Many Illinois residents end up getting remarried after a divorce. If you have children from your previous relationship, you might wonder how your new marriage could affect child support.
How child support is determined
When parents split up, the court requires both parties to continue financially supporting their children. Factors such as the child’s everyday needs, medical and educational costs determine how much should be paid. The net income of both parents is factored in when the judge decides on an amount.
How remarriage affects child support
In most situations, when one parent remarries, the child support order is not affected. If the parent paying the support gets married again, their new marriage has no bearing on the order from the court and they must continue to support their child financially. The court will not make an exception because they are now supporting new stepchildren. Even if they have a new child, that does not affect the child support they must continue paying to their child from their previous marriage or relationship.
When it’s the parent who is receiving child support who gets married, that also has no effect on the order. The child must still be financially supported by the parent who was ordered by the court to pay. This holds true even if the parent receiving the order has married someone wealthy. The new spouse is not obligated to support the child.
The only situation involving remarriage where the child support order is affected is if the new spouse adopts the child. However, the only way that could happen is if the other parent agrees to relinquish their parental rights. Although this does sometimes occur, it’s rare. In most cases, a parent will agree to give up their parental rights if they are mostly scarce from the child’s life.
Child support must continue being paid even after one parent remarries.
