Illinois Child Support Attorney

In McHenry County and Kane County, child support is mandated by the State of Illinois. The state guidelines for determining child support were updated in July 2017. Before this update, child support payments paid by a non-custodial parent to a custodial parent were calculated using a percentage of the non-custodial parent's income based on the number of children being supported. Following this change, both parents' incomes will be considered, along with each parent's amount of parenting time and parental responsibility.

Under Illinois' new "income shares" model of calculating child support, the court will use tables provided by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to determine the amount that would typically be spent to care for the number of children based on the parents' combined net income. Each parent will be responsible for a portion of this amount based on their percentage share of the combined income. If the children stay overnight with each parent for at least 146 days each year, additional calculations will be performed to divide the child support costs between the parents based on each parent's percentage of overnights.

Disputes Over Child Support

At Thomas Law Office, most child support disputes are over the amount being paid by the non-custodial parent. Either that person feels he/she is paying too much or the other parent feels he/she is not receiving enough. Lawyer Colleen Thomas can handle both types of cases with skill and dependability.

In nearly 16 years as an attorney, Ms. Thomas has seen all of the tricks people use to try to misrepresent their income to get out of paying child support. She will thoroughly investigate bank records, credit card statements, income statements, bonuses, and commissions to accurately calculate net income on which child support is based.

Sometimes, people will even forge financial documents (W-2s and self-employment reporting) to reduce their child support responsibility. Ms. Thomas can spot these types of scams and will subpoena employers and work with the courts to get you an accurate calculation.

Only an experienced attorney like Colleen Thomas at Thomas Law Office can give you an estimate as to what the outcome of your child support dispute will be. This can also save you time and money since you’ll have a realistic idea of what to fight for and what to accept. Call 847-426-7990 or send an email to schedule a consultation for your case. We proudly represent clients in Elgin, South Elgin, Carpentersville, Marengo, West Dundee, East Dundee, Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Huntley, Crystal Lake, Woodstock and Cary.