Understanding Child Support Obligations in Illinois

 Posted on November 09, 2022 in Family Law

One of the most contentious issues in any divorce can be child support. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has a child support estimator that uses a variety of information, including the number of children, incomes of both parents, and spousal maintenance, to give people a general idea of possible child support amounts. Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) data indicated that the $766,636,244 paid in child support in Illinois in 2018 was actually less than the $807,772,022 paid in 2015, and the 43.5 percent of parents who were due child support said they received the full amount of child support due.

Illinois Child Support Guidelines

Child support is now determined through the Income Shares method based on the typical cost of raising a child or children in a family with the same combined income and the same number of children. 

Both parents’ incomes will be combined. Next, a Basic Support Obligation will be assigned to each parent according to their proportional contribution to the combined income. 

It is important to note that 750 Illinois Consolidated Statute § 5/505(a)(2) does allow for a court to deviate from the Income Shares guidelines. When rendering a decision on the duty of support, a court can consider the best interests of a child and relevant factors such as the:

• financial resources and needs of a child

• financial resources and needs of a custodial parent

• standard of living a child would have enjoyed had a marriage survived

• physical and emotional condition of a child, their educational needs

• financial resources and needs of the non-custodial parent.

Child support is always subject to modification, meaning either party has the ability to file a petition with a court to modify a child support order. Common causes of child support modifications can include substantial changes of circumstances such as job losses or decreases in salary, changes in a child’s needs, cost of living increases, and either spouse remarrying.

Call Us Today to Speak with a DuPage County Child Support Attorney

If you are currently dealing with a dispute relating to child support in your divorce case, do not waste any more time arguing with your spouse. Contact the Hinsdale child support lawyers at Law Office of Martoccio & Martoccio to get experienced legal representation in dealing with these issues and finding resolutions.

Our firm regularly assists clients with various kinds of child support issues. You can call 630-920-8855 or contact us online to set up a free initial consultation.

Sources:

https://cscwebext.hfs.illinois.gov/CscWebEx/app/estimator?execution=e1s1

https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/state-data-on-child-support-collections.aspx

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/cb18-tps03.html

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050k505.htm