When Can an Illinois Child Support Order Be Modified?

DuPage County Divorce Attorneys Assisting Parents with Child Support Modifications

After completing the divorce process or establishing child custody orders, circumstances in your life may change. The orders put in place by a family court judge may no longer be appropriate, and you may need to make changes that will reflect your current circumstances. These changes may address issues related to the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time, but they often are based on adjustments to income and expenses that may affect the financial support you pay or receive.

Situations may arise where you or your ex-spouse will need to modify the amount of child support paid by one party to the other. However, the modification process and the applicable child support laws and guidelines can be difficult to navigate. Fortunately, the attorneys at Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC can help simplify the process. With our years of experience representing clients in family law cases, we can make sure you understand how Illinois law applies in your situation, explain what steps you need to take to modify child support, and advocate on your behalf during legal proceedings.

Modifying Child Support Orders

• If you would like to modify your child support agreement, you can file a motion with the court. You will need to show that there has been a substantial change in your state of affairs since the original child support order was established. Depending on your circumstances, the amount of child support required can increase or decrease. However, the court can only make this adjustment following the date the motion was filed. It is important to file a modification request as soon as you possible after experiencing any financial changes in your life. Any payments that were due prior to filing a modification request must be paid in full, and interest will apply to late payments. If a modification request is granted, the changes may be retroactive to the date the request was filed. Some reasons that changes to support payments may be made include: A change in your or your spouse's income;
• Substantial changes to any expenses, including your living expenses or costs related to raising your children;
• A relocation that may result in increased transportation costs;
• Adjustments to parenting time that will result in a child living primarily with a different parent; or
• A disability that will result in increased medical expenses or other costs for a child.

Our attorneys can help you gather and submit evidence showing that your financial circumstances have changed in a way that would make a child support modification appropriate. Whether you are seeking to reduce your child support payments because you have lost your job or experienced a decrease in income, or you believe that the child support you receive should be increased to address your children's changing needs, we can advocate for solutions that will protect your children's best interests while helping you avoid financial hardship.

Contact Our Wheaton Child Support Lawyers

Determining when child support modifications may be appropriate can often be confusing. That is where our team at Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC can help. Contact us to set up a consultation. We can help you to be sure that your modification requests are in compliance with Illinois laws. We assist clients with child support matters and many other family law issues. Call us at 630-665-7300 today. We serve clients in DuPage, Kane, and Kendall Counties.