DeVore Law Offices, LLC

05/17/2026

How Illinois Child Support Actually Gets Calculated

The most common question I get in divorce cases is some version of: "What is child support actually going to be?" Here's a plain-English answer.

In 2017, Illinois switched to an Income Shares model. That means the court looks at BOTH parents' incomes, not just the one who'll be paying.

Each parent's net income (after taxes) is calculated.
The two are added together. That's the combined household income. The court goes to an Illinois HFS chart and looks up the total monthly amount the law expects you to spend on the kids — based on combined income and number of children.

That total is split between the parents in proportion to their share of the combined income. 60% of the income means 60% of the obligation. If the paying parent has the kids at least 146 overnights a year, the formula adjusts downward.

Health insurance, childcare, and extraordinary expenses get added on top — also divided proportionally.

A few things this means:
— Your gross paycheck isn't the number. Your net is.
— The other parent's income matters too.
— Overnights matter — where the kids actually sleep.
— Bonuses, commissions, and self-employment all get factored in.

Illinois child support is a math problem with rules. Knowing the rules is the difference between paying or receiving the right number and paying or receiving the wrong one.

First 30 minutes is free.
Tom DeVore
DeVore Law Offices
(618) 664-9439 · www.devorelawoffices.com

General information about Illinois law. Not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is created.

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05/17/2026

A lot of folks first heard of me during the COVID years, when I represented hundreds of Illinois families, students, small-business owners, and workers who got steamrolled by the State and didn't have anywhere else to turn. I took my share of attacks for that work — some of it from the most powerful people in this state. None of it changed how I practice.

These days the firm handles the same range of matters as any solid country lawyer: divorce and family law, criminal defense, probate and estate, real estate, business disputes, commercial litigation, workers' comp, and administrative cases.

What's different is how I approach it. Before law school I was an accountant, so the first thing I'll do with your case is tell you what it's really worth, what it's really going to cost, and what the most economical path through it looks like.

A few specifics about how I work:
— You'll talk to me, not a paralegal you've never met.
— First 30 minutes is free, no obligation.
— I don't charge for drive time when a hearing requires me to be in person.
— Most hearings can be handled remotely when the court allows. We use that whenever we can — it keeps your costs down.
— If your case isn't one I should be handling, I'll tell you and point you to someone who can.

Offices in Litchfield and Greenville. Serving all of central and southern Illinois.

Call (618) 664-9439 or send a message.

www.devorelawoffices.com