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By Wendi R. Bailes-Dodson, Managing Attorney
Child support can affect your child’s daily needs and your family’s financial planning. In Texas, a court may order either or both parents to support a child. The amount depends on the parents’ financial information, the number of children, health and dental coverage, and other facts.
Dodson Law Firm helps Houston-area parents understand the process for establishing, modifying, or enforcing child support orders. We can review the existing order or the facts of a new case, explain the options, and help you prepare for negotiation, mediation, or court.
Call 713-338-2525 or contact us to discuss your situation.
Texas Family Code Chapter 154 contains Texas child-support rules and guidelines. The guideline calculation generally starts with the obligor’s net resources and the number of children who need support. The court may also address medical and dental support and other statutory factors. Guidelines create a starting point, not a guaranteed result; the court can consider whether applying them would be unjust or inappropriate under the circumstances.
Do not rely on a general percentage list to estimate your order. Financial records, deductions recognized by law, other support obligations, and the facts of your case matter. The Texas Attorney General’s Monthly Child Support Calculator can provide an estimate, but it is not a substitute for legal advice or a court order.
Texas family law judges can order two types of child support arrangements:
In this arrangement, the court grants one parent the exclusive right to make decisions regarding the child’s upbringing, including education, healthcare, and religious instruction. The noncustodial parent is typically required to pay child support to the custodial parent.
In a joint managing conservatorship, both parents share the decision-making responsibilities for the child. Even in this arrangement, the court may order one parent to pay child support to the other, depending on factors such as each parent’s income and the amount of time the child spends with each parent.
Our experienced child support attorneys will help you understand the differences between these arrangements and work with you to determine the most appropriate solution for your family.
Calculating child support in Texas requires current financial information and facts about the children. Medical and dental support and other statutory factors may also matter.
Texas guidelines are a starting point for determining support obligations, not a guaranteed result. The court may consider whether applying them would be unjust or inappropriate under the circumstances.
The guideline calculation generally starts with the obligor’s net resources. Financial records, deductions recognized by law, other support obligations, and the facts of the case matter.
The number of children who need support is one factor in the guideline calculation. The court may also address medical and dental support and other statutory factors.
An existing support order does not change automatically when income, employment, or a child’s needs change. A court with jurisdiction must sign a new order.
Texas Family Code Chapter 156 § 156.401 includes standards for modifying child support, including a material and substantial change and certain guideline-difference tests after the required period. Ask counsel to review the timing and evidence for your case before stopping or changing payments.
Changes in income, employment, or a child’s needs may be relevant, but a modification request does not automatically change the existing order.
Enforcement is different from modification. If a parent is behind, options may include income withholding and other remedies available under Texas law.
The available enforcement remedy depends on the order, the facts, and applicable Texas law. A lawyer can explain the options for addressing an unpaid order.
The Office of the Attorney General can provide child-support services, but it does not replace private legal advice and may not address every issue in a custody or modification case.
Do not stop paying because a modification is requested. A court order remains in effect until changed.
Dodson Law Firm offers personal attention and plain-language guidance for Houston-area family-law matters. We can help you organize financial information, understand the relationship between child support and conservatorship, and identify next steps. Every case depends on its facts, and no attorney can guarantee a particular result.
Learn about child custody and post-judgment modification, or contact us. Call 713-338-2525.
