the collection of alimony payments.

How can alimony be canceled if the child lives with the father?

To father no longer pay alimony for the maintenance of a child who lives with him and is supported at his expense, he needs to file a claim with the court for exemption from paying alimony .

What do I need to withdraw child support?

You can refuse alimony : Through the court Through a bailiff Through a notary

To certify the agreement, parents during a visit to the notary must have with them:

1. Own passports
2. Birth certificate of the child (or children)
3. All documents confirming the transfer of property
4. Previous agreement (if any)

Is it possible to cancel the decision of the court on alimony?

It is possible to cancel the decision on the recovery of alimony

Judges of the peace have samples of applications for its issuance. As as a rule, women write an application according to the model. The issued court order can be canceled if the debtor under maintenance payments received objections within 10 days from the date of receipt of its copy.

How to stop paying child support after 18 years?

A parent who makes maintenance payments has the right to apply to the accounting department with an application for termination of payments in connection with the acquisition of full legal capacity by the child. A copy of the document that recognizes the child as fully capable should be attached to the application.