Standard of Living

The “standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolve” is one of the most focused on of the most focused on of the relevant factors to be considered by the court in awarding child support. The term “lifestyle” is often used interchangeably with ‘standard of living.” If a child has enjoyed a better standard of living than could be supported by a guideline award or if the guideline calculation results in a very high number, proof of the former standard of living is vital so the court can make the appropriate adjustment either up or down from the guideline amount.

When considering the standard of living the children would have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved, the appropriate yardstick is the present and not the future speculative income of the payor spouse. In re Marriage of Moore, 117 Ill.App.3d 206, 453 N.E.2d 102, 72 Ill.Dec. 797 (5th Dist. 1983), reversed an award with an automatic yearly escalation in child support of $1,000 per year per child. The court noted that the payor father a physician, had contracted to work for a Montana hospital that guaranteed him a gross income of $120,000 for the first year. There was no prior experience on which to base an expectation of increased income yearly to the father, nor was there any guarantee in his contract with the hospital of such an increase. The appellate court limited the father’s support obligation based on his present income.

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