Child support is designed to ensure a child’s immediate financial needs are met, such as food and clothing for school. It can also go toward a child’s future, giving a parent the power to start up a college fund for the child. Sadly, statistics indicate that only 44 percent of all custodial parents receive the full amount of support that they are owed. 

One California woman had been just one of many who had not received child support after her divorce. Given custody of their daughter, the woman had been left to raise and financially support the child after her ex-husband skipped town and moved to Canada. From there, the man completely disappeared. Fifty years later, the courts awarded the woman a settlement of $150,000. That amount included the overdue support payments of $35,000, as well as penalty fees and interest for four decades of unpaid support. her experience proves it is never too late to pursue the overdue support you are owed. 

Pursuing Overdue Child Support in Illinois

Parents often feel as though they are alone in their pursuit of overdue child support. However, there are resources and services available to them. One of the most invaluable is the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (DHFS). They have the power and ability to track down a delinquent parent. They can also impose penalties on the parent to encourage payment. Examples may include suspension of the delinquent parent’s driver’s license or professional license, imprisonment, or putting a “freeze” on the delinquent parent’s passport. 

Illinois law states that children have the right to emotional and financial support from both of its biological parents, and it protects those rights through different measures. Child support is one of the more commonly known and discussed, yet obligors are often confused about where their responsibility ends and begins. Moreover, they are not always informed of their rights, such as the right to request a modification if a significant change in circumstances occurs. 

When Can an Obligor Request a Modification to Child Support? 

When child support orders are established, the income of each biological parent is used in the calculations, as are the specific needs of the child (i.e. children with special needs, etc.). The time that each parent spends with the child may have been used as well, but such considerations have only recently become commonplace. If a substantial change has occurred in any of these areas - the income of the biological parents, the child’s needs, or the amount of time that each parent spends with the child - then either parent may request a modification to their order of support.

Since changes are meant to benefit the child, not the parents, some modifications could result in an increase in a non-custodial parent’s child support obligation. For example, if a child needs braces, the receiving parent may petition the courts to obtain additional support from the obligor. 

When parents go through a divorce, they must determine how to divide the cost and responsibilities associated with raising their child(ren). Child support is sometimes awarded to the parent with the most time with the child, but even still, there may be added expenses not covered by the supporting parent’s legal child support obligation. Learn how you can determine who should cover child-related expenses after your Illinois divorce, and discover how a seasoned family law attorney can assist you with the entire process. 

Child Support in Illinois - Understanding the Obligation 

Under state law, children have the right to receive emotional and financial support from both of their parents. Child support helps to ensure that financial need is met. However, not all parents are obligated to pay. Instead, the state uses the income of both parents, the average cost of raising a child, and the amount of parenting time awarded to each parent in order to determine how much support (if any) is owed. 

Extra expenses, such as healthcare costs, fees for extracurricular activities, and special equipment for a special needs’ child may be added in when calculating the amount of support that is owed, but parents do not always request to have them added. There may also be other child-related expenses that are not considered to be a part of the calculation. For example, parents may verbally agree to split the cost of back-to-school clothing and supplies, but this agreement may not be included in the divorce decree or child support order. College savings may not be included in the calculation either (even if there is an existing account that must be divided between the married parties), so parents may have to come to an agreement outside of court to ensure their child has the money they need to complete their education. 

Children are entitled to emotional and financial support from both parents. When the parents do not live together, financial support typically comes through the payment of child support - but what happens when the paying parent refuses to comply with an order for support? The following information explains how you can enforce delinquent child support payments with the help of a seasoned family law attorney. 

Establishing Proof of Unpaid Support

Before a receiving parent can enforce an order for support, they must first provide proof that the support has gone unpaid. If the payments are made through the Illinois State Disbursement Unit (SDU), the receiving parent can ask the SDU for a record of payments that have been made along with the amount that the paying parent still owes. It is important that receiving parents compare their own records to those of the SDU, however, as they are not always accurate. If payments are made through the circuit clerk’s office, the parent can ask the office for this same information. (Again, it is important to compare records.) Parents who receive payments directly may experience more difficulty in obtaining proof of unpaid payments, as they are the only ones who have a record of the payments made. Thankfully, an attorney can help you with the process. 

Being laid off or terminated from a job can have a significant and lasting impact on your finances. It can also restrict your ability to pay court-ordered child support. Thankfully, it may be possible to reduce your obligation amount with a modification to your order for support. Learn more in the following sections, including how a seasoned family law attorney can assist you with the process and improve the outcome of your case. 

Are You Eligible for Modification? 

Once an order for child support has been entered into the court system, it can be difficult to modify it. That it is why it is so critical that parents attempt to ensure that their original order is based on the most accurate, up-to-date information. However, when circumstances change, a paying parent may be eligible for a modification to their order of support. Examples of such circumstances may include: