How is Child Support Calculated in Illinois?

 Posted on June 25, 2019 in Family Law

For many divorcing families, the topic that is always at the forefront of every decision is the children. For divorcing parents, a topic that often comes up is child support. In years prior, the calculations for child support were much more basic, but they did not always take into account the factors that more and more parents were dealing with, such as two incomes and shared parenting time. In today’s child support calculation process, more details are taken into consideration than ever before. This includes the amount of parenting time each parent has, the income of each parent, the cost of health insurance for the child, the cost of the child’s extracurricular activities and the cost of childcare. The calculation process can be difficult, but it is important to understand.

Determining the Basic Child Support Obligation

Before the amount that each parent should provide for support is determined, the basic child support obligation is calculated. This is the total finances that both parents should be providing their children each month. To find this, the gross monthly income is determined for each parent. Then, the corresponding value from the 2019 Gross to Net Income Conversion Table is taken, which is the parent’s net monthly income. These two incomes are then added together. The total of both parents’ incomes is used to find the amount that both parents should be using each month to provide for the child’s basic needs.

Determining Who is Responsible for Paying What

Once you know how much should be spent on the child’s basic needs each month, you have to figure out who will be paying what. First, you will determine how much each parent’s income is in relation to the household’s total monthly income. You can do this by taking each parent’s income and dividing that number by the sum of both parent’s income. The percentage of the household income that each parent is responsible for also depends on the number of children. Using the Income Shares Schedule, a single parent of three kids who makes $2,075 per month will be responsible for paying $839 per month.

A DuPage County Child Support Attorney Can Help

There are many different things you must take into consideration when you are determining child support payment amounts. The child support calculation process can be somewhat tricky and slow if you do not know what you are doing. At the Goostree Law Group, we understand how important child support is to your child’s well-being. Our knowledgeable Wheaton, IL child support lawyers will help you get your child the financial support they deserve. Call our office today at 630-364-4046 to schedule a free case consultation.

Sources:

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

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

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

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