CHILD SUPPORT 101/102 – STATUTORY AND CASE LAW (See Separate Outline for Interest on Non-Paid Support and Maintenance) The Gitlin Law Firm, P.C., Woodstock, Illinois © 2016, Updated May 26, 2016 www.gitlinlawfirm.com Statutory Law Re Child Support .................................................... 4 IMDMA §505 - Child Support ................................................. 4 General Support Provisions: ............................................. 4 State of the Quadrennial Review: Anticipating Illinois Finally Adopting Income Shares Model ...................................... 4 §505(a)(2.5) – Add-ons to Support Now Explicit ...................... 7 §505(a)(5) – Base Plus Percentage Orders and Findings Necessary ........ 8 Ackerley and Anderson Decisions Re Additional “Bonus” Income ......... 8 §505(a-5) – Contempt Enforcement Proceedings and Notice to Payor ............. 8 2012 Amendments to Section 505(b) Re Self-Employed or Individuals Owning Business Found in Contempt ....................................... 9 "Discovering Hidden Assets" – Piercing the Ownership Veil in “Alter Ego” Type Cases .............................................................. 9 Three Different Notification Provisions ................................... 10 Notification Provisions of 505(f) – First Notification Provision ........... 10 IMDMA Sec. 505(h) - Notification of Employment Termination – Second Notification Provision – Includes Recipient:.................... 11 IMDMA Sec. 505.3 - Third Notification Provision – Further Disclosures Required by Both Parents to Clerk of Court – (State Case Registry) . 12 Summary re Notification Provisions................................ 13 Termination of Support Dates Must be Stated and Support Continues to Age 19 if Child Still Attending High School ....................................... 13 Amendments to §505.2 (Health Insurance) and IRMO Takata (I) ..................... 14 Section 2.5 of §505.2 .................................................. 15 IRMO Takata (I) - A Potential Windfall for Custodial Parent .................. 15 Consumer Reporting and Publication of Deadbeat Parents........................... 18 Consumer Reporting Agency Provisions................................... 18 "Deadbeat" Parent Publication........................................... 18 Amended Legislation re Body Attachments - §505 and §713 of the IMDMA and 2013 Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure ............................... 18 Enforcement of Support after Child's Emancipation ................................ 19 2015 Support Enforcement Case Law ........................................... 19 Hill – Dismissal of Appellate Court Case Because of Father’s Defying Attempts to Enforcement Order for Support Enforcement ................. 19 Ross – Support Enforcement Against Estate Untimely Under §18-12(b) of Probate Act ............................................. 20 Income Withholding for Support Act (IWSA) ........................................ 23 Background ............................................................... 23 Page 1 of 87 Legislation Addressing Withholding of Support ................................... 24 General Provisions of Income Withholding for Support ............................. 24 Service of Notices .................................................... 24 New / Additional Employer: Later Service of Same Notice ............. 25 Delinquencies Versus Arrearages in Support ............................... 25 Withholding Notices Standard Form Must Follow HHS Form .................. 26 Income Withholding after Accrual of Delinquency........................... 27 Initiating Withholding Where Court Has Not Required That Income Withholding Take Place Immediately .............................................. 27 Petitions to Correct Income Withholding Notices ............................ 27 Service of Income Withholding Notices if the Support Order Does Not Contain the Income Withholding Provisions as to Delinquencies, etc ................ 27 Additional Duties of Income Withholding for Support Act .................... 28 Obligor’s Information Duties...................................... 28 Obligee’s Information Requirements................................ 28 Amendments to Income Withholding Provisions .................................. 28 Black v. Bartholomew - Workers’ Compensation Award and Withholding of Income for Support ....................................................... 29 Non-Support Punishment Act (NSPA) ............................................... 29 Criminal Provisions of Non-Support Punishment Act .............................. 29 Suspension of Driver’s Privileges.............................................. 30 Federal Support Enforcement Law ............................................. 30 Case Law Interpretations of IMDMA §505(a)(3) ...................................... 31 Requirement for Proper Net Income Calculations in Each Case....................... 31 Steel – Record Should Provide Sufficient Determination regarding Net Income / Determining of Net for Maintenance Purposes is Same as for Support Purposes ............................................................. 32 Method of Calculating Net Income ............................................. 33 Gross Income........................................................ 33 Adjusted Gross Income................................................ 33 Itemized or Standard Deductions and Exemptions ........................... 34 Federal Tax Rate ..................................................... 34 Social Security Tax ................................................... 34 State Tax ........................................................... 34 Net Income for Support ................................................ 34 Specific Deductions......................................................... 34 Health Care Premiums................................................. 34 Maintenance as a Deduction in Calculating Support – 505(a)(3)(g-5) ............ 35 Prior Obligations of Support ............................................ 36 Depreciation and Business Expenses...................................... 37 Case Law Overview............................................. 37 Quantification – Spreadsheets .................................... 38 Flowchart re Depreciation Cases................................... 39 Student Loans May be Only Partially Deductible...................... 40 Per Diem Deduction for Business Expenses.......................... 41 Crossland – Rejected Deduction of IRS Per Diem Allowance for Page 2 of 87 Business Expenses.................................. 41 Worrall – Allowed Deduction of Per Diem Business Expenses if Actual Amounts Spent Proven .............................. 42 Tegeler – Liberal View of Debt Requirement Language When Defining Income for a Farmer re Operating Expenses .......................... 43 Reasonable Expenditures for the Benefit of the Child and the Other Parent ....... 44 General Expenses for the Benefit of the Child, Exclusive of Gifts............... 45 ............................................................. 45 2012 Legislation and Child Care Expenses / Parochial School, Extra-Curricular Expenses, etc............................................. 45 Income Averaging Cases..................................................... 46 Introduction ......................................................... 46 Review of Cases...................................................... 46 Income Averaging Cases Summary....................................... 49 One Time Income, Loans, Gifts or Regular Withdrawals: IRMO Rogers, McGrath and Mayfield – the New Trilogy............................................. 49 McGrath – Funds an Unemployed Parent Regularly Withdraws from Savings Account Should Not be included In Calculating Net Income Under §505(a)(2) of the IMDMA...................................................... 55 Deviations from the Support Guidelines ......................................... 64 Deviations In Cases with Extensive Parenting Time.......................... 65 Smith – Trial Court Abused Discretion in Awarding Guideline Support Where Parties Shared Custody ................................................ 66 Child Support to “Visiting” Parent ....................................... 67 Deviations from the Guidelines in High Income Cases........................ 69 Introduction ................................................... 69 Case Law Review .............................................. 70 Executive Summary as to Deviation Cases........................... 75 Social Security Benefits and Adoption Subsidies as a Credit Toward a Support Obligation .. 76 Consideration of Income Tax Refunds, Dependency Exemptions and the Child Care Credit . 77 Pylawka – Case Arguably Requiring Maintenance to be Considered as Adjustment in Determining Net Income............................................... 77 Dependency Exemptions..................................................... 78 Child Care Credit........................................................... 80 Amendments Re $100 Per Day Penalties: Failure to Withhold / Pay Over Income for Support ......................................................................... 80 Other Case Law Re Support Enforcement ........................................... 81 Imputing Income ................................................................ 84 Page 3 of 87 I. Statutory Law Re Child Support: Perhaps the most dramatic change in child support Note the Attached up