Is there a amount of time that I have to wait before filing a Petition to Increase Child support?
Full Question:
Answer:
In Illinois, the court may order either or both parties to a dissolution of marriage proceeding to pay child support in an amount reasonable to provide for the child's necessary needs. The State of Illinois has enacted child support guidelines which establish the amount of support which is presumed to be correct. The court may deviate from the guidelines, however, when it finds that the application of the guidelines would be inappropriate, after consideration of the financial resources and needs of the child; the financial resources and needs of the custodial parent; the standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved; the physical and emotional condition of the child and his educational needs; the financial resources and needs of the non-custodial parent. If the court deviates from the guidelines, it must state its reasons for deviating from the guidelines and state the amount which would have been required under the guidelines. The court shall also include in any order for child support a provision providing for the health care coverage of the child.
When the parties have agreed or when a party is required by court order to make any payments for support, and the circumstances or the financial ability of either party changes, either party may apply for an order decreasing or increasing the amount of support. Proceedings to modify a divorce decree are commenced by filing a petition to modify the original divorce action decree. Generally, a change of circumstance is a significant change in the conditions that existed at the time of the child support order. The court will assess not simply whether a change has occurred, but whether that change is significant enough to warrant a modification in the award by the court. Some of the factors which may be considered in adjusting the child support amount, among others, may include a change in financial circumstances of the parents or the support guidelines which would increase or decrease by a certain percentage the amount due, a change in income, work-related child care costs, and health insurance premiums which, if changed, could constitute a material change of circumstances, or emancipation of the child.
Local court rules and state rules of civil procedure, which vary, govern petitions to modify. It is possible, depending on state law, for child support to be modified at any time under the mandatory statewide child support guidelines.
The following are Illinois statutes:
750 ILCS 5/502 (from Ch. 40, par. 502)
Sec. 502. Agreement.
(a) To promote amicable settlement of
disputes between parties to a marriage attendant upon the
dissolution of their marriage, the parties may enter into a
written or oral agreement containing provisions for
disposition of any property owned by either of them,
maintenance of either of them and support, custody and
visitation of their children.
(b) The terms of the agreement, except those providing for
the support, custody and visitation of children, are binding
upon the court unless it finds, after considering the
economic circumstances of the parties and any other relevant
evidence produced by the parties, on their own motion or on
request of the court, that the agreement is unconscionable.
(c) If the court finds the agreement unconscionable, it may
request the parties to submit a revised agreement or upon
hearing, may make orders for the disposition of property,
maintenance, child support and other matters.
(d) Unless the agreement provides to the contrary, its
terms shall be set forth in the judgment, and the parties
shall be ordered to perform under such terms, or if the
agreement provides that its terms shall not be set forth in
the judgment, the judgment shall identify the agreement and
state that the court has approved its terms.
(e) Terms of the agreement set forth in the judgment are
enforceable by all remedies available for enforcement of a
judgment, including contempt, and are enforceable as contract
terms.
(f) Except for terms concerning the support, custody or
visitation of children, the judgment may expressly preclude
or limit modification of terms set forth in the judgment if
the agreement so provides. Otherwise, terms of an agreement
set forth in the judgment are automatically modified by
modification of the judgment.
750 ILCS 5/505 (from Ch. 40, par. 505)
Sec. 505. Child support; contempt; penalties.
(a) In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, legal
separation, declaration of invalidity of marriage, a
proceeding for child support following dissolution of the
marriage by a court which lacked personal jurisdiction over
the absent spouse, a proceeding for modification of a
previous order for child support under Section 510 of this
Act, or any proceeding authorized under Section 501 or 601
of this Act, the court may order either or both parents
owing a duty of support to a child of the marriage to pay an
amount reasonable and necessary for his support, without
regard to marital misconduct. The duty of support owed to a
child includes the obligation to provide for the reasonable
and necessary physical, mental and emotional health needs of
the child. For purposes of this Section, the term "child"
shall include any child under age 18 and any child under age
19 who is still attending high school.
