Child support allows parents to share the costs of raising a child even if they are unmarried or divorced. If you are thinking of getting divorced or you are an unmarried parent, you may have questions about your child support rights and responsibilities. You may be curious as to the amount of child support you or your child’s other parent will pay. In Illinois, child support is usually determined by statutory formulas, but there are also cases in which courts deviate from these formulas.
Child Support Calculation in Illinois
Prior to 2016, child support in Illinois was almost exclusively based on the paying parent’s income. The higher the income of the paying parent or “obligor,” the higher the child support payment. Illinois now uses the Income Shares Model to determine child support payment amounts. This calculation method uses both parents’ income to reach an appropriate child support payment.
...