Parental responsibilities do not end when you divorce, and that is where child support comes in. It refers to periodic payments one parent makes to the other following a divorce to help in raising their shared children. Child support is intended to cover child-related costs that the parents would have incurred had they not divorced.
Child support entails expenses such as necessities of the child, school fees, extracurricular activities, among others. However, it does not cover the parent’s personal costs that do not involve the child, such as vacations or dining out.
Calculating child support in Chicago
Under Illinois law, the courts arrive at child support amounts by:
- Determining each parents’ net income
- Combining both incomes to determine the combined net income
- Selecting the corresponding amount from the schedule of child support obligations based on the parents’ combined monthly net income and the number of children
- Calculating each parent’s share of the payable basic child support
Although each parent is assigned a monetary obligation, the receiving parent’s share is not payable to the other parent since it is presumed to be spent on the child.
Child support puts the children’s interests first
Usually, the child’s interests always come first in any aspect of divorce, child support included. Factors that judges weigh when determining what’s in the best interests of the child include:
- The financial needs of the child
- The financial resources and needs of the parents
- The child’s living standards had the marriage not come to an end
- The emotional and physical condition of the child as well as their educational needs
You can file to modify your child support orders if your financial situation changes. In addition, the monetary obligations do not apply once the child turns 18 years of age. Knowing more about what the law says about child support will put you and your interests in a better place.