(1) The Court shall determine the minimum amount of support
by using the following guidelines:
Number of Children Percent of Supporting Party's
Net Income
1 20%
2 28%
3 32%
4 40%
5 45%
6 or more 50%
(2) The above guidelines shall be applied in each case
unless the court makes a finding that application of the
guidelines would be inappropriate, after considering the
best interests of the child in light of evidence including
but not limited to one or more of the following relevant
factors:
(a) the financial resources and needs of the child;
(b) the financial resources and needs of the custodial
parent;
(c) the standard of living the child would have enjoyed had
the marriage not been dissolved;
(d) the physical and emotional condition of the child, and
his educational needs; and
(e) the financial resources and needs of the non-custodial
parent.
If the court deviates from the guidelines, the court's
finding shall state the amount of support that would have
been required under the guidelines, if determinable. The
court shall include the reason or reasons for the variance
from the guidelines.
(3) "Net income" is defined as the total of all income from
all sources, minus the following deductions:
(a) Federal income tax (properly calculated withholding or
estimated payments);
(b) State income tax (properly calculated withholding or
estimated payments);
(c) Social Security (FICA payments);
(d) Mandatory retirement contributions required by law or
as a condition of employment;
(e) Union dues;
(f) Dependent and individual health/hospitalization
insurance premiums;
(g) Prior obligations of support or maintenance actually
paid pursuant to a court order;
(h) Expenditures for repayment of debts that represent
reasonable and necessary expenses for the production of
income, medical expenditures necessary to preserve life or
health, reasonable expenditures for the benefit of the child
and the other parent, exclusive of gifts. The court shall
reduce net income in determining the minimum amount of
support to be ordered only for the period that such payments
are due and shall enter an order containing provisions for
its self-executing modification upon termination of such
payment period.
(4) In cases where the court order provides for
health/hospitalization insurance coverage pursuant to
Section 505.2 of this Act, the premiums for that insurance,
or that portion of the premiums for which the supporting
party is responsible in the case of insurance provided
through an employer's health insurance plan where the
employer pays a portion of the premiums, shall be subtracted
from net income in determining the minimum amount of support
to be ordered.
(4.5) In a proceeding for child support following
dissolution of the marriage by a court that lacked personal
jurisdiction over the absent spouse, and in which the court
is requiring payment of support for the period before the
date an order for current support is entered, there is a
rebuttable presumption that the supporting party's net
income for the prior period was the same as his or her net
income at the time the order for current support is entered.
(5) If the net income cannot be determined because of
default or any other reason, the court shall order support
in an amount considered reasonable in the particular case.
The final order in all cases shall state the support level
in dollar amounts. However, if the court finds that the
child support amount cannot be expressed exclusively as a
dollar amount because all or a portion of the payor's net
income is uncertain as to source, time of payment, or
amount, the court may order a percentage amount of support
in addition to a specific dollar amount and enter such other
orders as may be necessary to determine and enforce, on a
timely basis, the applicable support ordered.
(6) If
(i) the non-custodial parent was properly served
with a request for discovery of financial information
relating to the non-custodial parent's ability to provide
child support,
(ii) the non-custodial parent failed to comply
with the request, despite having been ordered to do so by the
court, and
(iii) the non-custodial parent is not present at
the hearing to determine support despite having received
proper notice, then any relevant financial information
concerning the non-custodial parent's ability to provide
child support that was obtained pursuant to subpoena and
proper notice shall be admitted into evidence without the
need to establish any further foundation for its admission.
(a-5) In an action to enforce an order for support based on
the respondent's failure to make support payments as
required by the order, notice of proceedings to hold the
respondent in contempt for that failure may be served on the
respondent by personal service or by regular mail addressed
to the respondent's last known address. The respondent's
last known address may be determined from records of the
clerk of the court, from the Federal Case Registry of Child
Support Orders, or by any other reasonable means.
(b) Failure of either parent to comply with an order to pay
support shall be punishable as in other cases of contempt.
In addition to other penalties provided by law the Court
may, after finding the parent guilty of contempt, order that
the parent be:
(1) placed on probation with such conditions of probation
as the Court deems advisable;
(2) sentenced to periodic imprisonment for a period not to
exceed 6 months; provided, however, that the Court may
permit the parent to be released for periods of time during
the day or night to:
(A) work; or
(B) conduct a business or other self-employed occupation.
