Support for Custodial & Non-Custodial Parents

Child Support for Custodial Parents

In 2017, Illinois created a new child support law. This new law requires the calculation to be based on the combined net income of both parents. The old law, which is no longer in use, was based on flat percentages that were based on the number of children in the family.

To properly calculate child support under the new statute the court follows the following steps:

1. First, run both parents gross incomes through a gross to net conversion chart to determine each parents net income.
2. Second, to determine the combined net income you must combine both parents’ net incomes.
3. Third, they must determine what percentages of the combined net income is represented by each parents net income
4. Fourth, the combined net income (determined in Step 2) is now plugged into an income shares chart to determine the basic child support obligation.
5. Fifth, you will multiply the resulting number from Step 4 with the percentages from Step 3 for each parent.
6. Sixth, the resulting numbers are each parent’s child support obligations. The resulting number for the parent with the majority of parenting time will be presumed to already be applied to the child. The number for the paying parent must be paid to the non-paying parent, as this will be that parent’s child support obligation.

It is clear that this six step process is much more complex than the law was before this. It is important to note that there may be other factors that are taken into consideration. The following is a basic example for illustration purposes only:

1. Father’s gross income is $3,000 monthly. Applying the Father’s gross income to the gross to net conversion chart, the resulting number is $2,384.
2. Mother’s monthly gross income is $7,000. Applying the Mother’s gross income to the gross to net conversion chart, the resulting number is $5,122.
3. We combine both net incomes of the parents to calculate the combined net income: $2,384 + $5,122 = $7,506.
4. The Father’s percentage of combined net income is 32% and the Mother’s percentage of the combined net income is 68%.
5. Now we plug the combined net income amount, $7,506 (determined in Step 2) into the income shares chart. The parties have one child which results in a basic child support obligation of $1,201.
6. The child support obligation, $1,201 (determined in Step 4), is multiplied by 32% for the Father, resulting in $384.32.
   Additionally, $1,201 is multiplied by 68% for the Mother, resulting in $816.68 for the Mother.
7. Since the Mother has the majority of parenting time, the Father will pay $384.32 per month to the Mother. The amount the Mother had owed according to the schedule was $816.68, which is assumed to be used by her in her everyday expenditures for the child so she does not have to pay this to the father.

Child Support for Non-Custodial Parents

In the past, the non-custodial parent would have to pay child support to the custodial parent. In 2016, Illinois changed its divorce law and excluded the titles of “custodial” and “non-custodial” parents. Now, the court uses terms like “parental responsibilities” and “parenting time,” which are divided between the two parties.

Until July 2017, under Illinois law, the parent with less parenting time is required to pay child support to the parent with more parenting time. This is being changed because there is an increasing number of families that have two parents that work outside of the home rather than just one, so the new law accounts for these changes.

The new law orders the courts to determine how much it costs to raise a child depending on the combined incomes of the parents. The court then decides what each parent must pay toward the cost to raise the child based on that figure by allocating their responsibility based on his or her income.