On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Support on Saturday, October 13, 2012.
Illinois parents going through a divorce can expect that statutory guidelines will be used to help determine how much one parent should be paying and how much the other parent should be receiving in child support. These child support guidelines are heavily dependent on how much the non-custodial parent earns. However, other factors such as medical expenses and child care costs are also factored in to the total amount that should be paid.
For the non-custodial parent, failing to make these payments can actually result in criminal consequences, which is why it’s very important to understand the entire process of child support beforehand.
Take for example one father who was recently in court on unrelated charges. However, once in court, it was learned he was roughly $131,000 behind on child support payments. A warrant was issued for his arrest for unpaid child support and he was subsequently taken in to police custody.
When looking at this case, one has to wonder just why the father was so far behind on his child support payments. Did he lose his job and just continue to fall further and further behind? Was the original amount set just way to high? Did he know he could have contacted an attorney to possibly have the amount modified?
This is why, regardless of the situation that is causing a person to doubt being able to make their child support payments on time, it’s best to contact an attorney as soon as one realizes paying is going to be a problem. This way an attorney can look into a possible solution before a parent is thousands of dollars behind in payments and facing criminal sanctions.
Source: Patch.com, “Man Arrested for Owing $131K in child support,” Oct. 12, 2012
