Illinois Divorce Lawyer Blog
The question of child support seems to be a basic question, but one that sometimes causes confusion. It used to be some years ago that the noncustodial parent was obligated to pay child support to the parent with the “primary custody of the child or children.” Illinois has largely done away with old concepts of child custody and child support, and now centers its laws on allocating more equally the parenting time of the children, and setting support such that both parents’ incomes are factored in.
Child support is now calculated using an “income shares” model, which considers both parents’ incomes and the number of children. The key factors in determining child support include:
1. Determining Both Parents’ Net Incomes
- Net income is calculated by subtracting taxes, Social Security, health insurance premiums, and other necessary deductions from gross income.
- If a parent is unemployed or underemployed, the court may impute income (assign a potential income based on work history, education, and job market conditions).
2. Combining Both Incomes
- The court adds both parents’ net incomes to determine the total household income available for child support.
3. Using the Illinois Child Support Table
- Illinois has a child support guidelines chart that shows how much of the combined income should be allocated to support the child.
- This amount is divided proportionally between the parents based on their share of the total income.
4. Adjustments for Parenting Time
- If the non-primary parent has the child 146 or more overnights per year, the court applies a shared parenting formula, which reduces the paying parent’s obligation.
5. Other Considerations
- Additional expenses like health insurance, daycare, extracurricular activities, and medical costs may be split between the parents, sometimes 50/50 and sometimes pro rata to their respective incomes. When one parent pays for the health insurance premiums through employer withholdings, the formula allows for that premium to be credited in part to the payor parent on a pro rata basis.
Example Calculation
- Parent A earns $4,000/month net, and Parent B earns $2,000/month net.
- Combined net income: $6,000
- If the guideline suggests $1,200 per month for one child, Parent A (who earns 67% of the total) would pay $804, and Parent B (who earns 33%) would pay $396.