Child Support Attorney Providing Personalized Representation to Families in Melrose Park, Illinois
Child support is an important issue for families in Melrose Park who are facing divorce and have children from marriage. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) requires that child support be ordered in a divorce case when the divorcing parties have kids together. Child support is an essential tool in helping children to have happy and well-balanced lives. Illinois emphasizes that both parents play an important role in supporting their children, and as such the child support obligation is now calculated based on an “income shares” model.
The income shares model is relatively new in Illinois, although it is in use in a majority of states. We will tell you more about it and how it works. In the meantime, if you need assistance with your child support case, you should know that a compassionate Melrose Park child support attorney can speak with you today and can answer your questions. The attorneys at Gordon & Perlut, LLC provide personalized and considerate representation to clients throughout Melrose Park.
Recent Changes to Melrose Park, Illinois Child Support Law
On July 1, 2017, a new child support law took effect in Illinois. Rather than calculating child support based on a percentage of a noncustodial parent’s net income, the income shares model is designed so that the court combines the net incomes of both of the parents and uses that combined figure to calculate the total child support obligation. This method is designed to provide the child with the same kind of support that she or he would have received in an intact household (if the parents had not gotten divorced). Here is an example of how it works:
Let’s say that two parents are getting divorced, and they have two children. Parent A earns a net monthly income of $2500, and Parent B earns a net monthly income of $1500. The court will add together these net monthly incomes for a total of $4000. The court will then look at the Incomes Shares Schedule Based on Net Income and will locate a combined adjusted net income of $4000 for two children. The Schedule then sets the total support needs of the child and how we calculate each parent’s respective contribution.
Modifications of Child Support Orders in Melrose Park
What happens if you need to modify a child support order? For instance, maybe you changed jobs and took a significant reduction in pay. Or, for example, maybe your child has developed special needs that require additional support. Under the IMDMA, a child support order may be modified “upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances.”
Your Melrose Park child support lawyer can work with you on your case and provide evidence to show that you do in fact have a substantial change in circumstances that requires a modification.
A Melrose Park Child Support Lawyer Can Help With Your Case
If you are filing for divorce and need assistance with child support, an experienced Melrose Park child support lawyer can speak with you today about your case. Contact Gordon & Perlut, LLC to learn more about the services we provide to families in Melrose Park.