Illinois has a problem with uncollected and overdue child support, according to some relatively recent statistics. More specifically, as of 2016, parents in this state were, altogether, behind about $3.1 billion in their child support payments. This number has held relatively steady over the last five years.
The number itself is high when compared to the figures of the other states. However, the statistics do not breakdown the numbers further to account for the fact that some states may have larger populations, and thus more people who are prone to getting behind in their child support obligations. At least according to some older reports, Illinois excels with respect to some aspects of child support collection. Still, these numbers suggest that child support collection and enforcement are ongoing issues in many Illinois paternity, divorce and other cases involving the care and well-being of children.
Although the state has resources for getting parents to pay child support by enforcing Illinois’s strict provisions against those who do not pay support in a timely fashion, sometimes the state can move too slowly for the liking of a parent who needs the financial help child support offers right away. Moreover, in other cases, a parent who may be behind in support payments for a good reason could need help avoiding the most severe penalties for not paying support. Some of these consequences can leave a parent even less likely to be able to afford child support, no matter how much he or she would like to help his or her child monetarily.
These are reasons why some parents in Rockford, Illinois, may choose to entrust their child support case to a family law attorney. An attorney can give a parent a full review of his or her legal options when it comes to collecting child support, and he or she can also represent the interests of the parent in court, whether the parent is trying to collect support or trying to explain his or her circumstances.