Aggressive Child Support Attorneys In Wheaton

DuPage County Lawyers for Child Support Issues Throughout Illinois

Most all parents have a legal duty to support their children, and most all noncustodial parents have a legal duty to pay child support regardless if the support has come about due to divorce or if the parents have been unmarried. Contrary to popular myth, child support is not necessarily a straightforward matter. The judge has discretion to deviate from the guideline amounts, meaning you may be paying too much or receiving too little. Moreover, it is not always easy to calculate parents' income. Many are self-employed, or intentionally under-employed. Others receive non-employment income from royalties or dividends, and other receive non-cash compensation, like a company car or reduced housing. 

At the Law Offices of Salvatore C. Miglore & Associates, we can provide competent representation in all these areas. We can convince a judge that a deviation from the guidelines, either up or down, is justified in that particular case. Through diligent discovery, we can uncover all income so the court can accurately set child support payments. We can also make convincing legal arguments concerning nonpayment, under-employment and other issues. In all these situations, your rights and your children's needs are our top priorities.

While Illinois used to use a simple percentage-of-income calculation to determine the amount of child support a non-custodial parent pays to a custodial parent, the law changed on July 1, 2017, and Illinois now uses an "income shares" model. Under this new law, courts will use the combined net income of both parents to determine the amount of money that would typically be spent to care for a couple's children. This amount is known as the Basic Support Obligation, and it will be divided between the parents based on each parent's percentage share of the combined income.

The new law also takes parents' amount of parental responsibility and parenting time with their children into consideration. In cases of Shared Physical Care, which occur when children stay overnight with each parent for 146 days or more per year, additional calculations will be performed to divide the Basic Support Obligation between the parents based on their percentage of overnight stays.

In setting the amount, the judge may deviate from the guidelines in certain situations:

• Probable Standard of Living: In what amounts to a backdoor consideration of a custodial parent's income, the court may take into account what the children's standard of living would be if the parents resided together or, in the event of divorce, what the child's standard of living was prior to the dissolution. 
• Children's Educational Needs: Does the child really need to be an expensive private school, or would a public school be just as good? Expenses for private tutoring also belong in this category.
• Physical and Emotional Health: Many children have special needs, including physical therapy and psychological counselling, which may require additional child support.

In deviating from the amount, the judge may also consider the financial resources of both parents. In other words, if one parent has more money or access to discounted services, such a reality must be reflected in the child support order.

As a rule of thumb, the amount may need to be modified once every three or four years. To obtain a modification making the amount of child support higher or lower, the movant must show the court that there is a material and ongoing change of circumstances. The judge may then enter orders that are in the best interest of the children.

The child support amount must be fair and represent the best interest of the children. Contact the Law Offices of Salvatore C. Miglore & Associates for a free consultation with attorneys who put your family first. We can be reached at (630) 933-8400 and we serve clients in Cook, Kane, DuPage and DeKalb Counties.