How Does Child Support Work if I Have Kids With More than One Person?

 Posted on October 06, 2022 in Divorce

Child support obligations in Illinois are based on both parents’ net incomes. For many payers, or “obligors,” child support payments represent a major monthly expense. If someone is already making child support payments to an ex, he or she may worry about how he or she will afford additional child support payments. People in this situation are usually filled with questions. If a parent has children with multiple partners, does he or she pay child support to every partner? How much does he or she pay? These questions can cause great concern for both payers and recipients of child support in Illinois.

Read on to learn how Illinois courts handle child support when someone has multiple families and what you can do if you need help establishing, changing, or enforcing a child support order.

How is Child Support Usually Calculated?

As of July 1, 2017, Illinois uses the Income Shares formula to calculate child support. The parent with less parenting time is responsible for paying child support to the parent with more parenting time. The amount he or she pays is determined by a formula that uses both parents’ net incomes. The basic steps of the Income Shares calculation are as follows:

•  The parents’ monthly net incomes are added together.

• The combined monthly net income total is compared to the Income Shares schedule. This schedule is based on statistical averages. It lists the total amount of support needed to care for the applicable number of children. For example, a couple with two children and a combined monthly net income of $7,000 is responsible for about $1,700 of support each month.

• The total amount of support is split between the parents based on their share of the combined income. For example, if a father makes $4,000 a month and the mother makes $3,000 a month, the father is responsible for approximately 60 percent of the total support and the mother is responsible for about 40 percent of the total support. If the mother has the majority of parenting time, she is the one receiving child support. The father pays her 60 percent of the total support obligation, or in this case, just over $1,000 a month. The mother makes her contribution to the child directly by providing the child with shelter, food, and other basic needs.

How Much Child Support Does a Parent Pay if They Have Children with Multiple Partners?

If someone already has a child support payment, the amount he or she currently pays in child support is deducted from his or her income before it is used in the Income Shares formula. This means that any additional child support obligations will be based on the parent’s income minus his or her current support obligations.

Consider a mother with a monthly income of $3000 who pays $200 each month in child support. If she has a child with another man, her income would be set at $2800 for the purposes of calculating the second child support obligation. The same methodology is used to calculate child support if a parent already has a spousal support obligation: Whatever the parent pays each month in spousal support is deducted from his or her income, and that reduced amount is used to determine his or her child support obligation.

Contact a Wheaton Child Support Lawyer

As you can see, many factors affect child support obligations. If you need help establishing, adjusting, or enforcing a child support order, contact our DuPage County family law attorneys. Call Goostree Law Group at 630-364-4046 for a free consultation.

Sources:

https://www2.illinois.gov/hfs/ChildSupport/parents/Pages/IncomeShares.aspx

https://www2.illinois.gov/hfs/SiteCollectionDocuments/IncomeSharesScheduleBasedonNetIncome.pdf