Child Support Attorney Near Chicago

Child Support Attorney Near Chicago

If you and your children’s other parent are no longer married – or are no longer together as a couple – the issue of child support is critical. If you are facing a child support concern, you don’t have to face it alone – an experienced child support attorney near Chicago is standing by to help. 

Child Support

Child support is the state’s means of helping to balance the children’s ongoing financial support between both parents. Illinois uses what is known as an income shares method of calculating child support. This calculation system takes both parent’s incomes and parenting time into consideration and involves the following primary steps:

• Calculating the net income of both parents, which involves taking each parent’s total income and adjusting for all allowable deductions (there is a conversion table for those who use standardized tax deductions) 
• Determining the child support obligation (based on the adjusted, combined net income of both parents), which is calculated in accordance with each parent’s percentage of contribution to the combined income. 
• Taking into consideration the number of overnights each parent has with the children.

Additional Expenses

In addition to the basic child support obligation, the court can require parents to include child-related expenses and costs such as the following:

• The cost of health insurance coverage and out-of-pocket costs for the kids  
• The cost of life insurance to help support the children in the event of one parent’s untimely death
• The cost of the children’s unreimbursed healthcare bills
• The cost of childcare
• Any educational incurred by any of the children
• Any medical expenses incurred by any of the children
• Any expenses for extracurricular activities incurred by any of the children

Additional Factors Considered

Because Illinois courts are always guided by the best interests of the children involved, they take an array of issues into consideration when making determinations that affect them directly. As such, all the following can affect the court’s decision regarding child support:

• Each child’s financial needs
• Each child’s physical, emotional, and educational needs, including any special needs
• The financial obligations of each parent
• The income and expenses of each parent
• The standard of living the children would have experienced if the parents had remained together
• Any other factors considered relevant to the case in question

Turn to an Experienced Child Support Attorney near Chicago for the Help You’re Looking For

The practiced child support attorneys at WARD FAMILY LAW, LLC, take considerable pride in their proven ability to help successfully guide cases like yours toward advantageous outcomes, and we’re here for you, too. To learn more, please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us today.