For wealthy Naperville parents, lifestyle maintenance can influence child support

 Posted on February 01, 2021 in Child Support

When a couple getting divorced relied on one high-income breadwinner, it is often a priority for the other spouse to receive enough marital property to maintain the lifestyle they enjoyed during the marriage. Alternatively, spousal maintenance can help a divorced person continue to enjoy the same comforts they did during the marriage.

While divorce will affect their children’s lives, most Naperville parents would want to minimize the impact — both emotionally and economically. Child support is how divorced and unmarried parents in Illinois make sure that their children’s basic needs are met. But for high-income families, child support can also have the purpose of maintaining the children’s lifestyle after their parents split up.

Child support can be different for high earner parents

State law includes a formula for calculating child support based on several factors, including each parent’s income. But family court judges can deviate above the calculated level of support when the noncustodial parent’s income is high. Depending on that parent’s income and financial resources, the court might order them to pay thousands of dollars a month in child support. Besides the basics like food and shelter, the custodial parent can use this money to pay for things like sports, private tutors, designer clothes and vehicles.

For parents paying high levels of child support, trusting the other parent is a common concern. After all, the custodial parent will be the one spending the child support. If the paying parent does not trust the custodial parent not to spend the child support on themselves, a trust could be used to hold most of the support and pay for high-ticket items like vacations, private sports coaching and so on.

A unique situation requires a unique perspective

This is an example of how divorce can be different for wealthy families. While things like child custody are universal, property division and child support can be much more complex for those with high income and substantial assets. An attorney with experience representing clients in this position would be your best bet.