Illinois has taken a significant step towards ensuring child support payments more accurately reflect a parent's ability to pay, with recent amendments to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution Act. The changes empower courts to calculate child support based on a parent's potential income, considering factors such as financial resources, lifestyle, work history, and professional qualifications. This move aims to address the uneven application of child support laws across county family law courts and close loopholes that allowed some parents to underreport their earnings.
The amendment introduces a structured approach to determining a paying parent's earning capacity, including a rebuttal position estimating income at 75% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for single-person households when work history is insufficient. This provides courts with a consistent baseline for child support calculations, ensuring that children receive the support they need regardless of their parents' employment status.
Legal experts anticipate an increase in petitions for post-judgment modifications of existing child support orders, as both paying and receiving parents seek to adjust obligations under the new law. The changes are expected to bring more fairness and consistency to child support cases in Illinois, benefiting children and families across the state.
