If you are a parent who is divorced or never married, you know how impossible it can feel to afford a decent standard of living for yourself and your child without any financial support from your child’s other parent. The rising cost of living and inflation in Illinois can make paying for food, shelter, clothing, and educational costs very difficult.
Child support orders are an important legal tool for getting the financial help you need. However, it can take some time between when a parent asks for child support and when a child support order is put in place. When this happens, Illinois courts can award child support retroactively to cover the period between when the child support request was filed and when child support payments began.
Establishing Paternity and Child Support
Establishing paternity is especially important for parents who have never been married because Illinois cannot order a man to pay child support if he is not the child’s legal father. Mothers who need child support may want to involve the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to get help establishing paternity. Paternity can also be established through a court order.
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