Chicago Divorce Lawyer
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How A Divorce Court in Illinois Determines Child Support
Section 505(a)(3) of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act specifies certain minimum guidelines which a divorce court is mandated to use in determining child support. Those guidelines set a percentage of the non-residential parent’s “ net income”: 20% for one (1) child; 28% for two (2) children; 32% for three(3) children; 40% for four(4) children; 45% for five (5) children; and 50% for six(6) or more children.
The divorce statute defines “net income” as “the total of all income from all sources, minus the following deductions:
(a) Federal income tax payments (properly calculated withholding or estimated tax payments);
(b) State income tax (properly calculated withholding or estimated tax payments);
(c) Social Security (FICA payments);
(d) Mandatory retirement contributions required by law or as a condition of employment;
(e) Union dues;
(f) Dependent and individual health/hospitalization insurance premiums;
(g) Prior obligations of support or maintenance actually paid pursuant to a court order;
(h) Expenditures for repayment of debts that represent reasonable and necessary expenses for the production of income, medical expenditures necessary to preserve life or health, reasonable expenditures for the benefit of the child and the other parent, exclusive of gifts. The court shall reduce net income in determining the minimum amount of support to be ordered only for the period that such payments are due and shall enter an order containing provisions for its self-executing modification upon determination of such payment period.”
These guidelines are customarily applied by courts in divorce cases. However, Illinois law allows… Continue reading
Chicago divorce attorney notes case study on child support
As a Chicago divorce attorney I am frequently asked questions regarding child support issues. The Chicago family law governing divorce cases, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, provides that a parent must pay child support from “all income from all sources”. Income is generally thought of as salary, other compensation from employment, interest, dividends, monies from partnership entities, perquisites, and the like.
In In Re the Marriage of McGrath, a case decided in 2011, a Court used the regular withdrawals from an unemployed father’s IRA account as “income” for purposes of child support. In the McGrath case, the father was unemployed at the time of the divorce and the issue of child support was reserved. Nearly one year after the divorce, the father was still unemployed. He had been withdrawing $8,500.00 each month since the divorce to pay his own living expenses. When the mother petitioned the divorce court for child support, the court considered the $8,500.00 per month as income to the unemployed father, and awarded child support based upon the IRA withdrawals. The father argued that the IRA account did not constitute income because the money in the account was no different than a savings account, i.e. the money was already there. Also, the father had been awarded his IRA account as part of his property settlement in the divorce.
The Appellate Court affirmed the trial Court’s decision, saying that a trial court has the discretion in the appropriate case to order child support based on… Continue reading
Chicago divorce lawyer shares case study regarding college education
As a Chicago divorce lawyer I am intimately aware of the fact that Illinois is in the minority of states which allow a divorce court to obligate a parent to pay a child’s expenses attributable to a college education or professional or other training after graduation from high school. (Section 513 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act)
The divorce statute provides that educational expenses may include, but are not limited to, tuition, room and board, transportation, books, fees, registration and application costs, medical expenses including medical insurance, dental expenses, and living expenses during the school year and periods of recess.
Since the majority of Chicago divorce cases are settled between the parties without the necessity of a trial, the rights and obligations of each party are expressly set out in a contact called a Marital Settlement Agreement. The terms of the parties’ agreement are approved by the court when the divorce is granted.
In the case of In Re The Marriage of Peterson, the parties had entered into a settlement agreement which reserved the issue of each party’s obligation to contribute to the college or other education expenses of the parties’ children pursuant to Section 513 of the divorce statute. The final divorce decree did not specify that each party was obligated to contribute or the amount each was to contribute. The divorce agreement just provided that the issue would be determined at a later date.
The mother filed a lawsuit for college education expenses after… Continue reading