The Court may further order any part or all of the earnings
of a parent during a sentence of periodic imprisonment paid
to the Clerk of the Circuit Court or to the parent having
custody or to the guardian having custody of the children of
the sentenced parent for the support of said children until
further order of the Court.
If there is a unity of interest and ownership sufficient to
render no financial separation between a non-custodial
parent and another person or persons or business entity, the
court may pierce the ownership veil of the person, persons,
or business entity to discover assets of the non-custodial
parent held in the name of that person, those persons, or
that business entity. The following circumstances are
sufficient to authorize a court to order discovery of the
assets of a person, persons, or business entity and to
compel the application of any discovered assets toward
payment on the judgment for support:
(1) the non-custodial parent and the person, persons, or
business entity maintain records together.
(2) the non-custodial parent and the person, persons, or
business entity fail to maintain an arms length relationship
between themselves with regard to any assets.
(3) the non-custodial parent transfers assets to the person,
persons, or business entity with the intent to perpetrate a
fraud on the custodial parent.
With respect to assets which are real property, no order
entered under this paragraph shall affect the rights of bona
fide purchasers, mortgagees, judgment creditors, or other
lien holders who acquire their interests in the property
prior to the time a notice of lis pendens pursuant to the
Code of Civil Procedure or a copy of the order is placed of
record in the office of the recorder of deeds for the county
in which the real property is located.
The court may also order in cases where the parent is 90
days or more delinquent in payment of support or has been
adjudicated in arrears in an amount equal to 90 days
obligation or more, that the parent's Illinois driving
privileges be suspended until the court determines that the
parent is in compliance with the order of support. The court
may also order that the parent be issued a family financial
responsibility driving permit that would allow limited
driving privileges for employment and medical purposes in
accordance with Section 7-702.1 of the Illinois Vehicle
Code. The clerk of the circuit court shall certify the order
suspending the driving privileges of the parent or granting
the issuance of a family financial responsibility driving
permit to the Secretary of State on forms prescribed by the
Secretary. Upon receipt of the authenticated documents, the
Secretary of State shall suspend the parent's driving
privileges until further order of the court and shall, if
ordered by the court, subject to the provisions of
Section 7-702.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, issue a family
financial responsibility driving permit to the parent.
In addition to the penalties or punishment that may be
imposed under this Section, any person whose conduct
constitutes a violation of Section 15 of the Non-Support
Punishment Act may be prosecuted under that Act, and a
person convicted under that Act may be sentenced in
accordance with that Act. The sentence may include but need
not be limited to a requirement that the person perform
community service under Section 50 of that Act or
participate in a work alternative program under Section 50
of that Act. A person may not be required to participate in
a work alternative program under Section 50 of that Act if
the person is currently participating in a work program
pursuant to Section 505.1 of this Act.
A support obligation, or any portion of a support
obligation, which becomes due and remains unpaid as of the
end of each month, excluding the child support that was due
for that month to the extent that it was not paid in that
month, shall accrue simple interest as set forth in
Section 12-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure. An order for
support entered or modified on or after January 1, 2006 shall
contain a statement that a support obligation required under
the order, or any portion of a support obligation required
under the order, that becomes due and remains unpaid as of
the end of each month, excluding the child support that was
due for that month to the extent that it was not paid in that
month, shall accrue simple interest as set forth in
Section 12-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Failure to
include the statement in the order for support does not
affect the validity of the order or the accrual of interest
as provided in this Section.
(c) A one-time charge of 20% is imposable upon the amount of
past-due child support owed on July 1, 1988 which has
accrued under a support order entered by the court. The
charge shall be imposed in accordance with the provisions of
Section 10-21 of the Illinois Public Aid Code and shall be
enforced by the court upon petition.
(d) Any new or existing support order entered by the court
under this Section shall be deemed to be a series of
judgments against the person obligated to pay support
thereunder, each such judgment to be in the amount of each
payment or installment of support and each such judgment to
be deemed entered as of the date the corresponding payment
or installment becomes due under the terms of the support
order. Each such judgment shall have the full force, effect
and attributes of any other judgment of this State,
including the ability to be enforced. A lien arises by
operation of law against the real and personal property of
the noncustodial parent for each installment of overdue
support owed by the noncustodial parent.
