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Bolingbrook Child Support Lawyers

Our Bolingbrook child support lawyers understand that parents have an ethical and legal obligation to provide emotional and financial support to their children under Illinois law. That applies to all parents whether they are married, divorced, or even when the parents were never married. Child support matters are an important consideration in legal separation, divorce, and paternity proceedings. The other considerations in these proceedings when children are involved are the determination of parental responsibilities (formerly child custody) and parenting time (formerly visitation).

Child support refers to regular payments that one parent has to pay to the other parent as a contribution to the financial support of the upbringing of their child(ren). Oftentimes determining the amount of child support to be paid can become a major source of contention in divorce and paternity proceedings. At Keller Legal Services, we have more than 30 years of experience in handling cases involving child support, child support modification, and child support termination.

Our Bolingbrook child support attorneys fight for your rights and protect your interests, whether you are the spouse receiving the child support or the one paying it. We take time out to evaluate your individual circumstances and assist you in obtaining a fair and equitable allocation of child support. While we focus on settling matters through collaboration, we vigorously represent your case and strive to achieve a favorable outcome.

Determination of Child Support in Bolingbrook

As with other aspects of Illinois family law, the guidelines for child support payments are currently laid out in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. The court may issue an order requiring one parent to pay child support to the other parent to help cover the costs for the child(ren)’s mental, physical, educational, and healthcare needs. The judge generally uses a statutory formula to calculate the amount to be paid in child support based on the number of children and the percentage of the net income of the parent that does not have residential custody. These guidelines currently can be found in Chapter 750 ILCS 5/505.

Important aspects of child support include:

  • Payments are based on the net income of the non-custodial parent and calculated as a specific dollar amount.
  • In a majority of the cases, child support payments are made until each of the children reach 18 years of age, is emancipated, or graduates from high school. However, it may continue for an extended period if the child becomes incapacitated or has special needs.
  • The court may order the non-custodial parent to pay half of the additional out-of-pocket expenses, such as medical, dental, childcare, extracurricular activities, and others.
  • The court may order a supporting parent to pay an extra amount to the non-custodial parent for maintaining medical insurance if they do not provide medical insurance to the child.
  • The court can order the non-custodial parent to contribute to other expenses such as daycare, extracurricular activity expenses, school tuition and fees, and medical and/or dental insurance deductibles.

It is important to understand that the foregoing child support considerations are only guidelines and the Court has the ability to deviate from the guidelines based upon its discretion in the case before it. The Courts past have even awarded a non-custodial parent with child support where the custodial parent’s income was substantially greater than the non-custodial parent’s income. There is also statutory authority that applies a different formula when the parents have generally equal parenting time with the child(ren). Setting the correct child support can be very complicated depending upon the facts in your particular case. You should contact one of our Bolingbrook child support attorneys at Keller Legal Services if you have any questions regarding the proper award of child support in Will County or DuPage County.

Assisting Clients with Child Support Modification & Enforcement in Bolingbrook

After the amount of child support has been decided or an award has been put into effect, you may feel the need to modify the terms and conditions of the decree. Personal and financial circumstances change over time and may require additional child support. Modifying the existing child support arrangement requires filing a petition and representing your case in a court hearing. At Keller Legal Services, our Bolingbrook child support attorneys can help you with modification and enforcement matters, and strive to achieve your desired outcome.

Major Changes for Child Support Are Coming Soon

Any parent currently paying or receiving child support should be aware that the law with regard to child support is changing very soon in the State of Illinois. The traditional guidelines, as discussed above, are set to end by July 1, 2017, when the new guidelines are published. Please check our blog as we will certainly be discussing the new child support rules.

Discuss Your Case with Our Bolingbrook Family Law Attorneys Today

If you are going through a divorce and want to settle a child support issue or modify the child support arrangements, our Bolingbrook child support attorneys can help you with your case. Contact us today at 630-505-1515 or online to schedule a free initial consultation.