How to get above guideline child support

If you want to related guideline child support law experience, so you can better suggestions about Family Lawyers Houston in Texas.

Houston Family Law Attorneys – In Texas, child support is most always owed by the parent who does not have primary custody of the child. How child support is owed is set by a statutorily based percentage to the owing party’s net income (gross income minus social security taxes and federal income tax withholding). The Attorney General has a chart on their website which breaks down the numbers for those that are interested.
This chart, however, caps net income is less than $8,550. It’s safe to say that most Texans earn less than this amount per month- which can present difficulties for families due to the cost of raising children. Setting aside the necessities like food, clothing, shelter and medical care- additional costs regarding extracurricular activities, athletics and recreational pursuits add to what is already a budget stretching situation for even middle class families.

CAN A COURT DEVIATE FROM GUIDELINE CHILD SUPPORT?

Under section 154.122 of the Texas Family Code the application of guidelines child support is rebuttably presumed in best interest of child.

“(a) The amount of a periodic child support payment established by the child support guidelines in effect in this state at the time of the hearing is presumed to be reasonable, and an order of support conforming to the guidelines is presumed to be in the best interest of the child.

(b) A court may determine that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate under the circumstances.”

A general statement can be made that courts do not typically show a willingness to go “above and beyond” the aforementioned guidelines for child support. For one child in Texas that means that 20 percent of a party’s net income is due for child support if they are the non-primary parent. With that being said, a court can in appropriate situations adjust this amount based on the proven needs of a child. If the owing party shows an ability to pay additional amounts and a child is shown to have proven needs beyond what the statute holds then support above the guidelines may be in the offering.

WHAT FACTORS DOES A COURT CONSIDER IN DETERMINING WHETHER TO ORDER ABOVE GUIDELINE CHILD SUPPORT?

Divorce Houston – The (not quite) million dollar question, then, is- what factors can a court consider in determining whether a child’s proven needs necessitate a child support order above minimum guidelines? The statute in question can be found under Texas Family Code, section 154.123(a) and (b), state:

(a) The court may order periodic child support payments in an amount other than that established by the guidelines if the evidence rebuts the presumption that application of the guidelines is in the best interest of the child and justifies a variance from the guidelines.

(b) In determining whether application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate under the circumstances, the court shall consider evidence of all relevant factors, including:

(1) the age and needs of the child;

(2) the ability of the parents to contribute to the support of the child;

(3) any financial resources available for the support of the child;

(4) the amount of time of possession of and access to a child;

(5) the amount of the obligee’s net resources, including the earning potential of the obligee if the actual income of the obligee is significantly less than what the obligee could earn because the obligee is intentionally unemployed or underemployed and including an increase or decrease in the income of the obligee or income that may be attributed to the property and assets of the obligee;

(6) child care expenses incurred by either party in order to maintain gainful employment;

(7) whether either party has the managing conservatorship or actual physical custody of another child;

(8) the amount of alimony or spousal maintenance actually and currently being paid or received by a party;

(9) the expenses for a son or daughter for education beyond secondary school;

(10) whether the obligor or obligee has an automobile, housing, or other benefits furnished by his or her employer, another person, or a business entity;

(11) the amount of other deductions from the wage or salary income and from other compensation for personal services of the parties;

(12) provision for health care insurance and payment of uninsured medical expenses;

(13) special or extraordinary educational, health care, or other expenses of the parties or of the child;

(14) the cost of travel in order to exercise possession of and access to a child;

(15) positive or negative cash flow from any real and personal property and assets, including a business and investments;

(16) debts or debt service assumed by either party; and

(17) any other reason consistent with the best interest of the child, taking into consideration the circumstances of the parents.

If you are in a situation where child support is an issue, the attorneys with The Law Office of Bryan Fagan are well equipped to assist you in considering your individual circumstances and how to best handle them. Whether you are the parent who could potentially owe child support or you’re the parent who may be owed child support, we can help prepare your case for a courtroom.

CASE LAW REGARDING ABOVE GUIDELINE CHILD SUPPORT

Family Lawyer in Houston – The following are some relevant case regarding above guideline child support.

Matthews v. Northrup, No. 01-09-00063-CV, 2010 WL 2133910, at *3 (Tex. App. May 27, 2010)

After determining the amount of net resources, the trial court must decide whether to apply the child support guidelines or whether application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate.

In this case one of the issues discussed by the court was whether or not the court should consider the value of a partnership interest when determining income. The court decided that a “partnership interest is like a retirement account which has value but that value is not accessible to the recipient until retirement.

The court further found that although the partnership interest was an asset that does not currently produce income the trial court acted within its discretion in assigning a reasonable amount of deemed income to to the partnership interest. Northrup, No. 01-09-00063-CV, 2010 WL 2133910, at *5 (Tex. App. May 27, 2010)

In Interest of R.L.R., No. 09-15-00449-CV, 2017 WL 4171318, at *3 (Tex. App. Sept. 21, 2017)

In this case Mother argued that Father failed to present sufficient evidence in the modification proceeding to justify the trial court’s decision to discontinue the requirement that Father pay Mother for child support… Continue Reading