Child Support in Texas: What is the most you will have to pay and what are the exceptions to that rule?

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Houston Divorce Lawyer: Being worried about child support is normal if you are going through a child custody case or divorce. It’s normal if you’re the parent who is going to receive child support because odds are you are losing an income from your household and you need to be able to compensate for that by receiving a monthly payment from your ex spouse.

If the amount is insufficient then there will be more month left at the end of the money, as Dave Ramsey likes to say. That means your children may not be able to go to the dentist or maybe you fall behind on your light bill.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you are the parent who expects to have to pay child support you also have concerns. Ultimately your biggest concern is making sure your children are able to live happy, stable and consistent lives no matter who lives with whom. However, that’s not to say that you don’t have responsibilities beyond your children and the payment of child support every month can make things tight for you as well.

Worse yet- you’ve heard horror stories about lawyers figuring out creative ways to “enhance” the income of the parent with whom the children do not live with primarily and that child support payment either makes them fall behind on bills or makes them fall behind in child support.

If you are a parent going through a family lawcase then this blog post is for you. In it we will discuss the maximum amount of child support you can expect to receive or pay. We will also discuss exceptions to the rule that there is a maximum amount of support a parent is on the hook for and other specifics that relate to paying child support in Texas.

Max Child Support in Texas

For the purposes of this section, I will use the term “obligor” when referencing the parent who has the responsibility to pay child support.

The first $8,550 of the obligor’s monthly net resources are fair game to be assessed for child support payments. If we go into the Texas Family Code, the rules are straightforward as far as the percentage of the obligor parent’s net monthly resources that would go towards supporting their child. One child is 20%, Two children are 25% on up to 40% for five or more children.

This assumes that the obligor parent is not responsible for any other children not presently before the court. For the sake of clarity we will make that assumption for our discussion today.

Any income earned beyond this amount per month is not typically considered when determining the amount of child support that is owed on a monthly basis. I say not typically because it is possible for a court to not strictly follow the guideline percentages that I laid out earlier. This means that the obligor parent can in some instances be on the hook for paying greater than the statutory guidelines amount.

Courts look to the proven needs of a child to determine if a higher than guidelines amount of support is justified

Divorce Lawyer in Houston: A court would examine what the Family Code calls the “proven needs” of the child in question to make a determination on what amount of support is necessary. Normally child support is intended to cover essentials like clothes, shelter and food. If a family is extremely wealthy and the child has experienced a great deal in their lives and has become accustomed to enhancements of their education or extracurricular activities then a judge can approve a higher than guidelines level of support. A more straightforward example may be a child who needs medical attention on a consistent basis to the extent that “guidelines” support would not provide for.

Help for the obligor parent within the Texas Family Code

If you are a mother or father who earns a great income and read this past section your heart rate may have picked up a few notches. This section is intended to help bring it down a level or two.

Just as the Family Code allows for greater than guidelines levels of support, it also limits the “damage” by noting that no court can order an employer to withhold more than 50% of an obligor’s earnings. This is a good thing for parents who could be on the hook for a potentially large child support obligation based on their family’s past lifestyle or other circumstances.

On the other hand, the above limitation provided by the Family Code does not limit the amount that a parent can owe, however. This means that if you as an obligor become delinquent in paying child support just because the State can’t force your employer to hold back everything that you owe, that doesn’t mean that you won’t fall further and further behind in payments.

These arrearages can become intimidatingly large. Enforcement actions, whether brought by your child’s other parent or the Attorney General of Texas, can provide for stiff penalties including jail time if you fall behind to an excessive amount and show little propensity or willingness to pay the arrearages off.

I have been in courtrooms and seen men and women who owe over $200,000 sent to jail by judges because of their unwillingness to pay towards their arrearage despite higher than average income. These are extreme situations and are atypical, but are worth mentioning.

Questions about child support? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

Divorce Attorney Houston: If you have questions about child support- whether it is collecting support owed to you or modifying a prior order- please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. Our licensed family law attorneys are experienced in handling matters related to child support and would be honored to speak with you about your case. A free of charge consultation is only a phone call away and are available six days a week ... Continue Reading