The choice to end your marriage is not an easy one, and you may struggle with a variety of issues as you prepare to establish a life separate from your former partner. One of the primary concerns that you may face is your ability to provide for yourself financially. After becoming used to sharing expenses with your spouse and combining your incomes to address your family’s needs, you may be worried about your ability to support yourself on a single income.
These issues can be even more of a concern if you have children. In addition to addressing your ongoing expenses, such as housing, utilities, groceries, and transportation, you will also need to make sure your children’s needs are being met. Whether your children will be living primarily with one parent or spending equal amounts of time in both of your homes, you will need to be sure to understand your financial obligations and how you and your ex-spouse will divide the expenses involved in raising them and meeting their needs.
To ensure that all legal issues are addressed properly when determining child support obligations, you will want to work with an experienced Kane County divorce lawyer. With a legal representative on your side, you can make sure payments are calculated correctly and that you and your spouse will both be taking the right steps to provide for your children going forward.
How Is Child Support Calculated?
The specific ways your child support obligations will be calculated will be different depending on the state where you live. Here in Illinois, a method known as “income shares” is used, and it considers the income earned by each parent. In some cases, each parent’s amount of parenting time may also be a factor that affects the calculations.
Under the income shares method, an amount of child support is determined based on what a typical married couple who earns the same combined income as a divorcing couple would spend to care for their children. This amount is divided between the divorcing parents based on each parent’s percentage of their combined income. One parent will usually pay their child support amount to the other parent, while the parent who receives payments will be presumed to spend their child support amount directly on caring for their children.
The purpose of the income shares method is to make sure children are receiving a similar amount of financial support as they would have received if their parents had remained married. Since each parent’s income is factored in to the calculations, this can help avoid an undue burden being placed on one parent. In addition, if children will be spending equal or near-equal amounts of time with each parent, additional calculations will be performed to further divide child support obligations based on each parent’s specific percentage of parenting time.
It is also important to understand that child support payments calculated using the income shares method are what is known as “basic child support obligations.” This means that they are meant to provide for children’s regular, daily needs, including housing, nutrition, and clothing. However, there are many other types of expenses that parents may need to consider when raising their children, and as a divorcing parent, you may also need to determine you and your ex-spouse hey will share these costs.
Additional child-related expenses will typically be divided between parents based on the percentage each parent contributes to their combined income. These expenses may include:
- Child care – Children may need to attend daycare during the day, they may participate in before- or after-school programs, or a nanny or babysitter may need to be hired to provide care while parents are at work. Divorcing parents will typically be required to divide the costs of all forms of employment-related child care.
- Medical expenses – Divorcing parents must usually provide health insurance coverage for children, and the costs of premiums will typically be divided between the parents. They may also need to divide other healthcare costs, such as co-pays for pediatrician visits and checkups, prescription or over-the-counter medications, or any physical or psychological therapy children receive. In some cases, parents may need to address extraordinary medical costs, such as assistive devices or occupational therapy for a child with a disability.
- Educational expenses – These expenses may include the costs of books and school supplies, enrollment fees, private school tuition, tutoring, or any special educational programs children will be attending.
- Extracurricular activities – Sports, camps, clubs, scouting, musical lessons, dance classes, or other activities all have expenses associated with them, including fees, equipment, and transportation. Parents may divide the costs of these activities, and their divorce decree may specify a maximum amount that a parent may be required to contribute toward activities on an annual basis.
Does Child Support Include College Expenses?
Child support will usually be paid until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever happens later. However, this will not necessarily mean that your or your ex-spouse’s financial obligations will be completely terminated once your child is an adult. Depending on the divorce laws in your state, your child may receive non-minor support to help them pay for the costs of attending college.
In Illinois, divorced parents can be ordered to contribute to their children’s college expenses, and the specific amount they will be required to pay will depend on each parent’s financial resources and the resources available to the child, such as money in college savings accounts or financial aid. To continue receiving this support, a child must maintain a “C” average or higher.
A parent may be required to contribute toward a child’s tuition, room, and board, although the maximum amount of these obligations cannot exceed the amount that a child would pay when attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during the same school year. Parents may also be obligated to help pay for books and supplies, transportation, medical and dental insurance, and other personal expenses related to attending college.
Legal Help With Child Support Concerns
Whether you expect to share equal custody and parenting time with your children following your divorce, or you or the other parent will have the majority of the parenting time, you will want to understand the child support obligations for both parents to ensure that your children will have the financial resources they need. A St. Charles child support attorney can make sure all legal and financial issues are considered when determining your financial obligations, and they can provide you with representation throughout your divorce to make sure your children’s best interests are protected.
