The Trial Court denied husband’s petition to modify his child support obligation. The Court found nothing to indicate that husband’s child support obligation was based on the parties’ mutual understanding. Husband said they had agreed that wife would remain unemployed so long as husband was paying child support.
The court interpreted this as follows. The parties did not intend for wife’s income from her future employment to trigger a downward modification of husband’s child support obligation.
The Trial Court refused to consider wife’s income as a basis for determining whether there was a substantial change in circumstances. The Illinois legislature had signaled a policy consideration that courts should remain reluctant to find a substantial change in circumstances based on events contemplated when a party’s child support obligation was calculated under the prior guidelines.
The definition of a substantial change in circumstances does not include a change in circumstances that is expected to happen when the agreement was entered into.
In re Marriage of Salvatore, 2019 IL App (2d) 180425 (March 8, 2019).
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