An Indiana doctor who reduced her working hours to care for her newborn daughter has lost her appeal against a divorce court's decision to calculate her weekly earning capacity at $8,811, despite her reporting an income of $6,677 a week.
asserted
her → reduce → 6,677
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday siad that the lower court had sufficient evidence to conclude that Aiza Ashraf, a radiologist, was capable of working full-time.
asserted
Ashraf → rule → evidence
The judges also upheld an order allowing her former husband, Mohsin Mukhtar, to spend three nights a week with their young daughter.
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husband → uphold → daughter
Ashraf and Mukhtar, both radiologists employed by Indiana University, married in 2018 and welcomed their daughter in August 2024, according to the case details available on
Justia.
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Ashraf → employ → Justia
Ashraf filed for divorce the following month.
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Ashraf → file → divorce
The couple's separation led to disagreements over their daughter's care, parenting time, and the income that should be considered when calculating child support.
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that → lead → support
Both doctors received payments from Indiana University for teaching and from IU Health for providing medical services.
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doctors → receive → services
They also had opportunities to earn additional money by taking extra shifts, commonly referred to as "moonlighting".
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They → have → moonlighting
Before taking maternity leave, Ashraf earned the same base salary as her husband.
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Ashraf → take → husband
However, in January 2025, Ashraf reduced her workload to three-quarters of a full-time schedule to look after their daughter.
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Ashraf → reduce → daughter
She told the court that her gross weekly income was $6,677.
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income → tell → court
Mukhtar argued that she could still earn the same base salary as him if she returned to full-time work.
uncertain
she → argue → work
Why court calculated income higher
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court → calculate → income
During the divorce proceedings, Ashraf explained that she specialised in breast imaging radiology and planned to maintain her credentials in that field rather than general diagnostic radiology.
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she → explain → radiology
She said opportunities for additional shifts were limited because breast imaging was generally performed during regular working hours.
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imaging → say → hours
Mukhtar disagreed.
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Mukhtar → disagree → ?
He told the court that both had the same employment contract and that Ashraf retained the training, qualifications and licence needed to perform general radiology work.
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Ashraf → tell → work
He asked the court to calculate both parents' weekly income at $8,811, excluding earnings from additional shifts.
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He → ask → shifts
On October 13, last year, the Hamilton Circuit Court accepted that Ashraf could work full-time and assessed her earning capacity at $8,811 per week.
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Ashraf → accept → week
Ashraf challenged the decision, arguing that she had reduced her hours to care for her daughter rather than to avoid financial responsibilities.
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she → challenge → responsibilities
The appeals court examined whether the lower court had acted improperly by using her potential earnings instead of her reported income.
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court → examine → income
Under Indiana's child support rules, courts can consider what a parent is capable of earning when that parent is voluntarily unemployed or working fewer hours than their qualifications and opportunities would allow.
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qualifications → consider → hours
The appeals judges noted that Ashraf had acknowledged she could work additional hours if she wanted.
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she → note → hours
They also considered evidence that she previously earned the same base salary as Mukhtar.
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she → consider → Mukhtar
The court rejected her argument that the $8,811 figure improperly included her husband's additional earnings.
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figure → reject → earnings
Both parents' financial documents identified that amount as his base weekly pay, excluding extra shifts.
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documents → identify → shifts
Dispute over overnight stays with father
The case also involved a disagreement over how much time Mukhtar should spend with their daughter.
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Mukhtar → involve → daughter
According to the judgment, both parents initially helped care for the baby after her birth.
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parents → accord → birth
However, in September 2024, Ashraf began sleeping in the nursery and prevented Mukhtar from entering the room.
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Ashraf → begin → room
A preliminary court order issued in December 2024 did not allow overnight stays with the father.
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order → issue → father
It provided that he could request them when the child turned six months old or began eating solid food.
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child → provide → food
Mukhtar subsequently requested more time with his daughter, but Ashraf refused.
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Ashraf → request → daughter
On one occasion, she left the child with her maternal grandmother in Texas for two nights rather than arrange overnight care with Mukhtar.
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she → leave → Mukhtar
At the final divorce hearing in March 2025, Ashraf proposed gradually increasing the father's parenting time, with overnight stays beginning when their daughter turned two.
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daughter → propose → time
She explained that she intended to continue breastfeeding until that age and wanted to be available to comfort the child at night.
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she → explain → night
Mukhtar sought equal parenting time, including overnight stays.
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Mukhtar → seek → stays
He told the court that he had participated in the baby's early care, regularly exercised his permitted parenting time and completed parenting courses.
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he → tell → courses
The lower court eventually awarded him three days of parenting time each week, including overnight stays.
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court → award → stays
Appeals court upholds both decisions
Ashraf challenged the overnight arrangement, arguing that the immediate increase from no overnight stays to three per week was not in their daughter's best interests.
The appeals court acknowledged that the arrangement went beyond the usual recommendations under Indiana's parenting time guidelines for young children.
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arrangement → uphold → children
However, it found that the lower court had considered the circumstances of the family, including Mukhtar's involvement in childcare, his completion of parenting courses and his ability to provide suitable accommodation.
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court → find → accommodation
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
