Illinois Supreme Court Ruling on Child Support Income

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down a ruling regarding child support income last May 24 in a case that came before it concerning an unemployed dad. The case involved a couple who had been divorced in 2007. The father was the noncustodial parent who had lost his job and was regularly withdrawing funds from his savings account to live on while he looked for work. The lower trial court had suspended the child support issue in the divorce because of the father's unemployment. The mother had then petitioned the lower court in 2010 to address the issue.

The father was found to be withdrawing more than $8,000 a month from his savings to live on while unemployed and the lower court calculated that $2,000 should be paid from the withdrawals for child support. These monthly withdrawals were determined to be "income" by both the lower court and by an appellate court in a later appeal. The Supreme Court, however, rejected these lower court rulings, stating that the withdrawals were not a form of income since the father was spending money that he already owned.

Child support is generally determined on the basis of several considerations, including a parent's income, the needs of the child, the expenses involved for the child, the quality of life the child enjoyed prior to the divorce, and similar legal factors.

Divorce and Family Law Firm in Kansas City, Missouri

While the child support issue above concerns residents of Illinois, it illustrates the complexities which can arise in matters related to divorce and family law. Every family is different with its own set of unique circumstances which must be addressed to resolve a divorce or other family law issue, such as child custody, child support, alimony, division of marital property, parental relocation, and modifications of earlier divorce agreements and court orders.

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