The obligation to pay child support in Illinois generally ends at the age of 18 when the child legally becomes an adult. There is an exception if the child is still in high school when they reach the age of 18. If that is the case, the obligation continues until the child graduates from high school or turns 19. Judges include automatic termination dates which stop child support in most of the child support orders they issue.
It is also possible for a parent who has to pay child support to petition a court to end it if the child is emancipated. Courts have recognized that a child can emancipate themselves by living independently without the need for parental care and support. Or the emancipation may be shown if the child gets married or joins the military. Or a child can go through a legal emancipation procedure.
A local attorney in Illinois would be able to provide more information about ending child support and the child’s best interests standard that applies in cases involving children in a divorce.
When Is Child Support Ordered?
In some cases, the duty to pay child support arises from an Illinois divorce or possibly even a divorce in another state. In other cases, it may arise out of a paternity case, when the father of a child who is not married to the child’s mother seeks custody or visitation. Or a mother who is not married to her child’s father may ask a court to order the father to pay child support.
Regardless of the type of case in which a child support order is made, a child support order is legally binding. There are negative consequences and penalties for failing to pay child support when it is ordered by a court.
Illinois recently adopted a new method for calculating child support in that state, the “Income Shares” model. This changes the way child support is calculated in Illinois. The Income Shares model uses the combined income of both parents in figuring out how much support should be provided for the child. By considering the combined income of the two parents, hopefully the child is provided with their proportional share of their parents’ income.
Recent amendments to the Income Shares model have been made with the goal of ensuring that child support calculations consider both parents’ combined income and the actual costs of raising a child. A court would make an award of child support by using the following process:
- Determine each parent’s “net income” by using a chart that converts gross income to net income
- Combine the parents’ net incomes to determine their combined net income
- Determine what percentage of the combined net income that each parent’s net income represents
- Consult an income shares chart to determine the basic child support obligation
- Multiply the resulting number from step 4 with the percentages from step 3 for each parent
The resulting numbers represent each parent’s child support obligation. It is assumed that the amount contributed by the parent who does not pay support, typically the parent with whom the child spends the most time, is used for the child.
In some circumstances, a non-custodial parent may also have to pay retroactive child support in Illinois.
How Is a Child Support Award Enforced?
A parent who is owed child support may go to court and ask the court to enforce the order. However, the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Illinois Attorney General’s office has a large staff of attorneys and others who work to enforce child support across the state of Illinois.
Each child support case is entered into a database maintained by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services/Division of Child Support Enforcement (HFS/DCSS). This database maintains a record of payments in each case in its database. This allows HFS/DCSS to send notices and make administrative or judicial referrals for past due child support.
When past due support is owed, various methods of enforcement may be used to collect it. There are specific requirements for each option. HFS/DCSS has the authority to pursue the following options to enforce child support orders through administrative or judicial proceedings:
- Request that a person’s child support debt be entered in their credit report
- Collect the past due amounts owed through contractual agreements with private collection agencies
- Place a lien on any real or personal property owned by the non-custodial parent in certain circumstances
- Place a lien on an account in a financial institution in certain circumstances, e.g. a bank savings account.
There are other options available to the HFS/DCSS as well. The HFS/DCSS has considerable authority and powers to enforce child support orders in Illinois.
How Can I Avoid a Child Support Increase?
A person who wants to avoid an increase in their child support payments would want to counter the claim that there has been a change in the circumstances of the parents that justifies an increase.
How Can I Stop Paying Child Support?
As noted above, most court orders specify a date when the obligation to pay child support comes to an end. In some cases, child support is withheld by the parent’s employer from their wages. Some employers insist upon receiving a court order that authorizes the employer to stop withholding the child support payment.
In this situation, if the parents agree with the termination, they can agree on an order that they can present to the court. If the court signs it, then it can be presented to the employer.
If the parents cannot agree on an order ending child support, then the parent who believes it should end would have to petition the court to order the termination of child support. They would have to justify the termination, e.g. by showing that the child has graduated from high school or showing other reasons to close a child support case.
Do Child Support Payments End Automatically?
As noted above, usually the legal obligation to pay child support ends on a date that is specified in the original order. Or the obligation ends when the child reaches the age of 18 if this happens after the child graduates from high school. If the child turns 18 before graduating from high school, then the support obligation ends when the child graduates or when the child reaches the age of 18.
How Can I Get Past Due Child Support Dismissed?
A person might be able to get their past-due child support dismissed under some circumstances, but not in all cases. One way to do this would be to make a motion to dismiss their child support arrears.
Illinois’s HFS/DCSS has a Clean Slate program which helps parents avoid payment of their past due child support debt and interest if the debt is owed to the State of Illinois. However, the Clean Slate program is not able to do the following:
- Reduce or eliminate the amount of past due child support that a person may owe to the custodial parent and not the state of Illinois
- Stop or reduce the amount of child support that a paying parent may have to make in the future.
A parent who pays child support may be able to have their past due child support debt eliminated through the Clean Slate program. In order to do that, the paying parent must prove that they did not pay their past child support because of the following:
- Unemployment
- Imprisonment
- Serious illness that prevented the paying parent from making their child support payments
The paying parent would have to provide documents to prove that they were not able to make their required child support such as the following:
- A letter from their former employer stating when their employment ended because of a layoff or other event
- Prison discharge or parole documentation
- Proof of disability or a doctor’s statement
- A Social Security Administration statement of earnings.
The paying parent must also provide proof of their current income or current ability to pay child support. If the parent is not currently employed or does not have other income, they would not qualify because they must prove their ability to pay.
Also, the Illinois HFS/DCSS reviews child support orders in its Child Support Enforcement Program every thirty-six months. It does this to determine if the amount of the child support should be changed.
In addition, if either the custodial or non-custodial parent asks for a review of the amount of child support being paid, the HFS/DCSS would oblige and review it. If the HFS/DCSS believes that a change is justified, it submits a referral to the appropriate agency.
A person might also get the amount of child support they receive increased if it is too low. If a person requests modification of the child support order in their case from the HFS/DCSS office, the income and assets of the parent who pays the support would need to be reviewed. The standard for a modification of child support is whether there has been a substantial change in circumstances.
The person who seeks the modification would have to support it with documentation and testimony that show the change in circumstances. This evidence would be presented to a judge or administrative hearing officer who would determine whether circumstances justify a change in the amount of child support.
Do I Need a Lawyer for Help with Terminating Child Support?
If you believe that your child support obligation should come to an end, you want to talk to an Illinois child support lawyer. LegalMatch.com can quickly connect you to an experienced lawyer who can analyze your case and tell you when your child support obligation should end.
Your lawyer would also be able to help you change the amount you pay if your obligation to pay is not yet at an end. Your Illinois lawyer will make sure your rights are protected and you get a fair result.
