At Crosby & Crosby LLP, we have characterized both Child Support and Spousal Support as “Support.” We have done this because both Child Support and Spousal Support are determined using fixed calculations provided by the Illinois State Legislature.
These are Illinois State Statutes that provide lawyers and their clients with specific calculations used to determine support. Both Child Support and Spousal Support (otherwise known as Maintenance or, formerly known as Alimony, will take into consideration your entire financial picture of both parents. In addition to Child Support and Spousal Support, we have included information about Child Expenses, as these payments are separate and apart from the regularly paid Child Support.
Child Support
Child Support is the term used to describe the money one parent provides the other to establish a favorable living condition for your children. It is important to keep in mind that the money paid by one parent to another for Child Support is to be used to provide necessities for the children. These necessities are things such as: clothing, food, reasonable entertainment and other day-to-day expenses your children may incur. Do not think of Child Support as a payment to your spouse or from your spouse for their benefit or yours. These funds are to support your children’s everyday lives.
Child Expenses
Child Expenses are additional costs that your children incur outside of their day-to-day lives. These expenses are typically things like registration fees for sports or clubs. They can be things like summer camp or daycare. They can also be related to academics. Things such as tutor fees, the cost of special education assistance, and even uncovered health care bills, including expenses for vision and dental work like braces or glasses.
Spousal Support (Maintenance/Alimony)
Spousal Support or Maintenance/Alimony is the term used to describe a Court Ordered sum of money one spouse pays another at the conclusion of and/or during a divorce. As the name implies, Spousal Support is only ordered in a Divorce case. This is the monthly sum of money paid by the spouse with greater income to the spouse with lesser income. The purpose of this payment is to try to put the spouse making the lesser income into a financial position most similar to the position that spouse was in prior to the Divorce. Spousal Support, like Child Support, is calculated using the income and financial situation of both parties. That calculation is set by state law, but the end result is, as it is with everything else in these cases, negotiable and agreements can be made between the parties for amounts other than those calculated using the state’s calculation.
To learn more about Spousal Support, Child Support and Child Expenses, click this link to our main Support page.
If you or someone you know is in need of a family law attorney, call us today. Our highly skilled team works with our clients to provide the knowledge and experience needed to build a successful winning legal strategy. Schedule your free initial consultation with a Rockford Divorce Law Attorney today to learn more about the services our team can provide you.