Elmhurst Child Support Lawyer

Attorney Helps Parents Determine Child Support Payments in DuPage County

When parents live in separate households, they are both obligated to provide financial support for their children, regardless of how parental responsibilities and parenting time are allocated between them. Whether parents are divorced, legally separated, or were never married, they are required to make sure that their children's financial needs are being met. However, there are many factors that apply to a court's decisions about child support, including the need for daycare expenses, special education or medical needs, educational expenses, college tuition, and each parent's financial resources.

At the law offices of Kathryn L. Harry & Associates, P.C., our experienced, compassionate family law attorneys understand that every family's situation is unique, and we will work with you to ensure that child support is calculated correctly and meets your and your children's financial needs.

Determining Child Support in Illinois

Until recently, Illinois used a straightforward method to calculate child support, basing the amount of support payments on the non-custodial parent's income and the number of children being supported. However, while this method may have worked well in family situations in the past in which one parent was the primary earner and the other parent stayed home to care for the children, it did not reflect the nature of most modern families, in which both parents earn an income and share in parental duties.

To better meet the needs of today's families, Illinois law has been updated, and in July of 2017, a new method of calculating child support payments went into effect. Under the new law, child support will be determined using an "income shares" method that first identifies a Basic Support Obligation, or the amount that parents would typically have spent to care for their children if they had remained married.

This amount of the Basic Support Obligation is based on the parents' combined net income and the number of children being supported, and it will be divided between the parents based on the percentage that each parent contributes to the combined net income. In cases when children stay overnight with one parent fewer than 146 days each year, this parent will pay their portion of the Basic Support Obligation to the other parent.

When children stay overnight with each parent for at least 146 days each year, this is known as Shared Physical Care, and additional calculations will be performed to determine each parent's support obligation based on their percentage of overnight stays with their children. In these cases, the parent with the larger support obligation will pay the other parent the difference between the two obligation amounts.

Contact a Lombard Child Support Attorney

Whether you are getting divorced or seeking to establish paternity, it is important to ensure that your children will have the financial support they need. The attorneys at Kathryn L. Harry & Associates, P.C. can help you determine the correct amount of child support in your situation and advocate for your family's best interests in court. Contact our Oak Brook family law attorneys today at 630-472-9700 to schedule a free consultation. We serve clients in Wheaton, Hinsdale, Downers Grove, Burr Ridge, Western Springs, and surrounding areas.