## Facts

- Dolia Villanueva and Sean Patrick O’Gara, never married, had one child, Amanda; O’Gara was adjudicated the father and ordered to pay weekly child support.
- O’Gara suffered a serious work-related hand injury and later received a net lump-sum personal-injury settlement of about $251,655.36 after attorney’s fees.
- Villanueva petitioned for a one-time child-support payment equal to 20% of the settlement to be placed in trust for Amanda.
- The parties agreed some portion of the recovery reflected lost earnings, but the settlement was not itemized among lost wages and other damage components.

## Issues

1. Whether a noncustodial parent’s lump-sum personal-injury settlement constitutes “income” for purposes of Illinois child-support guidelines.
2. Whether a court may treat the entire settlement as “income” without determining what portion, if any, represents lost earnings.

## Decision

- The appellate court reversed the order treating the entire net settlement as income and requiring 20% to be placed in trust for the child.
- The court held only the portion of a personal-injury recovery attributable to lost earnings may be treated as “income” for child-support purposes.
- The case was remanded for an evidentiary determination allocating the settlement between lost-earnings and non-earnings components and for recalculation of any additional support based on that allocation.

## Legal Principles

- “Income” for guideline child support is construed broadly, but it does not include all compensatory tort proceeds.
- Personal-injury proceeds attributable to lost wages or diminished earning capacity are income because they substitute for earnings.
- Amounts attributable to pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, and medical expenses are not income because they compensate for injury and related losses rather than provide gain or profit.
- When a settlement is undifferentiated, the trial court must take evidence and make findings allocating the recovery before using any portion to set guideline support, including any permissible one-time award.

## Conclusion

A lump-sum personal-injury settlement cannot be categorically treated as income for child-support purposes; only the wage-replacement portion qualifies, and courts must allocate the settlement’s components before setting additional support.


Villanueva v. O'Gara, 668 N.E.2d 589 (Ill. App. Ct. 1996)