Child Support
“My spouse agrees that the children should live with me, he/she just refuses to pay child support. I want a divorce now, can I reserve the issue of child support for later?”
“My spouse uses my child support payments to pay her/his car note, and the kids’ need new shoes. I want the child support to be paid to the children directly, what are my options?”
“I am paid by the hour. My over time is not guaranteed and sometimes I get a bonus, and other times I do not. What is my child support obligation?”
“I haven’t seen my former girlfriend or our son for ten years. I just got served with a Complaint for Paternity seeking retroactive child support. Am I responsible for child support retroactive to the date of his birth?”
Child support disputes are a major source of litigation. The amount, duration and nature of child support payments are governed by Illinois law. The law provides a base support amount depending on the number of children that are at issue. However, the law also permits parties to deviate from the support guidelines under some circumstances.
The issue of the division of other child related expenses, such as primary, secondary and college educational expenses, day care expenses, camp expenses, extracurricular expenses, medical insurance and uncovered medical, dental, vision and therapy/mental health expenses must be addressed in all cases involving children. While the statute provides guidelines each case must be determined on its’ merits. You should not rely on what happened with your friends or family to predict an outcome in your case.
Many times it is difficult to determine the income of the obligor because it is uncertain as to amount or frequency (e.g. salesman earning commissions, hourly employee earning overtime and/or bonuses) or because an obligor refuses to disclose his/her source(s) of income or earnings. Julie has experience using the tools of discovery to determine income and/or to calculate the reasonable needs of the children for the purpose of setting proper support guidelines in your support order.