Illinois law governs the method of calculating child support in a dissolution or parentage proceeding. The method of calculating child support was modified in July 2017. Since then, parties and attorneys alike have been adjusting to the new method of determining child support.
One of the interesting points of the July 2017 changes to child support calculations is something called the multi-family adjustment. This adjustment allows for a deduction when determining a party’s income for child support purposes based on the fact that they have other children whom they support.[1]These other children can be children from a prior or a subsequent relationship.
There are two types of multi-family adjustments. The first type is for those with an order to support another child. In cases where a party has a court order to support another child, the amount of support being paid for the other child is deducted from that party’s net income calculation because the person paying child support is credited for their payments towards their other child’s support.[2]
The second type of multi-family adjustment is for those without an order to support another child. When a person is supporting another child or children but there is no court order requiring such, there are standard deductions taken from the supporting party’s income in order to account for that support.[3]This comes up most often in cases in which parties have separated and one party has entered into a relationship with another person, had another child and is still in a relationship with the other parent of the subsequent child. In these cases, although the parent is supporting the subsequent child in a two-parent household and therefore not paying child support, they are still given credit for the funds they must use to support the subsequent child.
Because the multi-family adjustment can make a significant impact to any child support determination under Illinois law, it is important to inform your attorney if either you or the other party have any children from prior or subsequent relationships.
If you have any questions about how the multi-family adjustment for child support may effect your case or other child support or family law issues, please contact Sherer Law Offices at shererlaw.com or 618-692-6656.
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[1]750 ILCS 5/505(3)(F)(I)
[2]750 ILCS 5/505(3)(F)(I)(i)
[3]750 ILCS 5/505(3)(F)(I)(ii)
