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I have a question regarding Indiana non-custodial parent responsibilities. On an overnight during the school week, is the non custodial parent responsible for providing lunch for the children? In this case, the children’s father did not provide lunch for the children to take to school. When he was asked to reimburse us for the cost of school lunches, he responded that “that is what he pays child support for.” Reading the Indiana Child Support Guidelines, this passage stands out: “Computation of Parenting Time Credit. The computation of the parenting time credit will require a determination of the annual number of overnights of parenting time exercised by the parent who is to pay child support, the use of the standard Child Support Obligation Worksheet, a Parenting Time Table, and a Parenting Time Credit Worksheet. An overnight will not always translate into a twenty-four hour block of time with all of the attendant costs and responsibilities. It should include, however, the costs of feeding and transporting the child, attending to school work and the like. Merely providing a child with a place to sleep in order to obtain a credit is prohibited.” If I am reading this correctly, on an overnight, he is responsible for all meals.
Based on the information you provided, it would appear as though he is responsible for ensuring that your children are provided with meals during visitation. Depending on the cost of the meal, it may be frivolous to bring a legal action for reimbursement (considering court costs). If the behavior continues, you may want to have your attorney write him a letter reminding him of his rights and responsibilities pertaining to the child support order. If he habitually and intentionally continues to not feed your children, then a bigger issue may need to be addressed such as child neglect.
