Texas Child Support: A word (or two) on Net Resources

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Houston Divorce Lawyers: With great regularity, people walk into the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC to speak to one of our attorneys about the subject of child support. This is a subject that is almost always an issue that is debated during divorce and child custody cases for a number of reasons.

For one, both parents want what is best for their child. This is no matter if you are the parent who is set to receive child support or you are the parent who will be on the hook to pay child support. Everyone wants what is best for your child. However, different parents have different beliefs about how to best care for their children.

This is especially true when it comes to the mandatory payment of money directly from one’s paycheck. That creates a whole new level of intimacy that this process connects to.

Seeing as how we have so many people stop by with so many questions I figured it would make sense to spend some more time on this subject. Today we will go through a few different situations that deal with child support in Texas.

Where is child support calculated from?

Is it your income that child support is based on in Texas? Is it the total amount of money that you have access to? What about other sources of income like investment properties, second jobs and things of that nature. Do these count for the purposes of child support?

This is a very common question because it is extremely relevant. Before you know what your responsibility is as far as child support is concerned you need to know from what source the State will pull your money.

You probably know that the way that Texas calculates child support is based on a percentage formula. Beginning with 20% for one child and going all the way up to 40% for five or more children your monthly net resources are tapped to pay whatever level of support is necessary for you and your family based on the number of children you are responsible for.

Monthly net resources is not a term that rolls off the tongue nor is it one that is self-explanatory in terms of what goes into calculating this figure. Your net resources for the purposes of Texas child support calculations are the total of all the income you derive on a monthly basis. This includes assets that you own that produce income. Tips, overtime pay, wages, salary, and bonus money are a few of the most common sources of income that go into your net resources.

Beyond these more common sources of income, we see things like retirement pay, social security benefits, unemployment benefits and worker’s compensation benefits are also fair game when calculating your monthly net resources. However, the ten or so items that I listed in this blog post are not the only sources that can be considered income for your purposes. The Texas Family Code contains an all-encompassing list that if you are curious I would recommend you go and take a look at yourself.

Social security taxes, federal income taxes, and cash medical support paid for your child will be deducted from your income to arrive at the net monthly resources figure that is appropriate for you. Whatever your yearly total is, divide that number by 12 (for the total months in a year) and you have your monthly net resources.

What percentage will be applied to my monthly net resources for child support purposes?

Family Law Attorney Houston: It took us a little bit to get there, but we now have the amount of monthly net resources that will be considered for your payment of child support. The next step in the process for you will be to take the appropriate percentage and multiply that by your monthly net resources to get your monthly child support obligation.

The concept that we need to keep in mind is that the court will be concerned not only with the number of children that are presently before it, but also how many other children you are responsible for that are not before the court presently. If one child is presently before the court then twenty percent of your monthly net resources will be paid in child support.

However, if you have another child for whom you pay support that is not presently before the court your obligation, in this case, will be decreased by 2.5%. You will be credited for the support paid to the other child and will only be responsible for paying 17.5% of your net monthly resources towards the support of this child.

Advice: Hire an attorney to represent your interests when child support is at stake

If any of the aforementioned paragraphs don’t make a ton of sense don’t worry. Any time math and the law are done in combination it becomes confusing for most people.

As a result, having someone by your side to help guide you through the process can be extremely helpful. Having an experienced family law attorney to not only provide peace of mind but to combat any attempts by your spouse’s attorney to artificially increase the amount of support you should pay is advisable. This is especially true if you are a parent who has multiple streams of income that would be in consideration to be counted among your net monthly resources.

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

Houston Divorce Attorney: From the Golden Triangle to The Woodlands and Sugar Land, the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC represents clients from all walks of life and backgrounds with pride. It is our duty and obligation to put your interests ahead of our own and we pledge to always do so.

If you have any questions on the subject of child support or any other in Texas family law please do not hesitate to contact our office today. A free of charge consultation where your questions can be answered is only a phone call away ... Continue Reading