Calculating child support obligation in Illinois can be complicated if you don’t understand the method. O’Dekirk, Allred & Associates in Joliet can help you through the process.
In its simplest form, the amount of child support depends on the non-custodial parent’s net income and the number of children for which the parent is responsible.
The list below, from the Child Support Illinois website, shows the minimum amount that may be ordered according to the Illinois Statutory Guidelines (750 ILCS 5/505 Sec. 505).
Statutory Guidelines for Child Support
Number of children and percent of non-custodial parent’s net income:
1 20%
2 28%
3 32%
4 40%
5 45%
6+ 50%
These guidelines are used for every case unless the court decides that the amount determined would not be appropriate after considering the best interests of the child.
To make a determination of an amount outside these guidelines, the court may consider the following:
- The financial needs and resources of the children
- The financial needs and resources of the custodial parent
- The standard of living the children would have had if the marriage wasn’t dissolved, or the separation didn’t occur, or if the parties had been married
- The educational needs, and physical and emotional condition of the children
- The financial needs and resources of the non-custodial parent
As mentioned earlier, calculating child support obligation depends on the non-custodial parent’s net income and the number of children parent is responsible for. But how is net income determined? Net income is calculated from the total of all income from all sources, minus these deductions:
- Federal income tax
- State income tax
- Social Security (FICA)
- Mandatory retirement contributions
- Union dues
- Dependent and individual health/hospitalization insurance premiums
- Prior obligations of support or maintenance actually paid pursuant to a court order or administrative order
- Expenses to repay debts representing reasonable and necessary expenses for the production of income
- Medical expenses needed to preserve life or health
- Reasonable expenses used for the benefit of the child and the other parent, exclusive of gifts
If for some reason the net income can’t be determined, the court will order child support in an amount considered reasonable for that case.
At O’Dekirk, Allred & Associates in Joliet, we’ve seen that in addition to the court process for calculating child support obligation in Illinois, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (Child Support Services) can determine the amount of support through an administrative process.
If the net income can’t be determined in administrative cases, the department determines a standard amount based on the state’s minimum wage to decide the monthly support obligation.
Support orders established through this process have the same force and effect as through the court. (45 CFR 300.0 or 89 IL Administrative Code, Sec. 160.60 or 305 ILCS 5/Art. X)
While calculating child support obligation in Illinois can be simple as plugging the non-custodial parent’s net income and the number of children for which they are responsible into the guidelines, it’s not always as cut and dry. At O’Dekirk, Allred & Associates in Joliet, we walk our clients through the entire process and help them navigate every hurdle the court system might present. For your own free consultation, contact us today.