Illinois soon to adopt the income sharing model for calculating child support in divorce and paternity cases

Illinois will soon join a majority of the states that utilize income sharing to compute child support in paternity and divorce cases. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services will formulate a new child support table to show what the percentage of combined net incomes of same-household parents spend on their children. The new support guidelines will ensure a more consistent treatment of parents in similar circumstances and should help the court process move more efficiently. The new guidelines will, of course, take into consideration additional expenses for children with special needs.

The logic behind implementing this new support statute is to have the child(ren) supported at the standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage or civil union not been dissolved. The focus will no longer be only on the non-custodial parent paying child support. The custodial parent’s income will also be considered in the mix. There are many more provisions to the statute, like how much time the children spend with each parent, etc. These provisions will be discussed in JWBWN’s upcoming blogs.

The new statute may take effect in 2017 and would be utilized in new cases and previously filed cases where a petition to modify child support filed.

If you need any legal advice pertaining to divorces or family law, contact an attorney from Johnson Westra Broecker Whittaker & Newitt, P.C. by calling 630-665-9600.