Parents in Texas—and throughout the nation—are responsible for supporting their children financially and emotionally. When parents divorce or break up, child support is the tool used to address that financial responsibility.
Child support is designed to balance each parent’s financial obligation in relation to their ability to pay. While it’s a fairly straightforward process, it can — depending on the circumstances — become quite complicated.
If you’re facing a child support case or are going through a divorce that involves children, seek the skilled legal guidance of an experienced Round Rock child support attorney.
The Matter of Paternity
If you and your child’s other parent are married at the time of their birth, paternity – or who the child’s father is – is presumed in the state of Texas. If you have a child together when you’re not married but are both in agreement regarding paternity, you can take care of the matter at the time of your child’s birth in the hospital.
If, however, the two of you are not together and either one of you questions paternity, you’ll need to address the issue through the court, which generally involves a paternity test. Before child support can be established, the child’s father must be identified. This means that, in some cases, the first order of business is paternity.
The Primary Custodial Parent
Texas courts base their parenting time decisions on the best interests of the child involved, and sometimes this means that one parent takes on the role of the primary custodial parent, and sometimes it doesn’t. A primary custodial parent is a parent who has the children for the majority of their overnights.
However, more divorced parents are dividing their parenting somewhat evenly. When one parent is assigned the primary custodial role, they are likely to receive the child support payments. When parents share their time with the kids more evenly, many factors go into the child support calculation, but the parent with higher earnings is likely to pay child support.
Factors that Affect Child Support
The factors that Texas courts take into careful consideration when determining child support include the following:
The number of children involved
Each child’s age and their unique financial, emotional, and educational needs – including any special needs
Each parent’s financial ability to contribute to the children’s support, including in terms of their income, debt, and overall assets
The amount of time each parent spends with the children
The cost of the children’s daycare, education, or both
The amount either parent pays for supporting children from prior relationships
The amount that either parent pays for the children’s healthcare insurance and for out-of-pocket medical expenses
The cost required for either parent to travel back and forth for visitation with the children
Each parent’s income
Whether the payor also pays alimony
Child Support’s Duration
Child support is generally owed until each child ages out, and the total amount owed decreases as the number of covered children decreases. In Texas, child support applies until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school – whichever happens later.
It’s important to note, however, that a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that addresses child support and exceeds the parameters set by the state will prevail in terms of both amount and duration. Also, when a child has special needs and requires a parent’s full-time care into adulthood, the child support obligation for that child can be extended indefinitely.
Child Support Guidelines
Child support in Texas is based on the number of children who are covered, and the following basics apply:
When the child support applies to one child, the parent with the obligation pays 20 percent of their net resources.
When the child support applies to two children, the parent with the child support obligation pays 25 percent of their net resources.
When the child support applies to three children, the parent with the child support obligation pays 30 percent of their net resources.
When the child support applies to four children, the parent with the child support obligation pays 35 percent of their net resources.
When the child support applies to five or more children, the parent with the child support obligation pays 40 percent of their net resources.
It’s important to note, however, that the court can order child support that deviates from these guidelines when extenuating circumstances apply. For example, a child with special needs may be entitled to more considerable child support.
There is also a financial cap on child support in Texas that generally applies. The amount is revised every 6 years, and the last revision was in September of 2019. Texas generally doesn’t calculate child support payments for monthly income that exceeds $9,200, and as such, the maximum payments include the following:
$1,840 for one child
$2,300 for two children
$2,760 for three children
$3,220 for four children
$3,680 for five children
However, the court has the discretion to order child support that exceeds these amounts if the circumstances call for it.
What Child Support Covers
The matter of how child support works in Texas is complicated, and this extends to what child support covers in Texas. The state doesn’t go into specifics of how the recipient of child support should spend it. Instead, the understanding is that child support is intended to cover the cost of raising a child, which every parent knows is expensive and includes wide-ranging needs.
Child support payments are intended to help the recipient cover the children’s minimum basic needs, which break down into several basic categories.
You should know, however, that regardless of what the recipient spends the child support on, it isn’t off-limits as long as the child benefits. As such, using the support to pay the utility bill or to cover the mortgage is perfectly fine because both benefit the child by putting a roof over their head and equipping the home with necessities like heating, cooling, and running water.
