Even couples who live together and raise their children under the same roof may find themselves in a situation where one or both of them will need to pick up some extra hours, or even take on a second side job in order to make ends meet. When it comes to a divorce or separation, a parent may even feel additional financial pressure to take on more work since a split, by necessity, is going to mean that the parent has to pay additional bills without counting on the income or resources of the other parent. One of these bills will likely be child support.
Rockford, Illinois, residents who choose to take on that second job or work some overtime in order to make ends meet and provide for their children really deserve praise. However, they should be aware that, unlike other states, Illinois has no special provisions when it comes to counting overtime income and income from a separate job for child support purposes.
In other words, a parent who does extra work on a regular basis is in theory going to be responsible to pay additional child support, since this state decides the amount of child support each parent is responsible for based on the parents’ respective incomes.
Even if the very point of the second job was to pay child support or, for instance, a divorce-related obligation, it still can be used as a basis to increase a person’s child support order.
This does not mean a parent is in an absolute bind though, as courts do have some discretion when it comes to child support. But, legal assistance may be needed if a parent wishes to try to protect their extra income so that they can pay the obligations they already have.