Many Illinois fans of the singer Robin Thicke have probably heard that he was having issues with his wife, actress Paula Patton. He has made public attempts to win her back and even recently released an album named “Paula” for her. The attempts appear to have failed, as Patton has now filed for divorce from Thicke. The couple has a four-year old child together and Patton is asking to share joint custody of the child with Thicke.
There are many parents in Illinois who get divorced with children every year. In addition to dealing with who will get the house or how they will divide their assets, parents, like Thicke and Patton, will have to determine child support and child custody. Child support is ordered in almost every divorce with children and it is important to ensure the child’s needs are being met by both parents.
In Illinois, child support is determined by using state guidelines, which provide a formula for calculating the amount of child support in each case. Numerical values based on each parent’s income, are inserted into the formula and the amount is determined. This may seem to be a fairly rigid approach, but there can be differences as to which numerical values are put into the formula, based on the unique financial situation in each case. Also, child custody and the amount of visitation both play a role in determining the amount of child support.
After child support is ordered, circumstances can change throughout the life of a child and, at times, parents are no longer able to pay child support or no longer want to for various reasons. There are ways to modify orders if circumstances change, in order to best fit the financial situation of the parents. There are also ways to enforce current orders if a parent stops paying child support.
Many parents in Illinois going through a divorce will have to determine what the amount of child support will be going forward. Others may need to enforce of modify their current child support orders. Attorneys understand the complexities of child support and may be useful resources for people who are involved in a child support dispute.
Source: Quincy Herald-Whig, “Paula Patton files for divorce from Robin Thicke” Oct. 8, 2014