(e) When child support is to be paid through the clerk of
the court in a county of 1,000,000 inhabitants or less, the
order shall direct the obligor to pay to the clerk, in
addition to the child support payments, all fees imposed by
the county board under paragraph (3) of subsection (u) of
Section 27.1 of the Clerks of Courts Act. Unless paid in
cash or pursuant to an order for withholding, the payment of
the fee shall be by a separate instrument from the support
payment and shall be made to the order of the Clerk.
(f) All orders for support, when entered or modified, shall
include a provision requiring the obligor to notify the
court and, in cases in which a party is receiving child and
spouse services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid
Code, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services,
within 7 days,(i) of the name and address of any newIn any subsequent action to
employer of the obligor,
(ii) whether the obligor has access
to health insurance coverage through the employer or other
group coverage and, if so, the policy name and number and
the names of persons covered under the policy, and
(iii) of
any new residential or mailing address or telephone number
of the non-custodial parent.
enforce a support order, upon a sufficient showing that a
diligent effort has been made to ascertain the location of
the non-custodial parent, service of process or provision of
notice necessary in the case may be made at the last known
address of the non-custodial parent in any manner expressly
provided by the Code of Civil Procedure or this Act, which
service shall be sufficient for purposes of due process.
(g) An order for support shall include a date on which the
current support obligation terminates. The termination date
shall be no earlier than the date on which the child covered
by the order will attain the age of 18. However, if the
child will not graduate from high school until after
attaining the age of 18, then the termination date shall be
no earlier than the earlier of the date on which the child's
high school graduation will occur or the date on which the
child will attain the age of 19. The order for support shall
state that the termination date does not apply to any
arrearage that may remain unpaid on that date. Nothing in
this subsection shall be construed to prevent the court from
modifying the order or terminating the order in the event
the child is otherwise emancipated.
(g-5) If there is an unpaid arrearage or delinquency (as
those terms are defined in the Income Withholding for
Support Act) equal to at least one month's support
obligation on the termination date stated in the order for
support or, if there is no termination date stated in the
order, on the date the child attains the age of majority or
is otherwise emancipated, the periodic amount required to be
paid for current support of that child immediately prior to
that date shall automatically continue to be an obligation,
not as current support but as periodic payment toward
satisfaction of the unpaid arrearage or delinquency. That
periodic payment shall be in addition to any periodic
payment previously required for satisfaction of the
arrearage or delinquency. The total periodic amount to be
paid toward satisfaction of the arrearage or delinquency may
be enforced and collected by any method provided by law for
enforcement and collection of child support, including but
not limited to income withholding under the Income
Withholding for Support Act. Each order for support entered
or modified on or after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly must contain a
statement notifying the parties of the requirements of this
subsection. Failure to include the statement in the order
for support does not affect the validity of the order or the
operation of the provisions of this subsection with regard
to the order. This subsection shall not be construed to
prevent or affect the establishment or modification of an
order for support of a minor child or the establishment or
modification of an order for support of a non-minor child or
educational expenses under Section 513 of this Act. (h) An
order entered under this Section shall include a provision
requiring the obligor to report to the obligee and to the
clerk of court within 10 days each time the obligor obtains
new employment, and each time the obligor's employment is
terminated for any reason. The report shall be in writing
and shall, in the case of new employment, include the name
and address of the new employer. Failure to report new
employment or the termination of current employment, if
coupled with nonpayment of support for a period in excess of
60 days, is indirect criminal contempt. For any obligor
arrested for failure to report new employment bond shall be
set in the amount of the child support that should have been
paid during the period of unreported employment. An order
entered under this Section shall also include a provision
requiring the obligor and obligee parents to advise each
other of a change in residence within 5 days of the change
except when the court finds that the physical, mental, or
emotional health of a party or that of a child, or both,
would be seriously endangered by disclosure of the party's
address.
(i) The court does not lose the powers of contempt,
driver's license suspension, or other child support
enforcement mechanisms, including, but not limited to,
criminal prosecution as set forth in this Act, upon the
emancipation of the minor child or children.
750 ILCS 5/505.2 (from Ch. 40, par. 505.2)
Sec. 505.2. Health insurance.
