A divorce lawyer in Clarendon Hills can help you navigate through the complex Illinois child support laws. When a divorce includes children, child support, visitation, and custody agreements are often times the most difficult items to agree upon. Contested divorces can last months or even longer; that is rarely in the best interest of the parents, or the child. If parents can come to terms and an agreement regarding visitation, custody and support, an uncontested divorce is the best option.
The amount of child support is determined upon the income of each parents, health insurance costs, education costs, and childcare. While it is rather straightforward in calculation, many times there are special circumstances that override the typical calculation. Below is the standard breakdown used in Illinois to determine the amount of child support required.
* Monthly gross income of both mother and father is calculated.
* Adjustments to individual income calculated. These may include if one parent is self-employed, has preexisting child support orders, and other situations. Deductions made to the individual gross income are calculated.
* Adjusted income of both parents is combined.
* Illinois table of Child Support Obligation is consulted to determine the dollar figure that corresponds to the combined adjusted income of both parents and the number of children that are being supported.
* Combined adjusted income is divided into individual adjusted gross income to determine the pro rata share of child support.
* Each parent’s pro rata percentage of the basic obligatory child support amount is used to determine each parent’s support portion.
* The noncustodial parent owes their share of this amount to the custodial parent.
A divorce lawyer in Clarendon Hills has the experience necessary to help parents figure the amount of child support necessary and understands the challenges associated. Special circumstances add to the challenge; private schooling, tutors, extracurricular activities, high health care costs, and other situations must be taken into account. Additionally, if one or both of the parents is self-employed, there are additional challenges. Illinois law allows self-employed parents to reduce their gross income by 6.65% because of FICA and Medicare expenses. Other exemptions may be allowed on a case-by-case basis.
After a divorce is final and custody agreement, support agreements, and property has been divided, there may still be need to revisit custody and support agreements. Significant changes in life including loss of job, promotion, higher cost of living expenses and others may need to be considered down the road to get the support agreement modified. The result can be an increase, a decrease or no change in the amount of support owed. If you have finalized your divorce and yet need modification to your custody or support agreement, contact a divorce lawyer in Clarendon Hills.
The State of Illinois has specific guidelines and regulations for determining the amount of child support given to the custodial parent. A divorce lawyer in Clarendon Hills can help you through the process. Contact an attorney today if you are considering a divorce and have children.