Basic Needs
Child support is designed to cover the child’s minimum basic needs, which include all the following:
Food, including groceries, eating out, and any special dietary needs or preferences the child may have
Clothing, which extends to school uniforms or school clothes, sports gear, winter wear, and special occasion wear, such as for prom
Housing, which can include the rent or mortgage, property taxes, and home furnishings
Hygiene
It’s important to understand that child support can be used to cover things that don’t solely benefit the child. For example, using your child support to cover your rent benefits all of you, including your child, which makes it a valid use.
Education and Childcare
Even if your children go to public schools, there are expenses involved, and child support is intended to help cover them, including:
School supplies
School lunches
The cost of transportation, including the cost of the school bus
School pictures
Any tutoring
Private schools come with even steeper expenses.
Childcare also works into this category of expense. Your children may attend school and childcare, such as an after-school program, or if they haven’t reached school age yet, they may only go to daycare or a babysitter.
Transportation and Travel
The parent who receives child support can use it to keep their vehicle up and running—helping to keep their household running smoothly—or can put it toward public transportation. Child support can also apply to longer trips, such as when the parents live a considerable distance from one another, and the children have to travel back and forth for visits.
Extracurricular Activities
Extracurricular activities can play an important role in your children’s development and overall happiness. These activities allow your children to explore their interests, build close friendships, and pick up new skills that support personal growth. Child support can be used for extracurriculars like all the following:
Sports
Band and music programs
Theater programs
Arts and crafts
School clubs
Academic endeavors
The costs associated, including fees for participating, lessons, uniforms, equipment, and travel, can add up quickly.
Entertainment
Child support can also be used to support straight-up fun, including things like movies, summer camps, amusement parks, and any other kind of outing your children enjoy. Child support, in other words, is there to help parents provide their children with well-rounded lives.
Every child’s life is unique, and child support is designed to help ensure that they get the care they need, are provided for, receive the education they deserve, and have fun doing it.
What Child Support Doesn’t Cover
Child support is designed to cover your children’s comprehensive needs, but medical and dental care are separate matters. One parent will likely be required to cover the children’s medical and dental insurance coverage, and often, that parent is the one with the child support obligation.
However, if the primary custodial parent’s work offers considerably better insurance coverage, it only makes sense for that parent to cover the expense, which will likely be offset by the amount of child support the other parent pays. The matter of out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses must also be addressed.
Finally, child support shouldn’t be used for anything that doesn’t support the children’s best interests. Drugs, alcohol, and gambling are all prime examples. A dedicated Texas child support attorney has the experience and legal skills to help ensure that your child support terms are in keeping with your children’s best interests and adequately address your unique situation.
When Child Support Is Ordered Retroactively
Child support can be ordered retroactively – or for a period in the past – when the parent in question should have been paying child support all along, but there was no child support order in place. In these instances, the retroactive child support payments are calculated according to the parent’s income during that period.
Factors such as whether or not the parent knew they had a financial obligation to the child will play a role. Further, if the parent is found to have actively dodged their child support obligation or to have hidden resources in an attempt to minimize their child support obligation during a specific period, retroactive child support can apply.
If you believe you’re owed retroactive child support, don’t wait to consult with a seasoned Texas child support lawyer.
Don’t Take Child Support into Your Own Hands
If your ex isn’t making their child support payments as ordered by the court, it’s a problem, but it’s not one you should attempt to resolve on your own. For instance, withholding court-ordered parenting time from your children’s other parent is not going to help, and it could leave you in contempt of court.
The bottom line is that child support and child custody are two distinct matters, and they are both designed to support your children’s best interests. If your children’s other parent isn’t paying child support, it hurts your children, but retaliating by withholding visitation, also hurts your children. Both are court ordered, and both must be carefully adhered to.
To ensure that your ex pays the child support they owe, you’ll need to address the matter with the court, and having trusted legal counsel in your corner can make a significant difference in how the issue is resolved.
Reach Out to an Experienced Round Rock Child Support Attorney for the Help You Need Today
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a compassionate Round Rock child support attorney who dedicates his impressive practice to helping clients like you resolve their child support concerns favorably.
Whether you’re facing a divorce that involves children, need a child support modification, or aren’t receiving the child support to which you’re entitled, we encourage you to contact or call us at 254-781-4222 to schedule a free consultation and learn more about what we can do to help you today.