Can I Be Forced to Help My Child Pay for College?

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Child Support

As a new class of graduating high school seniors prepares for the road ahead, many will be headed to college for the first time this fall. While post-high school education certainly offers a great deal of opportunity for a young mind, the ever-increasing price tag associated with it is a source of serious concern. A large number of parents have both the desire and financial ability to help their child pay for college. But what about those cannot or will not contribute to their child’s college expenses? Can a court force such parents to help? It may come as a surprise to learn the answer depends on whether the parents are married or divorced, along with several other factors.

Rising Costs of College

According to recent surveys, a student at an in-state public university can expect to spend, on average, about $24,000 per academic year, while a student a private college could reasonably expend about double that amount. These numbers include not only tuition and fees but also the cost of living, food, and other related college expenses. This means that for a student to graduate with a four-year degree, he or she will incur up to $200,000 or more in educational costs. While loans and programs are available to many students, beginning a professional life up to a quarter of million dollars in debt does not sound like anyone’s ideal situation.

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Record-Setting Child Support Ruling Settled Out of Court

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Child Support

Earlier this year, a Cook County judge ordered a Herscher car dealership to pay $2.3 million in fines for failing to withhold child support payments from the paychecks of a former employee. The decision was the largest child-support related ruling in the history of Illinois, but it seems that the dealership will only be held responsible for part of the original fine.

The Daily Journal in Kankakee reports that dealership and the woman who filed the original complaint have reached an agreement to close the matter for good. The details of the settlement, including the final amount to be paid, have not been released, but both sides say they are satisfied with the outcome.

Unprecedented Fine

Back in April, Cook County Judge Bonita Coleman ruled that Country Chevrolet in Herscher failed to comply with state laws requiring the withholding of wages for child support. The dealership argued that the worker in question—the company’s finance manager—was an independent contractor and not an employee, so the law did not apply. Judge Coleman disagreed and ordered the dealership to pay almost $8,000 in back child support for the nine months the man was employed. The judge also levied a fine of $100 per day for the more than two years it took for the dealership to make appropriate payments to the Illinois State Disbursement Unit. The total fine was approximately $2.3 million, the biggest such fine on record in the state.

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The Effect of Parenting Time on Your Obligation for Child Support

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Child Support

Are you a divorced parent who struggles with the limited amount of parenting time that you have been allocated with your child? Such a situation is understandably frustrating for anyone. Even parents who are fortunate enough to share parenting time equally often do not feel that it is enough. These parents are not being selfish; rather, they truly believe that the time they spend with their children offers substantial benefits for everyone involved. There is, however, another frustrating element of shared parenting time that effects many parents: child support. It can be very disheartening to assume responsibility for your child half of the time or more but still be required to make child support payments.

No Current Correlation

As the law in Illinois exists today, there is no statutory relationship between child support requirements and parenting time or parental responsibilities for divorced or unmarried parents. The considerations for each are completely independent of one another, at least as far as the letter of the law is concerned.

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Child Support in Illinois: The Current Guidelines

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Child Support

Very few parents would argue that they do not have a responsibility to provide financially for their children—at least to a certain extent. Raising a child costs real money, and generating that money should be the concern of both parents, regardless of their relationship with one another. Under the law in Illinois, a family court may order child support payments from either or both parent to ensure that the child’s needs are properly met. How such payments are calculated, however, has become a subject of controversy in recent years, which we will address in this post and at least one other upcoming post.

Income Guidelines

The first thing that you need to know about child support calculations in Illinois is that a family court is guided by a formula and considerations listed in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). The IMDMA provides a fairly straightforward method for calculating child support payments that relies primarily on just two factors: the number of children being supported and the paying parent’s net income. A parent supporting one child can expect to pay 20 percent of his or her net income as support, 28 percent for two children, 32 percent for three children, and so on, up to 50 percent for six or more children.

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Child Support in Illinois, Continued: Coming Changes

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Child Support

In a recent post on this blog, we talked at length about the current guidelines that family court use when calculating orders for child support in Illinois. We also mentioned that a new law is set to take effect next summer that will dramatically update the state’s approach to child support, bringing it more in line with the dynamics of today’s families.

