Child Support
Illinois is currently considering a major overhaul to the way child support is calculated in the state. The concept of child support is relatively straightforward to divorce attorneys and their clients : if parents are not jointly caring for the child, one parent is the custodial parent, and the other (noncustodial) must help financially support the child’s upbringing. It’s much less straightforward to figure out how much is fair to make the noncustodial parent pay.
There are two main formulas that states use to determine how much the noncustodial parent must pay. Illinois currently uses the “percentage of income” formula, which requires the noncustodial parent to pay a flat percentage of his or her income, depending on how many children he or she is supporting. Illinois is one of only ten states to use this formula.. Divorce lawyers in Illinois have been using this formula since it has been in use since the 1980’s.
Virtually all other states use the “income shares” formula, which tries to approximate how much it would cost to jointly raise a child, and ensure that the child is supported by that amount of money. The formula then balances out how much money each parent earns, and the noncustodial parent pays the difference between what the custodial parent makes, and how much total money should be spent on the child. The formula could further adjust for how much time the noncustodial parent spends raising the child.
Proponents of the change suggest that the “income shares” formula is fair both to mothers and fathers: by focusing on how much it should cost to raise a child and balancing the cost between the parents based on how much money they earn, each parent is theoretically paying his or her fair share. Opponents argue that by switching to the new system it would be very expensive to implement these changes, and wouldn’t create much, if any, change for parents already paying child support.
The proposal is in its earliest stages right now– a committee is determining whether to submit a proposal to the Illinois General Assembly. Even if the proposal is accepted and passed right away, it likely would not take effect until several years from now. Even though this could take place in the future, this is major change to the way child support operates in Illinois and it is important to stay current on proposed changes to the law.
Be sure to check in at my blog to track the progress of this proposal or call me with questions.
Michael C. Craven is a well-known divorce attorney in Chicago, CPA and a partner of the law firm, Beermann Pritikin Mirabelli Swerdlove LLP. (Formerly of Beermann, now a Partner at Harrison LLP) located in the Chicago area. He is highly respected among other divorce attorneys, judges and his clients. He also holds a Master of Tax Law Degree (LLM). For more information about his services, contact Michael at mcraven@harrisonheld.com or at Divorce Lawyers Chicago
