Family & Safety

To learn more about the basics of child support, read more at Child support common questions.

To change a child support order, the parent can:

• File a petition or motion to modify their child support or
• Contact the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to begin the modification review process.

In deciding which option to choose, the parent looks at the original child support order:

• If the original child support case was decided by a judge in a divorce, parentage, or standalone child support case, then the parent can file the petition or motion to modify child support in that same court.
• If the original child support case was an administrative order through the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (IDHFS), then the parent must request the child support modification through them. The administrative court order can be registered, allowing the parent to then file the petition or motion to modify child support.

Until the judge changes the amount of the child support owed through a new court order, the current amount is required to be paid. If a parent stops paying without a new court order allowing them to do so, they are accruing a back child support balance that is owed to the receiving parent. They are also at risk of being in contempt of court (possibly jail time), having their driver’s licenses suspended, liens placed on their property, having tax refunds taken, and other consequences.

Judges typically will not end a child support obligation early, but to show a judge that the amount should change, the parent will need to demonstrate the reason for the change. Child support payments can be modified if there has been a substantial change in circumstances. A substantial change in circumstances is considered: 

• an increase in the needs of children;
• an increase in the ages of children;
• an increase in the cost of living for the children;
• or a change in either party’s financial situation (such as an increase or decrease in income or involuntary job loss of a party)

It may be helpful to use the Illinois Child Support Estimator calculator.

Judges will end child support when a child turns 18 or graduates high school (or turns 19 while still in high school), whichever comes later. Judges will also end child support if a child is emancipated. Judges may also end child support if the parenting time schedule changes to become approximately equal, and the parents are making approximately the same amount of money.

Yes. If a paying parent loses their job, their duty to pay child support does not end. A judge will still expect the paying parent to be making their monthly ordered payments until they come to court and request a modification of their child support order.

If a paying parent fails to make their monthly payments because of a loss of employment and does not file for a modification with the court, the paying parent is at risk of being in contempt of court. The paying parent is also starting to accumulate a back child support balance that they will be obligated to still pay. If the paying parent fails to make payments, then the receiving parent may file a Petition for Rule to Show Cause, reporting to the judge the paying parent's failure to make payments. A paying parent can defend against a Petition for Rule to Show Cause by arguing that they did not violate the court order on purpose. However, they should be aware that a dip in income alone may not be seen as a complete defense.

In these cases, most courts will order the parent to come to court and prove that they are actively trying to find employment and support their children. The paying parent will still likely owe the back support payments they missed, even if their payments going forward are adjusted due to loss of employment.

Yes. The law makes it clear that paying child support and parenting time (visitation) are two separate things.

Even if the paying parent does not see their children, they still must pay the court-ordered support. The parent who receives child support can't cut off the paying parent's court-ordered visitation even if they are not paying child support.

The opposite is also true. The paying parent cannot stop paying child support. This is true even if the receiving parent is not allowing visitation. The paying parent must follow certain procedures to enforce a parenting time order. The paying parent can't enforce a parenting time order by not paying child support.

The child support order will expire when the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later, but not past the age of 19. Note that just because the accumulation of support ends, the withholding might not stop automatically. The paying parent must be vigilant in checking their paystubs and communicating with their employer about the termination date.

Child support and inheritance can be tricky because inheritance can take many forms.  A support order cannot include any money that is not actually in the paying parent’s possession. Suppose they are expecting an inheritance, and they have not received it yet. In that case, the receiving parent cannot include that expected inheritance in any child support order.

The type of inheritance can determine if it should be included in child support.  For example, you would not include a tangible gift such as a car or jewelry as child support, even if the gift is worth a substantial amount of money.

A lump sum of money is seen as a gift, not earned income. It typically would not be included in child support.  However, suppose there is back support owed to the receiving parent. In that case, the receiving parent can go to court and ask that it be paid with that lump sum since the paying parent is now able to pay some or all of what they owe.

If the inheritance includes something that will earn income, then that could be included in child support.  An example of this would be a house or apartment building that collects rent from tenants.  A receiving parent should then include a percentage of that income in the child’s support order. Another example would be if they place the inheritance in a trust with monthly or yearly payments. That money can be considered income. The receiving parent can include a percentage of the trust payments in a support calculation.  

If the receiving parent is unaware of the type of inheritance the paying parent has received, they must go to court to have them disclose any new potential income. Suppose the judge finds that they have received an income-producing inheritance. The judge has the option to order back support payments of the newly ordered payment to the date the other parent started receiving the income-producing inheritance.  Some courts will not do it automatically, so it is important to make sure to include it in the request for a modification.  

If the paying parent receives a holiday bonus from their employer, that is earned income. This amount should be included in child support. However, the form the bonus takes may vary, and it may also take some work to get the bonus included in the child support calculation:

• If the paying parent's paycheck includes the bonus and the State Disbursement Unit takes a percentage from that paycheck, then the percentage should be automatically included in your payment.
• If the receiving parent gets direct payments for child support or a set amount is disbursed, they must go to court, have the bonus disclosed, and then get it included in a modified support order. It is important to have the judge include any future holiday bonuses in the support order to save the receiving parent from returning to court each year. 

The same would apply if the paying parent gets a holiday bonus separate from their paycheck or gets bonuses from different sources. For example, suppose your paying parent has multiple independent clients that give cash bonuses. The receiving parent must then have them disclosed through the courts to get a percentage of the holiday bonuses included in the new support order. 

Yes. If a parent is unhappy with the child support modification court order, they have a couple of options:

• File a Motion for Reconsideration: with this motion, the parent is asking the judge to reconsider their ruling. The parent has to state why they think that the court was wrong when it made the original ruling. They have 30 days after the judge's decision to file a Motion for Reconsideration. Learn more about Preparing, filing, and presenting motions in court.  If the Motion for Reconsideration is denied, the parent can still file an appeal within 30 days.  
• File an appeal: an appeal is a request to the appellate court asking it to look at the trial court's decision to see if it was right. The parent does not get a new trial, and they cannot present any new evidence. The appellate court will only consider what was previously presented to the first judge. The rules regarding appeals are very complicated. The parent should either consult with a lawyer or go to the law library and read the Supreme Court Rules for appeals. The parent has thirty (30) days after the judge's decision to file an appeal. For more information, please read Appealing a Circuit Court decision.

You may want to get a lawyer to help you with changing or ending child support payments, particularly if the other parent does not agree with you.  You should also speak to a lawyer if the child's living situation has changed (i.e. the child is now living with you or someone else the majority of the time); you owe back child support; you have more than one child support order; or you want to file your petition or motion in a different court than where the case was originally filed.

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