When a couple has a child together – be they married or not – both parents are legally obligated to provide financial support. Child support orders are the legal manifestation of that obligation, and they outline how much should be paid (generally on a monthly basis). Yet, often, these orders are set up when a child is young, or when a couple first divorces. What happens when life circumstances change?

When the Needs of a Child Have Changed

Children are constantly growing, changing, and evolving. It only makes sense that their needs change, too. Yet not all changes constitute a basis for a modification to a child support order. Generally, the shift in needs must be fairly significant. For example, if a child is accepted to an elite educational program, the receiving parent may seek a modification to help cover the tuition. Likewise, if a child is diagnosed with a medical condition or illness and needs extensive medical treatment, a modification may be requested..

When a Supporting Parent's Circumstances Have Changed

Supporting parents are not immune to significant life changes. They may become disabled because of an accident or an illness, be laid off of work, lose their business, or suffer some other ill fate that negatively affects their income. If significant enough to impede their ability to pay the ordered child support amount, supporting parents should seek modification. It is critical that the parent do this at the very first sign of trouble since failure to pay may result in serious consequences, including jail time.

Any divorced parent has to be ready for the likelihood of paying child support. However, not many wonder exactly what child support is earmarked for under Illinois law. It may be to your advantage to ask—sometimes, if it can be proven that support is being misused, there may be consequences that can affect you, your ex-spouse, and your children.

Formulas and Requirements

Illinois changed its child support formula in 2013 and 2015, bringing it in line with more of the states in terms of the method of calculation. The guidelines now establish a rough minimum that can be ordered per child in Illinois family courts. However, it is important to remember that such numbers are minimums, not maximums. A host of different factors, such as each parent's current and future earning potential and any unique needs the child may have, are factored into a court's determination of the level of support required.

NOTE: A new Illinois law governing how child support is calculated went into effect in July 2017. Please visit our child support page for details

The state of Illinois takes the obligation to ensure children are supported very seriously. As such, if you are divorced within the state and default on support payments, attorneys have many tools available to them to help collect unpaid child support arrearages. The most common method of doing so is wage garnishment, via your employer.

Why Garnishment?

The idea of one spouse paying the other spouse child support and/or maintenance upon divorce is a familiar topic for most people. These payments provide needed income for the spouse with a lower income, as well as the spouse who has custody of the children. However, under an alternate form of payment—unallocated support—both the paying spouse and receiving spouse can benefit.

What is Unallocated Support?

Through unallocated support, an individual pays an amount to a former spouse which represents the payment that would have to be made for maintenance and child support. However, the payment does not specifically allocate between what is child support and what is maintenance (hence, the name unallocated support). This difference can have important tax implications in certain circumstances.

Ordinarily, an obligation to pay child support ends when a child reaches the age of 18 or graduates from high school, whichever occurs later. However, under certain circumstances, a support obligation may continue beyond age 18 and graduation from high school.

Child Support in Illinois

Under Illinois law, a child support order must state a date when the support obligation ends, which cannot be earlier than the date on which the child will turn age 18. However, if a child turns 18 while still in high school, the support obligation must continue until the child graduates from high school or until he or she turns age 19.