Illinois Child Support

In this article, we will answer the question, “how is child support calculated when one party is unemployed or underemployed?” We will discuss the difference between voluntary and involuntary unemployment or underemployment and what happens when it is in the best interest of the child for one parent to be unemployed or underemployed.

In a child custody proceeding, the court will make its determination of custody issues based on the "best interest of the child."  The best interest of the child is determined on a case-by-case basis by weighing several factors listed in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) as well as any other factors that the court finds relevant, including those that have been developed by case law. 

‍The factors listed in the IMDMA are:

• The wishes of the parents; 
• The wishes of the child; 
• The interactions and the relationships between the parents and the child; 
• The child's adjustment to his or her home, school, and community; 
• The mental and physical health of both the parents and the child; 
• Whether abuse has occurred either to the child or to any other person; 
• Whether the parents have the ability to cooperate; 
• The living situation of the parents; and
• Whether either of the parents is a sex offender.

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In this article, we will explain how child support works in shared parenting situations (formerly known as “joint custody”) in Illinois.  We will explain illinois child support law prior to 2017 and how the law changed in 2017 when Illinois adopted the “income shares” model of child support.  We will explain the definition of a shared parenting situation and how Illinois child support is calculated differently in shared parenting situations.