Making Child Support Arrangements Post-Divorce

 Posted on May 29, 2014 in Child Support

NOTE: A new law defining how child support is calculated in Illinois goes into effect in July 2017. For more information, please visit our Child Support page.

When a couple divorces, there are many legal arrangements to be made: how to divide marital property, whether one spouse will pay alimony, and re-writing wills and other legal documents that named a former spouse as a beneficiary, among others. Arguably, however, the most difficult decisions arise when there are children involved. Will one parent have sole custody or will the parents share custody jointly? And if awarded joint custody, which parent will have residential custody?

Once these questions have been answered, the legal wrangling continues. The next issue a court will consider is child support. Illinois law requires the non-custodial parent to pay child support (the non-custodial parent is the parent with whom the child does not primarily reside). The parent will pay a certain percentage of his or her income based on the number of children the couple have together. Here are the guidelines the court will follow to determine the minimum payment amount:

Number of Kids       Percent of Net Income of the Non-Custodial Parent 

1                                                                                     20 percent

2                                                                                     28 percent

3                                                                                     32 percent

4                                                                                     40 percent

5                                                                                     45 percent

6                                                                                     50 percent

The non-custodial parent is responsible for child support until the child is 18 years old or until the child graduates from high school. That means if the child is 18 years old and is still in high school, the child support does not cease until he or she graduates. Once the child turns 19, the parent is no longer obligated to make support payments.

Court Bases Support Amount on the Best Interests of the Child

Child support provides for the child’s educational, physical, mental, and emotional health needs. Obviously the needs of one child will be different from the needs of another child. For that reason, the court will deviate from the above guidelines in accordance with the best interests of the child. Some of the factors that the court will consider are:

• The needs of the child and his or her financial resources;
• The needs of the custodial parent and his or her resources (alimony will also be taken into account);
• The standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the parents had not divorced;
• The child’s physical, mental, and emotional needs; and
• The non-custodial parent’s financial resources and needs.

Failure to pay child support is a serious offense. The delinquent parent will be found guilty of contempt and may be placed on probation or imprisoned for up to six months. The imprisonment, however, would be conditional. Because the point is to ensure the child’s needs are met, the delinquent parent would be released periodically in order to work.

A child support order may be modified according to changing circumstances. Either parent may petition for modification, which the court will consider based on the child’s best interests. If you are a non-custodial parent who pays child support and have lost your job, contact one of our experienced family law attorneys to help you seek a modification. Or if you are the custodial parent and your child’s needs are not being met, we can also help you seek a modification. Contact us today. We can assist those in the St. Charles area.