How Is Child Support Calculated in Illinois Divorce Cases?

 Posted on January 14, 2021 in Child Support

A common concern that parents have when they get divorced (or separate from one another if they were never married) is whether or not they will each be able to financially support their child, now that the other’s finances are no longer in the picture. Both parents are obligated to provide financial support for their child, even if they share custody of the child, which is where child support comes into play. A child support amount can be agreed upon by the parents, but the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) puts forth guidelines as to the minimum calculations for the support that each child is entitled to. It is important for you to understand how these calculations work, especially if you are getting a divorce in Illinois and you and your spouse have children together.

Finding Your Basic Support Obligation

First, your attorney will perform the calculations necessary to figure out how much the basic support obligation is for your child every month. The IMDMA states that this is determined by taking both you and the other parent’s monthly net income and adding them together. Once you have the sum of both of your monthly net incomes, you can then find the corresponding row with your income and the corresponding column with the number of children you have on the income shares schedule provided by Illinois Child Support Services. For example, two parents who have a monthly net income of $8,400 with two children would have a monthly support obligation of $1,950. 

Who Pays What?

Now that you know how much your basic support obligation is every month for your child, your attorney will determine how much of that support obligation that you and your child’s other parent are responsible for. This is determined by the percentage of the net income that each parent is responsible for contributing.

Let us use the previous example and assume that Parent A’s income is $5,200 (61.9 percent) and Parent B’s income is $3,200 (38.1 percent). Parent B has the children for a majority of the time, so Parent A will pay support to Parent B. Since Parent A’s income is 61.9 percent of the total net income, then Parent A will be responsible for providing $1,207.05, or 61.9 percent of the basic support obligation.

Discuss Your Case With Our Will County Child Support Attorney

Financial issues can be some of the most stressful aspects of any divorce, but no parent should have to worry about whether or not they will be able to support their child. At the Law Office of Ronald L. Hendrix, P.C., we have represented clients in many different types of divorce and family law cases involving child support orders. Our knowledgeable Bolingbrook child support lawyers will be sure to look at all relevant factors when making the calculation, so your child can get the financial support they need and deserve. Call our office today at 630-355-7776 to schedule a free consultation.

Sources:

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

https://www.illinois.gov/hfs/SiteCollectionDocuments/IncomeSharesScheduleBasedonNetIncome.pdf

https://www.illinois.gov/hfs/SiteCollectionDocuments/2020GrossToNetIncomeGuidelines.pdf