Statutory and Common Law Basis of Obligation

The parents’ legal obligation to support their children is codified in IMDMA §505, which governs to spectrum of child support issues, including how to set, how to get, how to enforce, and how to change child support. Effective July 1, 1997, §505.2 includes provisions concerning health insurance for children. Section 510(d) governs termination and modification of support obligations, and §513 governs support of non-minor children who are disabled and educational expenses for both minor and non-minor children. The Parentage Act clarifies that this right to be supported by both parents belongs to every child regardless of the marital status of the parents.

Among its provisions, IMDMA §505 contains percentage guidelines used in determining the minimum amount of child support that either or both parents can be ordered to pay §505(a)(1)), the relevant factors that the court must consider if it or the parties by agreement wish to deviate from the statutory guideline (§505(a)(2)), the definition of “net income” against which the percentage guidelines are applied to determine the child support award (§505(a)(3)), and a provision allowing net income to be reduced if a parent provides health insurance for the dependents through the employer (§505(a)(4)). It also specifies how to set an award of child support in cases of default (§505(a)(5)), contains enforcement provisions (§505(b)), and provides for a special surcharge for certain arrearage cases (§505(c)). In addition, it provides that each payment is in effect a judgment that can be collected pursuant to the law governing other judgments (§505(d); see 750 ILCS 45/15 for the enforcement of paternity judgments) and provides for payments through the clerk of the court in certain cases (§505(e)).

While IMDMA §505 must be viewed as the starting point in making a claim for or determining child support, other statutory provisions are also pertinent and need to be considered: IMDMA §501 (temporary relief), §502 (agreement), §503 (disposition of property), §510 (modification and termination of provisions for maintenance, support, property disposition, and educational expenses), §513 (support for non-minor children and educational expenses), and §601 (jurisdiction in child custody proceedings), as well as §14 of the Parentage Act.  If the facts do not fit within the current statutory framework, common law theories can be explored as well.

Back to Index

See Also: