When Your Income Changes

10 FAQs About Child Support and Maintenance in Illinois When Your Income Changes

TL;DR:

Child support and maintenance (spousal support) don’t change automatically when your income changes. If you lose a job, take a pay cut, or start earning more, you’ll likely need to file a motion with the court to modify the order. The change must be substantial and ongoing, not temporary. Until the court signs a new order, your old amount stays in effect and any unpaid balance becomes arrears.

No. Support obligations continue until a judge changes them. Even if you’re laid off, furloughed, or have reduced hours, the existing court order remains enforceable. You’ll need to ask the court to modify it based on a substantial change in circumstances.

Illinois law looks at lasting, meaningful shifts—like job loss, permanent pay reduction, serious illness, or retirement. A short-term layoff or temporary furlough (such as during the federal shutdown) usually doesn’t qualify. Courts expect that life brings small fluctuations, but major, sustained changes may justify modification.

You can, but courts tend to view temporary unemployment cautiously. If your job loss is short-term or you receive severance, your petition may be denied. Judges often prefer to see a few months of consistent lower income before finding a “substantial” change.

That said, you should still file early if your situation might last—it preserves your right to ask for a reduced amount from that filing date forward. If you land a better job, you can always ask the court to dismiss your pleading.

The unpaid balance becomes arrears (past-due support), and interest accrues at 9% per year in Illinois. You can also face penalties, wage garnishment, license suspension, having your tax refund seized and even jail. If you truly can’t pay, communicate early, pay what you can, and file a petition as soon as possible.

Warning: the court will look at how you spend your money if you say you cannot pay. Judges expect every dollar that you can spare to go to your children in those situations. I have seen judges demand people to empty their pockets and wallets in courtrooms to pay what they can. I have seen judges send people to jail when they admit they spent money on fast food or the cable bill rather than paying support. In other words, the judge expects that you place your children’s needs above your own, once you have met your basic human needs, such as a roof over your head and food.

Yes. Modification goes both ways. If your income increases substantially, whether through promotion, overtime, or a new job, the other parent or your former spouse can ask the court to raise support. The court will review updated financial information for both parties. In 2017, Illinois adopted an income sharing formula to determine child support. This formula looks at the income of both parents as well as how much time they each spend with their child or children. The goal of this to try to reach income stability in both homes – meaning the child has access to roughly the same resources with both parents.

For child support, Illinois uses a formula based on both parents’ net incomes and parenting time.

For maintenance, the formula is typically 33⅓% of the payor’s net income minus 25% of the recipient’s, capped at 40% of their combined net incomes.

However, courts can deviate if the formula would cause hardship. Each case depends on your unique financial circumstances.

You still have to file. Support changes require a court order, not just an informal agreement. Even if both of you “agree” verbally to lower payments, that agreement doesn’t protect you legally. File a Petition to Modify Support or Maintenance so that the change becomes official and enforceable. That informal agreement can land you in a load of hot water, facing things like jail time or license suspension if you do not pay. If it becomes heated, and you do not have a court order, the judge is very likely to reject an informal, out-of-court agreement to reduce support. What they will often accept is a plan you have agreed on to get caught up on child support or maintenance arrears.

Maybe—but the court will look closely at your choices. If you voluntarily take a lower-paying job or reduce hours, the court might find that you are “voluntarily underemployed” and still base support on your previous income. In other words, the Judge will know when you have cut your nose off to spite your face, and because it hurts your children’s financial stability, they reject the modification in most instances. This could be different if you have documented that you have spent 90+ days applying for multiple jobs a week and have not gotten hired anywhere, and the low-paying job is taken as a last resort. In that instance, the court will also consider how credible the underemployed parent is, and if they continue to look for better work.

If the change was for health reasons, caregiving duties, or an industry downturn, that’s different. The court is not without a heart and Judges understand that you are human, faicing real problems. In those rare circumstances, they need substantial documentation so that they know the decision was not taken to reduce your support, but occurred through either bad luck, in the case of a layoff or business downturn, or for a very good legitimate reason.

In both scenarios, documentation is key. The court will want to know if you are looking for jobs or different opportunities to continue to support your children or pay the ordered maintenance.

Yes. If both are affected by the same change in income—such as job loss—you can address them in a single motion. Each will be recalculated under its respective formula. Just remember: a modification applies only from the filing date forward, not backward.

If the change in your income is likely to last more than six months, or the difference in payment would exceed a few hundred dollars per month for more than 3 years, it’s worth filing. If the difference is small, the time and expense of going to court might outweigh the benefit. This is because in part you will have several court appearances and you really should consider hiring a lawyer to present your evidence. Its also not uncommon for people who enter into the child support modification court to spend years trying to exit it. Court is stressful, time consuming and has a real emotional cost to everyone.

Litigation can easily cost $5,000–$10,000 or more per party in a contested modification—and that’s one reason I no longer handle these cases. I’ve spent decades watching families spend far more fighting than they ever gained in relief and become resentful of the process and the judicial system. I made a choice to not continue handle cases where hefty legal bills were the main result.

If your income has changed:

File early. Courts can only adjust support from the filing date forward. If the job loss or change in income was temporary, you can always ask the court to dismiss your pleading, but if you do, the court might require you to be caught up.

Keep paying what you can. Partial, consistent payments show good faith. If your job loss is temporary and you have good credit, you might consider paying all of the support with a low-interest credit card or loan.

Stay in communication. Inform the other parent or ex-spouse—silence breeds conflict.

Document everything. Keep proof of job loss, pay changes, and efforts to find work. Make copies to take with you to court.

A Final Thought

Child support and maintenance exist to meet real needs, but they also require flexibility when life changes. Filing a motion to modify isn’t about avoiding responsibility; it’s about staying realistic and fair when circumstances shift.

While I don’t handle ongoing support enforcement or modification cases anymore, I believe people deserve clear, calm information before deciding what to do. If your situation is changing and you’re unsure how to proceed, hiring a lawyer early—before arrears pile up—can protect you financially and emotionally. As a side, if you call attoney offices seeking free advice, you probably won’t get any.

If you’re ready to find stability again, schedule a free phone consultation to learn how a cooperative approach can save you time, money, and stress.

Disclaimer: nothing in the post is legal advice. If you need legal advice, you should hire a lawyer.