Unpaid Illinois Child Support Collection Details
Past Due Interest
If your ex owes unpaid child support due to an Illinois paternity or divorce court order or judgment, you are entitled to the unpaid balance, plus interest. The interest alone on unpaid child support is 9% per year on every missed payment. For more information, see the Illinois law setting forth how interest on unpaid support payments is calculated, 735 ILCS 5/12-109.
The 9% interest rate itself is at 735 ILCS 5/2-1303, with the key part quoted here:
“(735 ILCS 5/2-1303)(from Ch. 110, par. 2-1303) Sec. 2-1303. Interest on judgment. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), judgments recovered in any court shall draw interest at the rate of 9% per annum from the date of the judgment until satisfied…”
if significant time passed since the payments were due, unpaid child support and accrued interest can add up to a lot of money,
The Child Support Debtor has the Burden to Prove Payment
The child support payor has the burden under Illinois law to prove they made the payments. The support recipient does not have prove their ability to pay. Illinois child support judgments last forever, there is no “statute of limitations.”
Enforcement of out of State Child Support Awards
If the support payor moved out of Illinois, you can still enforce the Illinois support order wherever they are located. State governments solved this problem by passing the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA). UIFSA requires all 50 states to enforce the court orders of other states with respect to child support enforcement cases. The state where the payor is located must enforce Illinois child support law, even if that state child support law differs.
For questions about Illinois child support in general, check out this article, How Child Support is Calculated in Illinois.
