As the noncustodial parent, you have been making your child support payments regularly since your divorce was finalized in Illinois. However, you suddenly find yourself unable to make the payments. We at the Essig Law Office understand that the state has protection in place for those whose altered circumstances mean they cannot pay the original child support amount.
According to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the agency’s Division of Child Support Services sends out notices to parents once every three years informing them that they may file for a review of the child support order. This notice includes the instructions for doing so. Maybe you are not going to be able to wait three years, though.
Even if it has not been three years, you can still request that your child support order be reviewed by the DCSS if your income has undergone a substantial change. The department uses the same considerations that were originally used to come up with the percentage you would pay. After refiguring the amount based on the new financial information you and your former spouse provide, the DCSS will notify you and your child’s other parent of the new amount, or it will state that there will be no change.
In the event that you do not get a result that works for you, you have the right to ask for a new determination from the DCSS, to contest the amount in court and to seek an administrative hearing. Until you have a new child support order, though, you must continue to make the original payments. More information about child support modifications can be found on our webpage.