A More Equitable Model

Beginning July 1, 2017, Illinois will switch over to what is known as an “income shares” model for calculating child support. Unlike the existing model, an income shares system takes into account the income of both parents and can be modified to consider the impact of shared parenting time. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (DFHS) is currently developing the specific quantitative guidelines that will be used, but the basic principles have been set by the new law.

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Child Support Overhaul

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Child Support

Child support is often a contentious part of a divorce. A massive change to the way that child support is calculated is set to take effect this July. It updates and streamlines an outdated method of calculating child support.

Under current Illinois law, child support is calculated using a fixed formula that requires a non-residential parent to pay a fixed percentage of their income. This was problematic because the one size fits all formula produced results that did not satisfy the needs of the child nor were the calculations developed to address the best interest of any children involved.

How Will Child Support Be Calculated Under the New Law?

Instead of using a static formula for every case that the courts preside over, the new law set to take effect in July uses an income sharing model to calculate the amount of money each parent will be responsible for. The profit sharing model means that courts will first determine the amount of money that would be spent on childcare if the child or children’s parents were not getting divorced. Once that amount has been determined the court then factors in variables like:

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Calculating Child Support When the Paying Parent Has Multiple Court Orders

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Child Support

While sometimes determining child support is a straightforward matter, other cases present difficulties and gray areas. In these situations, an attorney is often required to assess the financial situation of the parents and determine how much is owed for the support of the child or children at issue.

One such complicating factor is if a parent has more than one child support obligation. For example, if a father has children with two different mothers, there may be more than one child support order, which may affect the obligations owed.

Child Support Law in Illinois

To understand the mechanics of this calculation, we must first review the general law on child support calculations in Illinois. Beginning July 1, 2017, Illinois will be using the “income shares” method of determining child support. Under this model, courts will require each parent to prove their net income and then use tables to set the child support amount.

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Child Custody Plans as Part of Your Divorce

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Child Support

During divorce proceedings that involve custody and parenting rights of minor children, judges and attorneys refer to applicable laws intended to create a mutually-agreeable outcome. As divorce laws in Illinois undergo a multi-year overhaul, changes to laws governing child custody, now referred to as “parental responsibilities,” were enacted a little over one year ago.

While new laws take into consideration the realities of the modern, dual-income household, final custody decisions place the welfare and well-being of the child(ren) as its primary concern and could result in either joint or sole custody orders.

Basic Parental Responsibilities Detailed in a Child Custody Plan

The state identified a series of basic needs that must be maintained for each child, and the responsibility of each may fall on one or both parents, depending on the final custody order. Among the core responsibilities that are the duty of parents to maintain for children in their care, and must be detailed in a Parenting Plan are:

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New Child Support Payment Formula Takes Effect

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Child Support

A new Illinois law signed last year that affects the way child support payments are calculated took effect earlier this summer. The new formula takes into account a number of variables previously not considered when divorcing couples and their attorneys negotiated child support payments to be paid by the noncustodial parent.

Details of the New Formula

Under the old law, child support was based only on the income of the noncustodial parent. Proponents of the change maintain the calculation now takes into account the actual cost of raising a child, and how those costs are divided between the custodial and noncustodial parent. The new model also places a greater emphasis on the amount of time each parent spends with the child(ren).

While a judge ultimately decides the amount of child support to be paid, the new law provides clear guidelines to help determine the proper amount. Among the criteria to be considered under the new “income-shares” model are:

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Consequences of Failing to Pay Support Payments in Illinois

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Child Support

When you go through a divorce, you may end up with monthly payments that are made to you from your ex for spousal maintenance. If you and your ex had children, you may also have child support payments that your child receives each month. Many times, a person depends on one or both of these payments to maintain their standard of living. If you have existing support orders, your ex is legally required to make these payments and can face severe consequences if they are not made. When Is Failure of Support Committed?

According to the Illinois Non-Support Punishment Act, a person is committing the offense of failure to support when they:

• Willfully refuse to provide for the support or maintenance of his or her spouse or child, knowing that they need the support, and have the ability to do so;

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