What Does Child Support Cover? What Expenses of My Children are not Included in Child Support?

In Illinois, the current statute that governs child support is 750 ILCS 5/505 which is titled, “Child Support; Contempt; Penalties.” According to the Illinois child support statute, guideline child support is as follows:

The Court shall determine the minimum amount of support by using the following guidelines:

This means that if you have 2 children, you will pay 28% of your net income for child support. If you have 3 children, you will pay 32% of your net income for child support. And so on, and so forth. You may be eligible for a deviation from the guidelines in your case.

However, child support does not cover all expenses of your minor child or children. Child support covers food, clothing (day-to-day) and shelter. Child support does not automatically cover medical expenses that are not covered by health insurance, health insurance premiums, child care (nanny or daycare), educational costs, and extracurricular activity (activities) expenses. Therefore, you may end up paying a percentage of your income and a percentage of all additional expenses if you are the non-primary residential parent of your child or children.

Courts like to see your children taken care of and provided for. If you have any questions about child support or your obligations to your child, please do not hesitate to contact our law firm. Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC. Thank you.