Cook County Child Support Lawyer

Call Our Legal Team for Assistance

No matter how contentious your divorce proceedings, you may have certain financial obligations to help care for your child or children. Determining this is based on a number of personal and professional issues, including whether or not you have sole or joint custody and what your employment situation is.

No matter what you circumstances, your first responsibility should be for the care and well-being of your children. Child support should never be used to leverage a legal advantage against your ex-spouse, nor should they seek more than is necessary to maintain your child’s way of life. At the Law Firm of Caryl Jacobs Gabe, Ltd., our attorney works with you and your former spouse to determine a plan that works best for your family.

If you need help with a child support matter in Cook County, call our office at (847) 278-2851 for your free consultation.

Calculating Child Support Payments

In Illinois, the minimum amount of child support a non-custodial parent should pay is determined by the number of children they need to support and their financial needs. Typically, this starts at 20% of the parent’s net income for one child, and can be up to 50% of the net income for six or more children.

Other factors that may factor into calculating child support include:

• The child’s financial needs, including health care and education expenses
• The financial resources of the parent who has custody
• The child’s standard of living before the divorce
• The financial needs of the non-custodial parent
• The child’s age, physical, and emotional condition
• Parent’s assets, including payments from a previous marriage
• Insurance costs, work expenses, such as union dues, taxes, and debts

While many lawyers and online resources offer simple calculators, determining monthly payments is often more complicated than that. The assistance of a skilled attorney can help ensure that mistakes are not made that could jeopardize your chances at getting the support your children need.

Modifying & Enforcing Support Orders

In cases when you or your spouse’s situation has changed, it may be necessary to recalculate child support payments. This can involve returning to court, additional legal paperwork, and the possible involvement of law enforcement.

Regardless of your situation, our Cook County child support attorney at the Law Firm of Caryl Jacobs Gabe, Ltd. can help represent your children’s best interests, no matter if you are seeking to create, modify, or enforce agreements.

We serve clients across the suburbs of Chicago from our offices in Palatine (by appointment only) and Hoffman Estates. To schedule an appointment during our flexible office hours, fill out a free case evaluation to get started.