MT. VERNON — Chad Toeniskoetter recently lost his appeal to the Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court and will have to pay part of his workers' compensation and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) award to his ex-wife for child support.
According to a decision filed on June 13, the appellate court upheld the Madison County Circuit Court''s decision to award Jennifer Toeniskoetter 20 percent of his pending workers' compensation award and 15 percent of his EEOC award to pay back child support. Attorneys' fees were also awarded.
The Toeniskoetters were married in 1996 and had a child in 1998. In 2002, they divorced and joint custody was awarded. Jennifer Toeniskoetter, however, was the primary caregiver, and Chad Toeniskoetter was ordered to pay child support. In 2008, an order was entered saying Chad Toeniskoetter would pay Jennifer Toeniskoetter $666 a month in child support. In 2011, Jennifer Toeniskoetter asked for an increase.
In 2012, Chad Toeniskoetter filed for a modification of his child support, claiming that he had lost his job. According to the court’s order, “on June 29, 2012, the respondent was ordered to pay $93 per week to the petitioner for temporary child support. Further, the court enjoined the respondent from spending $14,000 of his $70,000 workers' compensation settlement, representing 20 percent of the net proceeds and reserved its ruling on the amount of child support to be awarded from these monies.”
In January 2013, Chad Toeniskoetter was awarded $60,000 in settlement of his EEOC claim. Jennifer Toeniskoetter’s attorneys then asked him to produce financial information verifying proof of income. He failed to produce the information on time, the ruling states, and the court ordered him to pay her attorneys' fees as a result.
In 2014, Chad Toeniskoetter asked for a modification because he was working at Starbucks and making less than he had gotten in unemployment compensation. A hearing was held and he was ordered to pay $224.88 biweekly and 20 percent of any proceeds from his workers' compensation case. At a June 2015 hearing, he was ordered to pay overdue child support, $14,000 from his workers' compensation settlement and $3,000 in attorneys' fees.
The appellate court upheld the lower court's award, citing Chad Toeniskoetter’s failure to timely provide financial documents to his ex-wife.