Child Support Changes for 2027

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New Law Upgrades IL Child Support

Senate Bill 3524 Gives Major Update to Child Support

Take note Illinois parents involved in divorce, parentage or child support proceedings. Illinois has enacted Senate Bill 3524 and it will take effect on January 1, 2027. This law updates the state’s income-shares child support model. Its key points are that it lowers the shared-care threshold from 146 to 110 annual overnights or overnight equivalents, establishes a $40 per month minimum support presumption for low-income obligors, and adds rules for incarcerated parents and annual income sharing.

This legislation will not replace the Illinois’ income-shares model for calculating child support, it makes several important changes. These changes aim to improve fairness and recognize modern parenting arrangements. The legislation lowers the threshold in cases where physical care of the child(ren) is shared.

Beginning January 1, 2027, the new threshold to trigger the “shared care” approach for calculating child support is set at 110 annual overnights or the newly introduced “overnight equivalents.” This change acknowledges that respective parenting responsibilities may not be accurately depicted by solely looking at overnights. This change may significantly impact the contention around parenting-time schedules and the financial consequences the current threshold has.

Additional Changes to Take Effect in 2027

There will be a number of changes that take place with the new law. One important change is a new shared-care child support formula. It involves:

  • Multiplication of the basic child support obligation by 1.5.
  • Allocation based upon each parent’s share of combined adjusted net income.
  • Offset calculation between parents.
  • New statutory adjustment table for parents with fewer than 146 overnights/equivalents.
  • Limitation preventing shared-care support from exceeding the amount that would be ordered under the standard guidelines.

There is also a new minimum child support presumption. It uses the following criteria:

  • Rebuttable presumption of $40 per month per child.
  • Applies to obligors at or below 100% of the federal poverty guidelines.
  • Comparison to current treatment of low-income obligors.
  • Potential effects on modification proceedings.

Additional changes apply to incarcerated parents. The new law address child support obligations during periods of incarceration. It creates a streamlined administrative procedure for parents incarcerated more than 180 days. It allows for a notice of incarceration to be filed with the court and the parent’s financial situation will be assessed.

 

Evert family’s circumstance is different, so the application of the new child support guidelines may not affect you. The new law does not automatically change existing child support orders. Parents must still obtain a court order to modify support.