Addison, Illinois Child Support Attorneys

Lawyers Helping Establish and Enforce Child Support Orders in Addison

In family law cases, courts will be looking to protect children's best interests. This will not only include protecting them from conflict and avoiding disruptions to their lives, but courts will also be looking to maintain stability for children as much as possible. One important aspect of doing so involves putting child support orders in place to ensure that children's ongoing needs will be met. Although child support cases may seem straightforward, disputes may arise regarding the calculation of child support payments, additional expenses that may need to be addressed, and other issues.

The attorneys at A. Traub & Associates help clients in Addison address concerns related to child support. We can work with parents to establish support orders, and when necessary, we can take steps to modify child support, enforce court orders, or resolve disputes that may arise. Through our representation, parents can make sure legal and financial issues related to their children can be resolved successfully.

Understanding Child Support in Illinois

Courts will typically put child support orders in place to ensure that both parents contribute to the costs associated with raising their children. Illinois uses an "income shares" method to calculate child support obligations. Under this system, courts estimate the amount parents would most likely have spent on their children if they had remained together, and this amount will be divided between parents proportionally based on their incomes.

What Child Support Covers

Child support payments are meant to help cover a child's everyday living expenses and basic needs. These payments may be used for:

• Housing expenses
• Food and groceries
• Clothing
• Utilities
• Transportation

The goal of child support is to help children maintain a stable standard of living and ensure that both parents share responsibility for the costs of raising their children. While one parent will typically make child support payments to the other, support obligations apply to both parents, and they are determined based on the child's needs.

Factors Considered When Calculating Child Support

The amount of child support that will be paid will be determined using formulas that take the incomes of both parents into account. All income and financial resources available to parents may be considered, including the wages they earn, regular commissions, annual bonuses, income earned through a business or self-employment, unemployment compensation, or income from other sources.

If a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, or if the income they earn changes irregularly, their income may be "imputed" based on what they should be able to earn. Financial records from previous years may be reviewed to determine a parent's average income, or the income a parent has the capacity to earn may be determined based on their level of education, work experience, and qualifications.

Parenting time arrangements can also affect child support calculations. In situations where children will be spending equal amounts of time living with each parent, or when they will stay overnight with each parent at least 40 percent of the days in a year, the formulas used to calculate child support will take the parents' incomes and their amounts of parenting time into account.

Additional Child-Related Expenses

In addition to the amount of child support calculated using parents' incomes, courts may order parents to share additional expenses involved in raising children. These costs will typically be divided proportionally between parents based on their incomes. They may include:

• Health Insurance Premiums: Courts may require one or both parents to maintain health insurance coverage for the child and share the monthly expenses related to health insurance.
• Other Medical Expenses: Parents may be required to pay costs such as deductibles, co-pays, prescriptions, mental health expenses, and other costs that are not covered by insurance.
• Childcare Costs: Work-related daycare expenses or the costs of other forms of childcare while a parent is working or attending school may be divided between parents.
• Educational Expenses: Private school tuition, tutoring, school supplies, and other related expenses may be considered in some cases.
• Extracurricular Activities: Fees related to sports programs, music lessons, camps, and other activities may be addressed in child support orders.

Child Support Modifications

A child support order will usually remain in place until a child reaches the age of 18 or graduates from high school. However, modifications to child support payments may be made if things change that may affect the amount a parent can pay or the expenses that may need to be covered.

Either parent may request a review or modification of support obligations. When doing so, they will need to show that changes affecting parents or children have taken place. These may include changes that affect a parent's income, such as the loss of a job. Changes in children's needs may also be addressed, such as increased medical expenses due to serious illnesses. If parenting time schedules will be changing, child support may need to be adjusted.

Enforcing Child Support Orders

When a parent fails to pay child support, the other parent may experience financial problems that could affect their ability to provide for a child's needs. In these situations, a parent can ask the court to enforce the other parent's child support obligations.

There are several ways courts may collect overdue child support payments and ensure that a parent meets their legal obligations. In some cases, courts may issue wage garnishment orders, or they may seize funds from a parent's bank account or intercept their tax refunds. If a parent has refused to pay child support as required, a court may hold them in contempt, which could lead to the suspension of their driver's license, the loss of a professional license, or even an arrest and jail sentence.

Contact Our Addison Child Support Lawyers

Whether you need to establish a new child support order during a divorce or child custody case, believe that your current child support payments should be modified, or need to collect unpaid child support, the lawyers at A. Traub & Associates can provide you with effective legal help. We can make sure child support is calculated correctly, and we can address any issues that may affect your children's best interests and your financial well-being. Contact our Addison, IL child support attorneys at 630-426-0196 to schedule a consultation.