Child Support

Question 1

• Duty of Child Support (including when it terminates)

Answer 1

• Each parent has the duty to support a child until the child reaches age 18 and thereafter until the child graduates from high school
• Each parent has the duty to support an adult child who was mentally or physically disabled before turning 18, as long as that disability causes the adult child to require substantial care and personal supervision and they are not capable of supporting themselves
• Obligation will terminate when child: marries, joins army, dies, or disability is removed
• Obligation will not terminae at parent’s death. Amount due will be accelerated and taken out of the dead parent’s estate

Question 2

Order of Child Support

Answer 2

Court may order either or both parents to pay child support

A spendthrift trust can be reached for support payments

Question 3

• Amount of Child Support

Answer 3

Court will follow statutory guidelines - rebuttable presumption that a support order tied to this table is reasonable and in the best interest of the child

# of Children % of obligor's net resources
1. 20%
2. 25%
3 30%
4 35%
5 40%
over 5 Not less than 40%

Question 4

• Factors to consider when determining child support

Answer 4

1. Statutory guidlines
2. the needs of the child (like expensive medicine)
3. the ability of the parents to contribute to support
4. any financial resources available for support of the child
5. the amount of possession and access to the child

Question 5

*Net Resource Cap for Child Support

Answer 5

Net resources caped at $9,200 a month or less

If the obligor’s net resources exceed that amount, the court may order additional support only if the child has special needs and never more than the proven needs of the child

Question 6

*Net resources” when calculating child support

Answer 6

Includes earned income, passive income, and other benefits

Question 7

• Retroactive Child Support

Answer 7

Child support guidelines guide the court in determining the amount of retroactive child support, if any, to be ordered

Limit to up to 4 years preceding the petition for support

Question 8

• Modification of Child Support Order

Answer 8

Court may modify if 1) circumstances have materially and substantially change or 2) 3 years have elapsed since the order was entered or last modified and the amount of support differs from the guidelines by 20% or $100

Court approval required for modification, parents cannot do it themselves

Question 9

• Enforcement of Support Order

Answer 9

1. Mandatory Withholding from earnings for child support
2. Contempt
3. Suspension or nonrenewal of Licenses and Disqualified from State Loans

*obligee can ask court for these

Question 10

*Mandatory Withholding from earnings for child support

Answer 10

A final order for periodic child support must provide for withholding from earnings except where good cause is shown or the parties agree otherwise

If person become delinquent- mandatory withholding will kick in if it did not apply before

If self-employed might be required to give bond or other security

Question 11

*Maximum Withholding

Answer 11

The max withholding is 50% of disposals earnings (take home pay)

Child support withholding has priority over other claims against the obligor’s earnings

Question 12

• Contempt- for not paying child support

Answer 12

After notice and a hearing, a court order for child support *MAY be enforced by contempt - up to 6 months in jail and/ or $500 fine

Defenses: inability to pay and actual support

TX court will only issue a contempt citation for violation of TX order (unless other states decree has been registered though the UIFSA)

Question 13

Suspension or nonrenewal of Licenses and Disqualified from State Loans

Answer 13

Court can order a suspension of licenses (driving, fishing, hunting, professional, business, if the obligor is 3 moths or more behind, has been given an opportunity to make payments under a repayment schedule, and has failed to comply with the repayment schedule

Question 14

• Delinquent Child Support

Answer 14

• Will automatically constitute a final judgment for the amount due and owing
• After hearing, court will enter an order against obligor for the amount determined plus attorney fees, court cost, and 6% interest

Question 15

Statutory Lien on Child Support

Answer 15

A statutory lien will arise by operation of law for all amount of overdue support

The lien attaches to all real property (except homestead) and all personal property that is not exempt from creditors’ claims

Lien will automatically attach to property acquired in the future as well

Can perfect by filing an abstract of lien notice

After lien attaches and proper notice has been given, a hearing is held where court can order a judicial sale of the property

Question 16

Uniform Interstate Family Support Act

Answer 16

provides a moth of enforcement and guidelines for modification of support orders issued in another stater country

enforcement: income withholding order may be mailed directly to obligor’s out of state employer

Question 17

Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders

Answer 17

Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders

Question 18

• Holley Factors

Answer 18

determine “best interests of the child”

• the desires of the children;
• the parental abilities of each individual seeking custody;
• the stability of the home;
• the acts or omissions of the parents which may indicate that the existing parent-child relationship is not a proper one and any excuse for those acts or omissions.

Question 19

*Intentional unemployment and Underemployment

Answer 19

if obligor is intentionally unemployed or underemployed, child support guidelines are what that person could have paid with their skills and earning potential.

Question 20

• Obligation of child support at obligor’s death

Answer 20

Obligation will not terminate at parent’s death. Amount due will be accelerated and taken out of the dead parent’s estate

Question 21

• If unable to pay child support, what should obligor do?

Answer 21

A party who has a child support obligation is required to satiisfy the obligation.

If unable to make child support payments the proper request is a modifcation of child support by
obligor upon a showing that he is unable to make his child support payments, assuming the proper
child support guidelines were followed in the initial order establishing child support.

Question 22

*withhholding for arrearages

Answer 22

Texas law permits a court to order up to an additional 20% (assuming that the overall withholding is not more than 50% of disposable income) or an amount that would eliminate the arrearages in two years or
less, whichever is less, from the obligor’s paycheck to cover the arrearages.

Question 23

• Is there a required time for judge to order child support obligor in arrearages to pay it off?

Answer 23

The Family Code gives judges discretion when deciding how to handle enforcement of a child support arrangement, and therefore allowing seven years to repay the child support arrears, while unusual, is not per se improper if it is more feasible for the arrearages to take that long to pay off.

the law attempts to have arrearages erased in as
short of a time as possible though

• unless withholding for arrearages applies

Question 24

• Is there a requirement for judge to issue findings of fact in child support order?

Answer 24

• if the child support order deviates from guidelines, judge must issue findings of fact as to why that is the case

Question 25

• If the obligor of child support is in arrears but his children are over 18, is he still required to pay child support?

Answer 25

• Yes, even though he no longer owes child support, he still has a duty to pay the arrears.