Four Scenarios Using Illinois' New Child Support Law

 Posted on September 04, 2017 in Child Support

In July, Illinois enacted a long-anticipated overhaul of its child support payment law. Whereas the previous system always placed the financial burden on the party with less parenting time, the income shares model more equitably splits the parenting cost between the parties. The court combines the parents’ net monthly incomes and calculates the percentage of the combined incomes that each parent’s individual income accounts for. The court consults a chart that quantifies the expected monthly child-related expenses, based on the number of children and combined incomes. Each parent is responsible for paying for a percentage of the child-related expenses that equals the percentage that his or her income makes up of the combined incomes.

In most cases, the parent who is allocated a majority of the parenting time will still receive child support payments from the other parent. However, the amount will vary more than it did under the previous system, depending on:

• If the recipient parent has a greater income than the paying parent; and
• If the parenting time is split so that each parent has the children for at least 40 percent of the time during a year, which is called Shared Physical Care.

To help explain the new income shares model, here are four child support scenarios. In each scenario, the parents have two children and a combined net monthly income of $5,000:

Scenario 1: Parent A has the children more than 60 percent of time and makes $1,500 per month. Parent B makes $3,500 per month.

Result: Based on Illinois' income shares chart, the combined monthly child support obligation is $1,423. Because Parent B is responsible for 70 percent of the combined net incomes, he or she must make a monthly child support payment of $996.10.

Scenario 2: Parent A has the children more than 60 percent of time and makes $3,500 per month. Parent B makes $1,500 per month.

Result: The combined monthly child support obligation is still $1,423. Because Parent B makes 30 percent of the combined net incomes, he or she will pay $426.90 per month in child support.

Scenario 3: Parent A has the children for 55 percent of the time and makes $1,500 per month. Parent B has the children for 45 percent of the time and makes $3,500 per month.

Result: Shared Physical Care child support is calculated by multiplying the normal child support obligation by 1.5. In this scenario, the $1,423 obligation becomes $2,134.50, and Parent B’s share of the obligation is $1,494.15. Then, each parent’s shared support obligation is multiplied by the percentage of time the other parent has the children, in order to determine the adjusted child support obligation. The parent with the greater adjusted obligation will pay the difference between the two amounts. Parent A’s adjusted child support obligation is $288.16, and Parent B’s obligation is $821.78. Parent B’s monthly payment is $533.62.

Scenario 4: Parent A has the children for 55 percent of the time and makes $3,500 per month. Parent B has the children for 45 percent of the time and makes $1,500 per month.

Result: Parent B’s initial obligation is $640.35 of the Shared Physical Care child support cost. After accounting for the percentage of parenting time for each parent, the adjusted support obligation is $672.37 for Parent A and $352.19 for Parent B. Though Parent A has the majority of the parenting time, he or she will be responsible for paying Parent B the difference of $320.18.

Determining Your Child Support

The actual child support calculations will be more complex because of added monthly expenses, such as:

• Health care coverage;
• Child care; and
• Extracurricular activities.

A Kane County family law attorney at Goostree Law Group can explain the new child support system. Schedule a free consultation by calling 630-584-4800.

Source:

https://www.illinois.gov/hfs/ChildSupport/parents/Pages/IncomeShares.aspx