Will My Disabled Child Receive Child Support as an Adult?

 Posted on May 14, 2020 in Divorce

Child support payments allow unmarried or divorcing parents to share child-rearing expenses in a way that is fair and reasonable for both parties. Illinois child support payments are determined by the Income Shares model. This model takes into account each parent’s income as well as the amount of parenting time he or she will have with the child. The Income Shares child support calculation method is typically used unless there is a reason that following the Illinois child support guidelines would yield an inappropriate child support payment amount.

Child support payments typically terminate when a child becomes an independent adult, but there are some situations in which child support may be extended. If you are a parent of a disabled child, read on to learn about your options for special needs child support.

What Counts as a Disability?

Children with disabilities may need financial assistance even when they reach the age when child support would typically end. If your child has a disability, you have the option to petition the court for non-minor child support. An intellectual incapacity, mental health disorder, or physical disability may quality an adult child for non-minor support. Illinois law defines a disability as a “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits major life activity.” In order for the child to qualify for non-minor support, the disability must have been present before the child reached the age that child support payments would have otherwise terminated. 

Illinois courts consider many different factors when determining whether non-minor support is necessary. These factors include but are not limited to:

• The standard of living the child would likely have experienced if his or her parents were still married

• Each parent’s income, property, and other financial circumstances

• Any financial resources possessed by the child

• Government benefits such as Supplemental Security Income and aid provided by the Home-Based Support Services Law for Mentally Disabled Adults

If your child lives with and is being cared for by you, it is likely that non-minor child support payments will go directly to you. If your child lives in a facility for disabled adults or a community home, the support payments may be placed in a special needs trust for the child’s ongoing benefit.

Contact a DuPage County Child Support Lawyer

Illinois child support typically ends when a child graduates from high school or reaches the age of 18. However, if a child is disabled, child support payments may be extended past this point. To learn more about non-minor child support for a child with disabilities, contact The Stogsdill Law Firm, P.C. Call our office at 630-462-9500 today and schedule a confidential consultation with a skilled Wheaton family law attorney.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050K513.5.htm