Modifying Your Child Support Payments

 Posted on October 10, 2014 in Child Support

Life has its ups and downs, and its feasts and famines. When your financial circumstances change, everything in life changes with them. That includes child support payments.

If you are currently paying child support to a former spouse and you have recently experienced a layoff, disability, medical issue, retirement or other life-altering financial upheaval, you could be able to have your child support requirement modified. If you think a child support modification is right for you, you should contact an experienced attorney immediately for help.

Reasons to Seek Child Support Modification

When your new financial demands put a strain on your ability to make the child support payments that were part of your original settlement, seeking modification may give you some relief and hope for the future. The following are examples of reasons why a parent may seek to modify his or her child support requirement:

• Income loss. This can be through a layoff, firing or a reduction of working hours;
• Retirement; or
• Medical expenses, such as loss of income from time spent out of work and medical bills.

Every three years following the establishment of a child support agreement, divorced parents in Illinois are given the option to have their child support agreement reviewed. When this occurs, either parent may request that their agreement be considered for modification.

The Modification Review Process

All child support modification reviews in Illinois must go through the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services' Division of Child Support Services.

If a parent opts to have his or her child support agreement reviewed by this agency, both he or she and the child's other parent must submit a record of his or her income to the Division of Child Support Services. The parents both then receive notification that the child support payments may increase, decrease, or remain the same following the review.

Any parent who disagrees with the results of his or her child support modification may go to court to contest them. This is why it is important to work with an experienced child support attorney to seek a manageable child support amount that can allow both the child and the paying parent to live a comfortable lifestyle. The parent may appear in court to contest the modification or he or she may request an administrative hearing to work through the modification.

Child Support Attorneys Can Help

If you would like to modify your current child support requirement in any way, call an Oak Brook divorce attorney at Kathryn L. Harry & Associates, P.C. to learn more about the child support modification process. The experienced team of attorneys at our firm knows Illinois child support law and can help you reach a more productive solution for your payment obligation. Call us today at 630-472-9700.