Possible Change in Child Support Law in Illinois

 Posted on October 15, 2014 in Child Support

NOTE: As of July 2017, the law governing child support in Illinois has changed. Please see our Child Support page for more information.

Child support issues are often only part of a family law case before the court. These cases usually involve other issues such as an underlying divorce or child custody and visitation schedules. However, that does not prevent child support matters from being hotly debated and becoming the subject of much contention between opposing parties. Some may even argue that the current system of determining child support payments encourages litigation, or at least draws out the negotiation process. A past article discussed possible reform to the child support guidelines in Illinois.

Reform Needed

Almost four years ago now, the Illinois Child Support Advisory Committee came out with a recommendation that the state modify its child support guidelines. Apparently Illinois is slow to follow this advice. To date, Illinois is still operating under the old system, even though many other states have acted to reform their child support calculation formulas.

Currently, Illinois calculates child support based on the number of minor children between the parties and a correlated percentage of the non-custodial parent’s income. This formula does not include factors for the primary custodian’s income, or the amount of time the noncustodial parent spends with the children. Many other state’s child support guidelines do account for such factors, and many argue that such a guideline is more appropriate and accurate under the circumstances.

New Proposal

The newer proposed child support model would take both parent’s income into account in addition to the amount of time each parent spends with the children in determining an amount of child support payments. Not only do some argue that this formula makes more sense economically, but it also recognizes that both parents should share the financial responsibility for their children. It is also argued that employing the newer model may lead to less contention in custody battles and end up being better for the children in the long run.

While there has been no official change to the Illinois child support guidelines, many are hoping it happens soon. There was ongoing discussion about specifics of a formula to propose, including whether the parents’ income will be gross or net income in the equation. In addition, arguments were being raised about a minimum amount of time a parent must spend with their child before it can be a determining factor in child support. These setbacks prevented any new formula from being proposed for a lengthy amount of time.

Family Law Attorney

The DuPage County family law attorneys at the Davi Law Group, LLC have successful experience representing clients in child support cases and many other types of family law matters. Please feel free to contact us today to schedule a consultation to discuss your matter and let us know how we can help you. We have offices located in Wheaton, Warrenville, and Chicago.