When parents get a divorce, they will both continue to be responsible for providing for their child financially. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act includes regulations about when and how child support must be implemented into a custody arrangement. Most often, the noncustodial parent will be legally obligated to pay the custodial parent a particular amount. However, depending on several factors, including if parents share equal or near-equal amounts of parenting time, this may not always be the case. By working with an attorney, you can ensure that all the relevant factors are taken into account when calculating child support obligations.

What Factors Are Considered When Determining Child Support?

The amount of child support that a parent has to pay is based on a formula laid out in state law. This formula determines a Basic Support Obligation that is based on the number of children and the income earned by both parents. Each parent will contribute a percentage of this obligation, depending on the amount they contribute toward their combined income and, in some cases, the number of overnights the children spend with each parent every year.

Financial circumstances can change dramatically from the time a couple divorces through when their children turn 18 years old. One or both parents may get new jobs or become unemployed. Either parent may get a raise or take a pay cut. Any of these factors, along with numerous others, can affect the parents’ levels of responsibility for providing support for their children. 

In addition, something may happen that changes the needs of a child and leads to their care being either more or less expensive. Child support may be modified or even eliminated completely, depending on the circumstances.

Paternity is the legal and biological relationship between a child and a father. In Illinois, you must establish paternity for a father’s name to appear on a child’s birth certificate, and if you need to set up the allocation of parental responsibilities (formerly custody), child support, and parenting time (formerly visitation) if the parents are unmarried, divorced, or not in a civil union.

To establish a child’s eligibility for health and life insurance, Social Security benefits from a disabled or deceased parent, veteran’s benefits, or an inheritance, paternity must be certified. Sometimes this is done easily, while other circumstances prove difficult. For either scenario, an experienced family law attorney can help.

Establishing Paternity in Illinois

When a couple or two uninvolved individuals agree that paternity is certain, they can complete and file the Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity (VAP) form through the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). You can get this form through your county clerk, health office, an Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services aid office, or via the IDPH website. For proper submission, the VAP must be signed in front of a witness who is age 18 or older.