Richelle Siewers is a family law attorney in Chicago, IL.

Child support is based on both parents' earned income.  But it can be confusing to figure out what a parent’s income includes.  This post will go over inheritances and holiday bonuses as they relate to child support.

First, let’s go over how you get child support from the other parent. Usually, the Illinois State Disbursement Unit (SDU) takes it directly from the other parent’s paycheck and deposits it into your account by .  But it’s also possible that the other parent pays you directly. Suppose you expect other income that was not in your original support order. In that case, you may have to go back to court and ask for a modification.  

Inheritance

Child support and inheritance can be tricky because inheritance can take many forms.  However, the original question asked is if one can get support from an expected inheritance. A support order cannot include any money that is not actually in your child’s parent’s possession. Suppose they are expecting an inheritance, and they have not received it yet.In that case, you cannot include that expected inheritance in any child support order.  

The type of inheritance will determine if it should be included in child support.

You would not include a tangible gift, such as a car or jewelry, as child support. Even if the gift is worth a substantial amount of money. 

A lump sum of money is seen as a gift, not earned income. It typically would not be included in child support.  However, suppose there is back support owed to you.In that case, you can go to court and ask that it be paid with that lump sum since your child’s parent is now able to pay you some or all of what they owe

If the inheritance includes something that will earn income, then that could be included in child support.  An example of this would be a house or apartment building that collects rent on tenants. Then you should include a percentage of that income in your child’s support order. Another example would be if they place the inheritance in a trust with monthly or yearly payments. That money can be considered income. You can include a percentage of the trust payments in support.  

Suppose you are unaware of the type of inheritance your child’s parent has received.In that case, you must go to court to have them disclose any new potential income. Suppose the judge finds that they have received an income-producing inheritance.In that case, a new, modified support order should replace your existing order to include the inheritance.  

Holiday bonus

A holiday bonus is much simpler. If your child’s parent receives a holiday bonus from their employer, that is earned income.You should include it in your child support. Now, the form the bonus takes may vary. It may also take some work on your part to get the bonus included in your child support. If their paycheck includes the bonus, and the SDU takes from that paycheck, then the percentage should be automatically included in your payment.  

However, if you receive direct payments for child support or a set amount is disbursed to you. You must go to court,have the bonus disclosed, and then get it included in a modified support order. It is important to have the judge include any future holiday bonuses in your support order to save you from returning to court each year. 

The same would apply if your child’s parent gets a holiday bonus separate from their paycheck or gets bonuses from different sources. For example, suppose your child’s parent has multiple independent clients that give cash bonuses.You must then have them disclosed through the courts to get a percentage of the holiday bonuses included in your new support order. 

This information is posted as a public service by Illinois Legal Aid Online and its partners. Its purpose is to inform people of their legal rights and obligations. Talk to a lawyer if you have questions about how this information applies to you.