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    Types of Child Support Enforcement in Chicago and Des Plaines

    The three broad types of child support enforcement in the Chicago area are judicial, income withholding, and tax interception. For example, judicial enforcement can involve liens on a parent’s property, professional license suspension, and bank account seizure. A child support lawyer can help you determine the best approach to take for your case.

    Child support issues can get complicated. Call The Rogoff Law Group at (847) 768-2194 to discuss your enforcement options.

    Judicial Enforcement

    Judicial enforcement requires going through the court system. A child support lawyer can aid in navigating these processes. The interest on unpaid Illinois child support is 9% per year. It gets compounded monthly. Consistently missing payments can result in large amounts of interest on top of the unpaid child support.

    Contempt of Court

    The court may find the delinquent parent in contempt, with penalties involving fines and payment of attorney fees. In serious cases, the penalties could also include jail time. This can happen when the parent owes more than $10,000 or tries to leave the state to avoid paying child support. The consequences in these situations could be fines of up to $25,000, class four felony charges, and jail time of up to six months.

    Judgments and Liens

    The court can issue a judgment that imposes liens on the delinquent parent’s property such as his or her home. Liens mean the parent cannot sell or refinance the property without first taking care of the late child support. Other eligible assets for judgments include shares of stock, bank accounts, cars, and boats.

    License Suspension

    Illinois has more than 8.5 million licensed drivers. When any of these drivers are delinquent on child support payments, they risk driver’s license suspension. Other licenses such as recreational and professional licenses could be suspended, too.

    The various licenses available from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation are necessary for many people in fields such as accounting, hairstyling, engineering, accounting, and interior designing. Losing a professional license can mean a parent is no longer employed. Parents could lose their fishing license and their license to practice medicine or law or cut hair. These can be compelling incentives to pay the owed child support.

    The court does give parents a warning of 60 days to pay off their arrears or face license suspension. Some parents, especially those with joint custody parenting plans, might not fully realize they need to pay child support despite having children about half of the time.

    Passport issues fall under judicial enforcement measures, too. The U.S. Department of State can deny the issuance or renewal of a passport to someone owing more than $2,500 in child support. This can motivate payment from parents who travel for work.

    Bank Account Seizure

    In a “freeze and seize,” an Illinois court orders the funds from the delinquent parent’s bank account to be seized. The bank freezes the account, and the court orders the transfer of funds to cover the late payments.

    Income Withholding

    Income withholding is a common method for enforcing child support in Chicago and Des Plaines. Payments are reliable and automated, with the amount of child support deducted from the parent’s wages or income.

    Automatic Deductions

    Automatic deductions are one of the major types of child support enforcement. These deductions from an employee’s paycheck can begin almost right away after a child support order is in place. Regular wages, bonuses, commissions, and retirement benefits are among the income that can be deducted.

    Employers deduct the child support amount and send it to the Illinois State Disbursement Unit. The unit then forwards the payment to the other parent. Serious penalties such as fines usually get employers to comply with these deductions.

    Direct Payments

    Many parents in Illinois are self-employed. These parents typically make direct payments to the disbursement unit.

    Tax Interception

    Tax interception can be an efficient type of child support assistance. It lets Illinois collect overdue child support from the non-compliant parent’s federal and state tax refunds.

    The state typically notifies the parent about an interception, and the parent can contest it. Tax interceptions can be especially useful when the delinquent child support is a large amount that one lump sum refund could eliminate.

    Federal Tax Refunds

    The federal Treasury Offset Program lets the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services intercept federal tax refunds for late child support. In fiscal year 2023, this program led to the recovery of more than $3.8 billion in various federal and state debts.

    State Tax Refunds

    Illinois state tax refund interceptions are one of the types of child support enforcement. Like with federal refunds, the state can apply the funds toward the balance, with the money going to the custodial parent. If the refund is large enough, it may eliminate the balance altogether. Some enforcement mechanisms may be more appropriate for certain situations than others. Denying visitation is not a method of enforcement, though.

    When child support is withheld, parents may wonder, “when can you deny visitation to the noncustodial parent?” These situations are limited. They only cover occurrences when the child would be in danger, for instance, if a parent shows up obviously intoxicated for visitation and would be driving with the child.

    If or when the custody order is no longer in your child’s best interest, seek modifications through legal channels. Unpaid child support is not a legally accepted reason to deny visitation, and a parent risks various penalties, even a loss of custody, for refusing parent-child time on unpaid child support grounds.

    Is your child’s other parent late on his or her child support payments? Contact us today at The Rogoff Law Group to discuss enforcement.

    He helps clients resolve issues relating to family law, including divorce, parenting time and parental responsibilities, paternity, and child support. As a skilled real estate attorney as well, Scott also provides advice and legal representation to clients who are purchasing or selling residential or commercial property in Illinois.

    Years of Experience: Approx. 30 years
    Illinois Registration Status: Active
    Bar & Court Admissions: Illiois Courts Northern District of Illinois Federal Courts Illinois State Bar Association Chicago Bar Association
    Silhouette of tired, stressed mother housewife taking care of child. Types of Child Support Enforcement

    He helps clients resolve issues relating to family law, including divorce, parenting time and parental responsibilities, paternity, and child support. As a skilled real estate attorney as well, Scott also provides advice and legal representation to clients who are purchasing or selling residential or commercial property in Illinois.

    Years of Experience: Approx. 30 years
    Illinois Registration Status: Active
    Bar & Court Admissions: Illiois Courts Northern District of Illinois Federal Courts Illinois State Bar Association Chicago Bar Association

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