Child support is irksome to some people. Some parents just don’t want to pay child support…and usually have an articulable reason for objecting to the payment of child support. Setting child support at zero in an Illinois divorce can be done…but you have to be very careful to prepare the child support order so that there is truly no child support obligation now or in the future. “[T]he court may order either or both parents owing a duty of support to a child of the marriage or civil union to pay an amount reasonable and necessary for support.” 750 ILCS 5/505(a) While an Illinois divorce court may order child support, an Illinois divorce court shall make a determination of what child support should be according to the child support guidelines. “The court shall determine child support in each case by applying the child support guidelines unless the court makes a finding that application of the guidelines would be inappropriate” 750 ILCS 5/505(a)(2)(emphasis mine) The child support guidelines are an abstract formula which compares the income of both parties to the nights the children spend with each parent. Someone will always owe the other party something under the Illinois child support guidelines. An Illinois divorce court is only going to set the child support to zero if the guidelines amount would be “inequitable, unjust, or inappropriate.” 750 ILCS 5/505(a)(3.4) The reasons for asking the court to deviate from the guidelines and set the child support to zero are infinite: the parents share equal time with the child, one parent pays for day care or private school, one parent has a disability, etc. The reason for zero child support is easy. The hard part is doing the proper math in a zero child support order to show what child support should have been under the guidelines. “Any deviation from the guidelines shall be accompanied by written findings by the court specifying the reasons for the deviation and the presumed amount under the child support guidelines without a deviation.” 750 ILCS 5/505(a)(3.5)(emphasis mine) The math still must be done as to what child support should be under the guidelines. “The court shall compute the basic child support obligation by taking the following steps:(A) determine each parent’s monthly net income;(B) add the parents’ monthly net incomes together to determine the combined monthly net income of the parents;(C) select the corresponding appropriate amount from the […]
from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/how-to-pay-zero-child-support-in-illinois/
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