What You Need to Know About the New Illinois Child Support Law

 Posted on May 09, 2017 in Child Support

Beginning July 1, 2017, new guidelines will be put in place for the determination of child support in Illinois. Current law bases child support calculations on a set percentage of net income. For example, the child support payment for one child is 20% of the net income of the non-custodial parent. Under the new "income shares" model, the incomes of both parents will be taken into account in the calculation.

What is the "income shares" model, and how does it work?

The goal of the income shares model is to try to allocate support as if the child and parents were living in an intact household. In order to calculate the child support amount owed, the incomes of both parents will be combined to come up with a shared gross income. Based on that amount, a basic support obligation will be imposed. This obligation will be pre-determined by a schedule developed by the Department of Health & Family Services (DHFS). Each parent will then be responsible for a portion of the basic obligation prorated in proportion to each parent’s share of the combined income.

What if I share custody with my child’s other parent?

The new child support guidelines provide a different calculation when there is "shared parenting." Shared parenting adjustments are only allowed if each parent spends a minimum of 146 overnights per year with the child. In a shared parenting situation, the incomes of both parents will first be combined, and the basic support obligation determined by the DFHS schedule. That basic obligation will then be multiplied by 1.5. Each parent will be responsible for a portion of the obligation prorated in proportion to that parent’s income and the time spent with the child. The obligations then offset, and the parent owing more support pays the difference.

What else is changing?

The new law also addresses issues of underemployed or unemployed parents, healthcare premiums, and child care costs in greater detail than the old law. Courts will also be able to adjust gross income if one parent pays child support for additional children, or supports additional children in an intact household.

Will this change my current child support?

Because every case is different, only an experienced attorney can tell you how the new law will impact your situation. If you have questions as to how this new law will impact your case, contact the Schaumburg child support lawyers at A. Traub & Associates for an initial consultation. Call 630-426-0196.