Co-parenting is a reality for many families in Homer Glen. Parents share the responsibility of caring for their children, and a big part of that is financial support. Child support is an invaluable resource for many parents in Illinois, and ensuring that you receive the full amount you are owed can sometimes be a challenge. Hiring a Homer Glen child support lawyer can ensure you receive the child support you are owed.
Child support attorney Sarah Vahey of Vahey Law & Mediation, LLC, has dedicated her career to helping families in the Homer Glen area. She is an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Will County Women’s Bar Association. She can use her 12 years of experience and personalized attention to guide you through your Homer Glen child support case.
Child support refers to the amount of money a non-custodial parent pays the custodial parent to support their child financially. It is meant to help the custodial parent, also known as the majority time parent in Illinois, afford the basic needs and expenses associated with raising a child. The majority time parent (the parent with physical custody of the child) typically receives the payment monthly.
A Homer Glen judge will determine the child support amount based on Illinois state guidelines during a hearing at the Will County Courthouse in downtown Joliet. This can be expedited if both parents agree on a child support amount during their custody agreement. If one of the parents’ situations changes, they can apply for a child support modification through the courts.
Illinois child support laws require that one parent be designated the majority time parent based on the number of actual overnights they have the child, not simply by an agreement between the parents. There are some tax benefits for majority time parents, though these are phased out as the majority time parent’s income increases.
In some cases, the majority time parent is obvious. However, when physical custody is intended to be split 50/50, it can become more complicated. One issue is the odd number of nights during most years (365), meaning no true 50/50 split exists. In this case, the IRS steps in and uses each parent’s income as the determining factor, defaulting to the higher earner as the majority time parent.
There are many factors influencing the amount of child support the court determines is appropriate. To figure out how much child support should be paid to the majority time parent, several specifics are taken into account:
A primary factor is the parental income ratio. This is based on the proportion of income of each parent relative to their total combined net income. This determines the percentage of the total annual support amount owed per payment. In 2022, the average amount of child support received in Illinois was $6,012, or about 12.9% of the receiving parent’s annual personal income.
In 2022, approximately 156,159 children received child support in Illinois, totaling about $736 million in payments. For families in Homer Glen, that money covers basic living expenses and other costs associated with caring for a child. This includes:
Additional expenses, like extracurricular activities and emergency expenses, can also be covered by child support payments. A child support attorney in Homer Glen can advise you on specific costs you can cover using child support funds.
How much a child support lawyer costs in Homer Glen depends on several factors. Typically, a child support lawyer will charge an hourly rate, which can be affected by the attorney’s level of experience and the complexity of the case. Our child support lawyer can provide an estimate for your case during a consultation.
Yes, it may be good to hire a child support lawyer for your case. A Homer Glen child support attorney can guide you through the complexities of your case and advocate for you in court. They can also help you figure out the amount of child support you are owed, ensure that proper documentation is filed, and help with child support modifications that may be needed.
You may need a lawyer for your child support case in Homer Glen, although you are not legally required to have one. In 2022, about $2.7 billion in child support payments were delinquent. If your co-parent is behind on payments, an experienced child support attorney can help you receive the money you are owed more easily than if you were to handle the situation on your own.
The non-custodial parent is typically responsible for paying child support monthly to the custodial parent, or majority time parent. In Illinois, the majority time parent is determined by who has physical custody of the child for the majority of overnight stays during the year. In equal split custody cases, the higher-earning parent may be the custodial parent.
The average child support for one child in Homer Glen depends on the net income of the non-custodial parent. The exact amount of child support for your case will be determined by the Income Shares Model, which takes the total net income of both parents and determines child support based on each parent’s percentage of that combined income.
You and your child deserve financial support. Homer Glen child support lawyer Sarah Vahey brings more than a decade of experience in family law and child support cases to the table. Contact Vahey Law & Mediation, LLC, to schedule a consultation and learn how our personalized attention can help you with your child support case.