(a) Definitions. As used in this Section:
(1) "Obligee" means the individual to whom the duty of
support is owed or the individual's legal representative.
(2) "Obligor" means the individual who owes a duty of
support pursuant to an order for support.
(3) "Public office" means any elected official or any State
or local agency which is or may become responsible by law
for enforcement of, or which is or may become authorized to
enforce, an order for support, including, but not limited
to: the Attorney General, the Illinois Department of
Healthcare and Family Services, the Illinois Department of
Human Services, the Illinois Department of Children and
Family Services, and the various State's Attorneys, Clerks
of the Circuit Court and supervisors of general assistance.
(4) "Child" shall have the meaning ascribed to it in
Section 505.
(b) Order.
(1) Whenever the court establishes, modifies or enforces an
order for child support or for child support and maintenance
the court shall include in the order a provision for the
health care coverage of the child which shall, upon request
of the obligee or Public Office, require that any child
covered by the order be named as a beneficiary of any health
insurance plan that is available to the obligor through an
employer or labor union or trade union. If the court finds
that such a plan is not available to the obligor, or that the
plan is not accessible to the obligee, the court may, upon
request of the obligee or Public Office, order the obligor to
name the child covered by the order as a beneficiary of any
health insurance plan that is available to the obligor on a
group basis, or as a beneficiary of an independent health
insurance plan to be obtained by the obligor, after
considering the following factors:
(A) the medical needs of the child;
(B) the availability of a plan to meet those needs; and
(C) the cost of such a plan to the obligor.
(2) If the employer or labor union or trade union offers
more than one plan, the order shall require the obligor to
name the child as a beneficiary of the plan in which the
obligor is enrolled.
(3) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit the
authority of the court to establish or modify a support
order to provide for payment of expenses, including
deductibles, copayments and any other health expenses, which
are in addition to expenses covered by an insurance plan of
which a child is ordered to be named a beneficiary pursuant
to this Section.
(c) Implementation and enforcement.
(1) When the court order requires that a minor child be
named as a beneficiary of a health insurance plan, other
than a health insurance plan available through an employer
or labor union or trade union, the obligor shall provide
written proof to the obligee or Public Office that the
required insurance has been obtained, or that application
for insurability has been made, within 30 days of receiving
notice of the court order. Unless the obligor was present in
court when the order was issued, notice of the order shall
be given pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rules. If an
obligor fails to provide the required proof, he may be held
in contempt of court.
(2) When the court requires that a child be named as a
beneficiary of a health insurance plan available through an
employer or labor union or trade union, the court's order
shall be implemented in accordance with the Income
Withholding for Support Act.
(2.5) The court shall order the obligor to reimburse the
obligee for 50% of the premium for placing the child on his
or her health insurance policy if:The provisions of subparagraph (i)
(i) a health insurance
plan is not available to the obligor through an employer or
labor union or trade union and the court does not order the
obligor to cover the child as a beneficiary of any health
insurance plan that is available to the obligor on a group
basis or as a beneficiary of an independent health insurance
plan to be obtained by the obligor; or (ii) the obligor does
not obtain medical insurance for the child within 90 days of
the date of the court order requiring the obligor to obtain
insurance for the child.
of paragraph 2.5 of subsection (c) shall be applied, unless
the court makes a finding that to apply those provisions
would be inappropriate after considering all of the factors
listed in paragraph 2 of subsection (a) of Section 505. The
court may order the obligor to reimburse the obligee for
100% of the premium for placing the child on his or her
health insurance policy.
(d) Failure to maintain insurance.
The dollar amount of the premiums for court-ordered health
insurance, or that portion of the premiums for which the
obligor is responsible in the case of insurance provided
under a group health insurance plan through an employer or
labor union or trade union where the employer or labor union
or trade union pays a portion of the premiums, shall be
considered an additional child support obligation owed by
the obligor. Whenever the obligor fails to provide or
maintain health insurance pursuant to an order for support,
the obligor shall be liable to the obligee for the dollar
amount of the premiums which were not paid, and shall also
be liable for all medical expenses incurred by the child
which would have been paid or reimbursed by the health
insurance which the obligor was ordered to provide or
maintain. In addition, the obligee may petition the court to
modify the order based solely on the obligor's failure to
pay the premiums for court-ordered health insurance.
