Family Lawyer Arlington, TX
When a couple with children decide to divorce or separate, the non-custodial parent may be responsible for paying child support. Child support is typically based on the non-custodial parent’s income and the number of dependent children- usually children under the age of 18. From what I have learned recently, if the child is 18 but is still in high school, then the non-custodial parent will still have to pay child support until the child graduates from high school. Texas child support is enforced by the Attorney General courts. A matrix is used to calculate the non-custodial parent’s income and how much that parent is to designate to each child. From what I have learned so far, child the attorney general’s office and other child support agencies are taking aggressive measures in regard to seeking child support payments from non-custodial parents.
From my understanding, it is rare that parents come to an agreement together without a mediator or family lawyer in Arlington, TX from Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC. It is more common that the court system orders the proper child support requirements. That may include the father and mother each having their own attorney. The attorneys would in turn meet with the attorney general and come to agreements on issues such as possession, and child support. If the attorney representing each party do not agree on the issues in front of the attorney general, then the case is moved in front of the judge. The judge can then decide to deviate from standard support guidelines, which in turn can hurt either party.
One way that I have learned that child support can be delineated is for example, if the non-custodial parent is unemployed, and receives unemployment checks. In cases such as those, a court order directing the obligor’s social security to withhold and pay a percentage of obligor’s earnings to the obligee under a support order.
For parents who live within 100 miles of each other, the noncustodial parent has visitation: First, third and fifth weekends of every month. Thursday evenings of each week. Alternating holidays (such as Thanksgiving every other year). An extended period of time (30 days) during the summer vacation. For parents who live more than 100 miles apart. The weekend schedule may be the same or reduced to one weekend per month. There is no mid-week visitation. The holiday schedule remains the same (alternating holidays). The noncustodial parent has the child(ren) every spring break and for a longer extended period in the summer (42 days) Penalties: When the obligor becomes delinquent, the obligee may file and serve a notice of delinquency on the obligor whenever the payments under support order are more than 30 days in arrears. Any payments that are not paid for more than 30 days after the oblige has filed the notice, then the oblige may be forced to pay an increased percentage of monthly child support. Additionally, an obligor may be held in contempt of the court and a warrant may be issued for the obligor and the obligor may be arrested if they continue to fail to pay support and are caught by police.
All in all, I have learned that although the AG courts can be painful to deal with, it is the best way to handle child support cases. An agreement between both parents is not enforceable by the courts and can backfire on each parent. Parents should know that if they are not happy with their agreement, they can have the agreement modified with the court so long as it is reasonable to do so, and in the best interest of the child.
