NEW - Illinois Child Support - Please HELP!

[heather2662]

Topic: Child Support

State: Illinois

Background:
Divorced 2003
BM has sole custody.
I (BF) have 2 minor children I still pay child support on. One is 17 and one is 15. The 17 yr old moved in with me last year (June – Oct) after getting into trouble (grades, drugs, boys) bad enough for BM to loosen the PAS death grip she has on her.

(Note:
Judge in my and BM’s divorce said we could work out child support payment if we can get along. The first CS went through the court and BM didn’t like waiting so long to get it and for going on 3 years now, I mail a check to her weekly with a photo copy of the check and my pay stub together.)

I had a lawyer doing all the paper work. The arrangement me and BM agreed on was going to be that I would get custody of 17 yr old and BM would retain custody of 15 yr old. That would mean child support cancels each other out. On top of that we would split 50/50 the cost of school clothes, the car insurance for the 19 yr old in college, all kinds of other extras - just to be able to get the 17 yr old to live with me so I could help her.
A couple $ grand later, and one signature from the judge away from being finalized, we all found out that while she was at one of BM’s weekend visitations, BM let her run free and she got pregnant. (she was suppose to be on 24 hr adult supervision.) At that point BM said the deal was off and pulled out the big guns on the kid and made her move back to BM’s, along with the father of the child (boyfriend/fiancé).

Current situation:
The 17yr old gave birth about a month ago and has now moved in with me as of the 2nd week of June, with the boyfriend/fiancé and baby also.

I know that this is going to be another fight over money. Currently she believes that she should continue collecting child support for 17yr old while she lives with me.

She may or may not ask for support for 19yr old full time college student while she is home for summer.

What can be done? Figure out the child support from me to BM and BM to me and the difference will be paid to the parent with the lower income. I'm just tired of being screwed by her all the time… paying support and then having to financially support the kids anyway because she claims to them that she is broke and they have to go without “basic life needs” things unless I will buy it for them.

1. What are my options?

2. What are the different ways child support can be divided in this situation?

Thank you,
Dad with CS problems

PS. The child support break down in Illinois is 32% for 3 kids, 28% for 2 kids, and 20% for 1 child.

[socrateaser]

>1. What are my options?

Child support is highly deterministic. IL has guidelines that must be followed in almost all cases. So, there aren't any options. You calculate support using the guideline tables and however it works out, that's what you each pay/receive. With split custody, the amounts may cancel each other out, but not necessarily.

Important, factoid, in IL, support for an adult child is not child support. It's expenses towards the cost of education, so the guidelines don't necessarily apply, and you are entitled to make an argument based on the facts as to what amount should be contributed for the child's college education. That means that you don't necessarily have to pay for the child while he/she's home during the summer.

I'm not an expert on IL law, but there's some bargaining room that you will need to research if you want to take advantage of it.

However, the new father should be out working and contributing to your cost of living. Don't let him loaf -- that's not doing either one of you any good. Frankly, the mom should work, too, and both parents should trade off taking care of the kid. And, if they don't do a good job, then you go to court and move for custody of the child, kick the parents out and collect support from both of them.

Tuff love.

>
>2. What are the different ways child support can be divided in
>this situation?

See above.