How Is Child Support Calculated?

If you are a parent and you are not married or living with your child’s other biological parent, reaching a child custody and support arrangement is a necessity. While parents are encouraged to work together to make a determination about where a child will live and how parents will both care for a child, child support is calculated based on the income share child support guidelines established by the state of Illinois in 2018 (effective January 2019). Here’s an overview of what you need to know about how child support is calculated in our state–

Income Share Model – What’s That?

 Rather than just looking at the non-custodial parent’s income when calculating a child support amount, the income share, or income sharing, model considers bothparents’ incomes when calculating child support, as well as the amount of time that the child spends with each parent per year. In addition, support is calculated using actual child-rearing costs that are based, in part, on data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to the Illinois Bar Journal.

Of course, if there are any special circumstances or needs of the child, these too will be considered when the court is issuing a child support order.

Illinois Child Support Guidelines

 Illinois uses a schedule of basic obligation based on net income to calculate a child support payment. The income share schedule based on net income holds, for example, that parents who have a combined net income of $4,000 per month and who have one child should collectively pay $836 in child support for that child per month. On the other hand, parents who have a combined net income of $10,000 and have two children owe a combined amount of $2,173 per month (see: Technical Documentation: Illinois Schedule of Basic Obligations and Standardized Net Income Table for more information).

The court assumes that each parent will provide for the required amount proportional to each party’s income. For example, if one parent, who has custody, makes $3,000 per month (75 percent of $4,000) and the other parent, who does not have custody, makes $1,000 per month (25 percent of $4,000), then the noncustodial parent is responsible for 25 percent of the support obligation, or $209 per month ($836 x .25 = $209).

The law also accounts for situations where parenting responsibilities and custody are shared. When both parents spend at least 146 night per year with the child, the shared parenting adjustment will apply. When this is relevant, the basic support obligation is multiplied by 1.5. Then, each parent’s contributions are determined, and each party’s obligation is offset by the amount of time that the child spends with the other parent.

Call Our Libertyville Child Support Lawyer for More Information

If you have more questions about child support, including questions about support modification, our Libertyville child support lawyers can help. Serving Libertyville and cities throughout Lake County and surrounding areas, the law office of Johnston Tomei Lenczycki & Goldberg LLC is ready to assist you. Call today for your initial consultation.