Do I have to pay daycare or preschool expenses in addition to my child support?
In Illinois, daycare or preschool expenses are in addition to child support. Child support is ordered by a judge or administrative hearing officer in Illinois. Guidelines established by Illinois statute are used Judges to set child support' For example. Illinois guideline child support is 20 percent of the paying party's net income for one child, 28 percent for two children, 33 percent for three children, and 40 percent for four children and so forth. This percentage is applied against net income.
"Net income" has a very specific definition under Illinois statute and typically refers to gross income from all sources including overtime deductions for Federal and Illinois State income taxes, health and life insurance and certain other deductions that are deducted from gross income to arrive at net income. At this point in Illinois law the mother's income is not relevant to the calculation of the Fathers child support but this may change soon. So you may want to check back with our blog to be up to date.
Divorced parents or parents in a paternity case that do not have custody pay child support and in addition are routinely ordered to contribute toward their child's daycare or preschool expenses. There are no guideline as to the amount that the Father or payor is required to pay. Illinois judges usually look to each person's income and ability to contribute towards these expenses. They are not necessarily divided 50-50.
Tips to be aware of if you are ordered to pay after school expense or preschool expense:
If you are in the process of settling your divorce case or paternity case, make sure that the settlement agreement or order clearly sets forth the amount you're are to pay for child care and preschool expenses and when the payments are due. Sounds simple but many times these are not clearly written- so check to be sure you understand what you have agreed to pay and when.
If you are the paying party, you should therefore do the following:
If you are the party receiving contribution for daycare or after school care you should do the following:
Contact an Illinois child support attorney at Martoccio & Martoccio for assistance with your family law case. Call 630-920-8855 for a free consultation.