(e) Authorization for payment. The signature of the obligee
is a valid authorization to the insurer to process a claim
for payment under the insurance plan to the provider of the
health care services or to the obligee.
(f) Disclosure of information. The obligor's employer or
labor union or trade union shall disclose to the obligee or
Public Office, upon request, information concerning any
dependent coverage plans which would be made available to a
new employee or labor union member or trade union member.
The employer or labor union or trade union shall disclose
such information whether or not a court order for medical
support has been entered.
(g) Employer obligations. If a parent is required by an
order for support to provide coverage for a child's health
care expenses and if that coverage is available to the
parent through an employer who does business in this State,
the employer must do all of the following upon receipt of a
copy of the order of support or order for withholding:
(1) The employer shall, upon the parent's request, permit
the parent to include in that coverage a child who is
otherwise eligible for that coverage, without regard to any
enrollment season restrictions that might otherwise be
applicable as to the time period within which the child may
be added to that coverage.
(2) If the parent has health care coverage through the
employer but fails to apply for coverage of the child, the
employer shall include the child in the parent's coverage
upon application by the child's other parent or the
Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
(3) The employer may not eliminate any child from the
parent's health care coverage unless the employee is no
longer employed by the employer and no longer covered under
the employer's group health plan or unless the employer is
provided with satisfactory written evidence of either of the
following:
(A) The order for support is no longer in effect.
(B) The child is or will be included in a comparable health
care plan obtained by the parent under such order that is
currently in effect or will take effect no later than the
date the prior coverage is terminated.
The employer may eliminate a child from a parent's health
care plan obtained by the parent under such order if the
employer has eliminated dependent health care coverage for
all of its employees.
750 ILCS 5/510 (from Ch. 40, par. 510)
Sec. 510. Modification and termination of provisions for
maintenance, support, educational expenses, and property
disposition.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (f) of
Section 502 and in subsection (b), clause (3) of
Section 505.2, the provisions of any judgment respecting
maintenance or support may be modified only as to
installments accruing subsequent to due notice by the moving
party of the filing of the motion for modification. An order
for child support may be modified as follows:
(1) upon a showing of a substantial change in
circumstances; and
(2) without the necessity of showing a substantial change
in circumstances, as follows:
(A) upon a showing of an inconsistency of at least 20%, but
no less than $10 per month, between the amount of the
existing order and the amount of child support that results
from application of the guidelines specified in Section 505
of this Act unless the inconsistency is due to the fact that
the amount of the existing order resulted from a deviation
from the guideline amount and there has not been a change in
the circumstances that resulted in that deviation; or
(B) Upon a showing of a need to provide for the health care
needs of the child under the order through health insurance
or other means. In no event shall the eligibility for or
receipt of medical assistance be considered to meet the need
to provide for the child's health care needs.
The provisions of subparagraph (a)(2)(A) shall apply only in
cases in which a party is receiving child support
enforcement services from the Department of Healthcare and
Family Services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid
Code, and only when at least 36 months have elapsed since
the order for child support was entered or last modified.
(a-5) An order for maintenance may be modified or terminated
only upon a showing of a substantial change in
circumstances. In all such proceedings, as well as in
proceedings in which maintenance is being reviewed, the
court shall consider the applicable factors set forth in
subsection (a) of Section 504 and the following factors:
(1) any change in the employment status of either party and
whether the change has been made in good faith;
(2) the efforts, if any, made by the party receiving
maintenance to become self-supporting, and the reasonableness
of the efforts where they are appropriate;
(3) any impairment of the present and future earning
capacity of either party;
(4) the tax consequences of the maintenance payments upon
the respective economic circumstances of the parties;
(5) the duration of the maintenance payments previously
paid (and remaining to be paid) relative to the length of the
marriage;
(6) the property, including retirement benefits, awarded to
each party under the judgment of dissolution of marriage,
judgment of legal separation, or judgment of declaration of
invalidity of marriage and the present status of the
property;
(7) the increase or decrease in each party's income since
the prior judgment or order from which a review,
modification, or termination is being sought;
(8) the property acquired and currently owned by each party
after the entry of the judgment of dissolution of marriage,
judgment of legal separation, or judgment of declaration of
invalidity of marriage; and
(9) any other factor that the court expressly finds to be
just and equitable.
