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The Bedford Law Firm aggressively represents clients in child
support cases in Austin, Texas and surrounding areas. We are
aggressive because clients ivolved in these matters deserve
Results, Not Excuses! If you or a loved-one are involved in a
child support matter and are in need of results, Contact Us
Today!
THE OBLIGATION TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT
Parents have a legal duty to support their children, and so the court can
order either or both parents to pay child support.
Amount:
Texas has a statutory schedule for child support, based on the obligor's
(the supporting parent) monthly net resources of less than $6,000:
(1) one child--20 percent of the net resources
(2) two children--25 percent
(3) three children--30 percent
(4) four children--35 percent
(5) five or more children--at least 35 percent
These guidelines are considered presumptively reasonable, which means
that they're to be used unless there are good reasons not to do so. The
court may determine that the statutory guidelines are inappropriate based
on factors such as the child's needs, the parents' ability to contribute to
the child's support, and the amount of possession of and access to the
child.
Multiple family adjusted guidelines exist to calculate the amount of
support when the person paying support has children in more than one
household. (Texas Family Code §§154.128, 154.129).
In the absence of evidence of the wage and salary income of a party,
the court will presume that the party has wages or salary equal to the
federal minimum wage for a forty hour week.
DURATION OF CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION
Child support must be paid until:
(l) The child reaches age 18 or thereafter as long as he or she is enrolled
in high school until graduation (but no later than age 21 in any event);
(2) The child gets married, even if younger than l8;
(3) Indefinitely if the child, due to a physical or mental disability, can't
support himself and the court so orders, or until the disabilities are
removed for general purposes;
(4) The obligor dies.
A child support order for more than one child should provide that when
support for one of the children ends (for one of the reasons above) the
amount of support for the remaining children will be adjusted to be in
accordance with the support guidelines. Beware of an agreement that
sets a level of support that will not change until all the children are no
longer eligible. Note, however, that the guidelines only reduce support
by 5% for each child that becomes ineligible.
The parents can agree in the divorce settlement to change the above
rules, for example, agreeing that child support will continue until the
child is 21, regardless. However, make such agreements very carefully.
A common clause in divorce settlements reads:
This agreement shall endure to the benefit of and be binding upon the
heirs, assigns, executors, administrators, and personal representatives of
the parties.
This may seem like a fairly innocuous clause, but in reality it can be
dangerous: A husband and wife are divorced after five years of
marriage; the wife gets custody of the 3 year-old son, and the husband
pays $150 a month in child support. The husband remarries and has two
daughters by that marriage before dying seven years after the divorce.
Normally, the child support payments to the son would cease (although
the boy would be entitled to Social Security and VA benefits). However,
if the father had agreed to the above clause, his estate could be seized to
ensure child support payments until his son reached the age stipulated in
the divorce agreement. This could leave his new wife and children out in
the cold.
A better alternative would have been for the father to carry a life
insurance policy naming his son as the beneficiary.
NOTE: Child support obligations are not discharged by filing for
bankruptcy.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISITATION AND CHILD SUPPORT
OBLIGATION
Support can't be contingent on visitation rights; if you're the obligor,
you can't stop payment even though your former spouse wrongfully
denies you visitation. Your remedy is to ask the court to force your
former spouse to obey the visitation order.
Normally, you also must continue to pay child support even though the
child may be visiting you, but you and your former spouse can agree
otherwise. Thus, if your child will be staying with you during the
summers, you may want the decree to relieve you of making child
support payments during this time.
CHANGING THE AMOUNT OF THE CHILD SUPPORT
OBLIGATION
The managing conservator can petition the court to increase child
support if the circumstances have “materially and substantially”
changed. However, an increase in the needs, standard of living, or
lifestyle of the managing conservator does not warrant an increase in
child support. The obligor (person who owes support) has a right to
request a modification to decrease payments under the same standard;
for example, if his or her ability to pay decreases because of
circumstances such as losing a job or health-related disabilities. The
birth of a new child by the obligor is also a factor to be considered in
determining ability to pay, but remarriage and the support of step-
children cannot be considered either to increase or decrease support..
Method of payment and assignment of child support:
Unless you and your former spouse agree otherwise, Texas law requires
the judge to order that child support payments be made through a local
registry, and except for good reason, order that support payments be
withheld from the obligor’s (paying parent’s) earnings. For military
members, the automatic withholding can be accomplished by using the
same forms and sending them to the same address indicated above in
the section regarding the direct payment of retirement benefits.
support cases in Austin, Texas and surrounding areas. We are
aggressive because clients ivolved in these matters deserve
Results, Not Excuses! If you or a loved-one are involved in a
child support matter and are in need of results, Contact Us
Today!
