Workers’ Compensation Settlement is Income for Child Support

In Illinois, the definition of income for child support purposes is broad and generally includes any financial benefits that enhance a noncustodial parent’s wealth and helps that parent’s ability to support a child. In Illinois, even recurring monetary gifts from family members can be considered income for child support. Therefore, because a worker’s compensation settlement is compensation for lost wages, it is also income for child support purposes.

An argument was made in the Mayfield case that the entire lump sum settlement should not have been subject to the Illinois guideline support formula since the settlement represented lost wages over the period of the injured worker’s employment life – which would extend beyond the time when he was ordered to pay child support. The Supreme Court held that the one-time payment was income, but its nonrecurring nature could factor into the trial court’s decision on how to allocate it.

However, since the settlement recipient never requested that the court deviate downward from the guideline amount and did not present evidence that warranted a deviation downward, the trial court properly awarded guideline child support. Had the settlement recipient presented evidence that would have supported a deviation downward, the outcome may have been different.