(b) The provisions as to property disposition may not be
revoked or modified, unless the court finds the existence of
conditions that justify the reopening of a judgment under
the laws of this State.
(c) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties in a written
agreement set forth in the judgment or otherwise approved by
the court, the obligation to pay future maintenance is
terminated upon the death of either party, or the remarriage
of the party receiving maintenance, or if the party
receiving maintenance cohabits with another person on a
resident, continuing conjugal basis.
(d) Unless otherwise provided in this Act, or as agreed in
writing or expressly provided in the judgment, provisions
for the support of a child are terminated by emancipation of
the child, or if the child has attained the age of 18 and is
still attending high school, provisions for the support of
the child are terminated upon the date that the child
graduates from high school or the date the child attains the
age of 19, whichever is earlier, but not by the death of a
parent obligated to support or educate the child. An
existing obligation to pay for support or educational
expenses, or both, is not terminated by the death of a
parent. When a parent obligated to pay support or
educational expenses, or both, dies, the amount of support
or educational expenses, or both, may be enforced, modified,
revoked or commuted to a lump sum payment, as equity may
require, and that determination may be provided for at the
time of the dissolution of the marriage or thereafter.
(e) The right to petition for support or educational
expenses, or both, under Sections 505 and 513 is not
extinguished by the death of a parent. Upon a petition filed
before or after a parent's death, the court may award sums
of money out of the decedent's estate for the child's
support or educational expenses, or both, as equity may
require. The time within which a claim may be filed against
the estate of a decedent under Sections 505 and 513 and
subsection (d) and this subsection shall be governed by the
provisions of the Probate Act of 1975, as a barrable,
noncontingent claim.
(f) A petition to modify or terminate child support,
custody, or visitation shall not delay any child support
enforcement litigation or supplementary proceeding on behalf
of the obligee, including, but not limited to, a petition
for a rule to show cause, for non-wage garnishment, or for a
restraining order.
750 ILCS 5/511 (from Ch. 40, par. 511)
Sec. 511. Procedure. A judgment of dissolution or of legal
separation or of declaration of invalidity of marriage may be
enforced or modified by order of court pursuant to petition.
(a) Any judgment entered within this State may be enforced
or modified in the judicial circuit wherein such judgment was
entered or last modified by the filing of a petition with
notice mailed to the respondent at his last known address, or
by the issuance of summons to the respondent. If neither
party continues to reside in the county wherein such judgment
was entered or last modified, the court on the motion of
either party or on its own motion may transfer a
post-judgment proceeding, including a proceeding under the
Income Withholding for Support Act, to another county or
judicial circuit, as appropriate, where either party resides.
If the post-judgment proceeding is with respect to
maintenance or support, any such transfer shall be to the
county or judicial circuit wherein the recipient or proposed
recipient of such maintenance or support resides.
(b) In any post-judgment proceeding to enforce or modify in
one judicial circuit the judgment of another judicial circuit
of this State, the moving party shall commence the proceeding
by filing a petition establishing the judgment and attaching
a copy of the judgment as a part of the petition. The parties
shall continue to be designated as in the original
proceeding. Notice of the filing of the petition shall be
mailed to the clerk of the court wherein the judgment was
entered and last modified in the same manner as notice is
mailed when registering a foreign judgment. Summons shall be
served as provided by law.
(c) In any post-judgment proceeding to enforce or modify
the judgment of another state, the moving party shall
commence the proceeding by filing a petition to enroll that
judgment, attaching a copy thereof as a part of the petition
and proceed as provided for in paragraph (b) hereof.
(d) In any post-judgment proceeding to enforce a judgment
or order for payment of maintenance or support, including a
proceeding under the Income Withholding for Support Act,
where the terms of such judgment or order provide that
payments of such maintenance or support are to be made to the
clerk of the court and where neither party continues to
reside in the county wherein such judgment or order was
entered or last modified, the court on the motion of either
party or on its own motion may transfer the collection of the
maintenance or support to the clerk of the court in another
county or judicial circuit, as appropriate, wherein the
recipient of the maintenance or support payments resides.