- WARNING: We have provided the following information on
Texas Child Support, but visitors are reminded that THERE IS
NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A GOOD FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY.
THE OBLIGATION TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT
Parents have a legal duty to support their children, and so the court can
order either or both parents to pay child support.
Amount:
Texas has a statutory schedule for child support, based on the obligor's
(the supporting parent) monthly net resources of less than $6,000:
(1) one child--20 percent of the net resources
(2) two children--25 percent
(3) three children--30 percent
(4) four children--35 percent
(5) five or more children--at least 35 percent
These guidelines are considered presumptively reasonable, which means
that they're to be used unless there are good reasons not to do so. The
court may determine that the statutory guidelines are inappropriate based
on factors such as the child's needs, the parents' ability to contribute to
the child's support, and the amount of possession of and access to the
child.
Multiple family adjusted guidelines exist to calculate the amount of
support when the person paying support has children in more than one
household. (Texas Family Code §§154.128, 154.129).
In the absence of evidence of the wage and salary income of a party,
the court will presume that the party has wages or salary equal to the
federal minimum wage for a forty hour week.
DURATION OF CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION
Child support must be paid until:
(l) The child reaches age 18 or thereafter as long as he or she is enrolled
in high school until graduation (but no later than age 21 in any event);
(2) The child gets married, even if younger than l8;
(3) Indefinitely if the child, due to a physical or mental disability, can't
support himself and the court so orders, or until the disabilities are
removed for general purposes;
(4) The obligor dies.
A child support order for more than one child should provide that when
support for one of the children ends (for one of the reasons above) the
amount of support for the remaining children will be adjusted to be in
accordance with the support guidelines. Beware of an agreement that
sets a level of support that will not change until all the children are no
longer eligible. Note, however, that the guidelines only reduce support
by 5% for each child that becomes ineligible.
The parents can agree in the divorce settlement to change the above
rules, for example, agreeing that child support will continue until the
child is 21, regardless. However, make such agreements very carefully.
A common clause in divorce settlements reads:
This agreement shall endure to the benefit of and be binding upon the
heirs, assigns, executors, administrators, and personal representatives of
the parties.
This may seem like a fairly innocuous clause, but in reality it can be
dangerous: A husband and wife are divorced after five years of
marriage; the wife gets custody of the 3 year-old son, and the husband
pays $150 a month in child support. The husband remarries and has two
daughters by that marriage before dying seven years after the divorce.
Normally, the child support payments to the son would cease (although
the boy would be entitled to Social Security and VA benefits). However,
if the father had agreed to the above clause, his estate could be seized to
ensure child support payments until his son reached the age stipulated in
the divorce agreement. This could leave his new wife and children out in
the cold.
A better alternative would have been for the father to carry a life
insurance policy naming his son as the beneficiary.
NOTE: Child support obligations are not discharged by filing for
bankruptcy.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISITATION AND CHILD SUPPORT
OBLIGATION
Support can't be contingent on visitation rights; if you're the obligor,
you can't stop payment even though your former spouse wrongfully
denies you visitation. Your remedy is to ask the court to force your
former spouse to obey the visitation order.
Normally, you also must continue to pay child support even though the
child may be visiting you, but you and your former spouse can agree
otherwise. Thus, if your child will be staying with you during the
summers, you may want the decree to relieve you of making child
support payments during this time.
CHANGING THE AMOUNT OF THE CHILD SUPPORT
OBLIGATION
The managing conservator can petition the court to increase child
support if the circumstances have “materially and substantially”
changed. However, an increase in the needs, standard of living, or
lifestyle of the managing conservator does not warrant an increase in
child support. The obligor (person who owes support) has a right to
request a modification to decrease payments under the same standard;
for example, if his or her ability to pay decreases because of
circumstances such as losing a job or health-related disabilities. The
birth of a new child by the obligor is also a factor to be considered in
determining ability to pay, but remarriage and the support of step-
children cannot be considered either to increase or decrease support..
Method of payment and assignment of child support:
Unless you and your former spouse agree otherwise, Texas law requires
the judge to order that child support payments be made through a local
registry, and except for good reason, order that support payments be
withheld from the obligor’s (paying parent’s) earnings. For military
members, the automatic withholding can be accomplished by using the
same forms and sending them to the same address indicated above in
the section regarding the direct payment of retirement benefits.
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NOTICE: The Bedford Law Firm is selective in accepting new clients and may refuse service to any prospective client so that it may better serve its current clients. DISCLAIMER The information contained within this site is for informational and educational purposes only. No content contained herein shall constitute legal advice. By utilizing this site, the user acknowledges and accepts the foregoing terms. |