Q: I'm a retired IL state employee on a pension. In a divorce, can she claim part of that pension, my sole income?

A: If you are part of SERS then she can claim part of it based on length of marriage.

As to child support, this site shows how it is calculated:

http://midamericalawoffice.com/illinois-child-support-estimator/

A: You do not say how long you were married and in the pension plan. This is critical to answering your question responsibly. She is entitled to one-half of the marital portion of your monthly pension payment. The marital portion is defined as the number of years of the marriage as the numerator, and the number of years you were in the plan and married as the denominator.

You are mistakenly looking at you pension payments as income. In the world of divorce law, your pension is property that she already owns. She is entitled to her piece of your pension just as she is entitled to her piece of your house, or any other marital asset.

You may not have to pay child support once she starts getting one-half of the marital portion of your pension payments. Also, you did not state how much money she earns from her business. This info is also critical in determining how much each of you will pay toward child support.

A: It seems that you are looking at your pension payments as "your sole income." This is not necessarily true in the world of divorce, where the court can deem your pension to be property (not income). If this is the case, your wife will receive 50% of the marital portion of your monthly payments as her share of your property division. The good news is that the money she receives from your pension will count as income to her, which should lessen your child support obligation.