Child Support

How long do I have to pay child support?

December 26, 2013 | by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Whether you are just now to the realization that you will have to pay child support or whether you have just been ordered, the sinking feeling may be setting in as to the fact that you will be paying this monthly amount for quite some time. The real question is, however, when does your child support obligation end? What if your child moves in with you, what if your child moves out entirely, what if your child gets married before they graduate high school? All questions to be considered when paying monthly child support.

Understand that if nothing out of the ordinary occurs and your child continues to live with the parent receiving the child support, you have a statutory obligation to continue paying your child support. More than likely, you were ordered to pay a certain amount in child support each month due on the first day of each month and every month thereafter. You may have a court order that states the following:

“and a like payment being due and payable on the first day of each month thereafter until the first month following the date of the earliest occurrence of one of the events specified below:

How do I get child support started?

November 4, 2013 | by Guest and Gray Law Firm

You are a parent who has primary possession of the children and you need financial assistance from the other parent but they are not willing to help out by agreement alone. You realize you are going to have to take additional measures to get anything out of them; more specifically, you visit with an attorney and understand that it is going to take a court order.

Regardless of whether your case is a divorce or suit affecting the parent-child relationship, you will need to include a request for child support within your pleadings. This ensures that you have noticed the other parent that you are seeking this in court and it ensures that you can bring this issue up at the hearing. If your case is just beginning, this issue would be addressed at a temporary orders hearing. You and your attorney will put on evidence of the monthly net resources of the other party. How do you do that if you do not know what the other party is making? Your attorney at Guest & Gray will ensure that the party is noticed and ordered to appear with their financial records so that the judge and/or your attorney can calculate the correct amount of child support. However, if the other party ignores the court order and does not bring their financial records, typically the judge will be agitated with this and start asking the party questions on the stand about their financial information.

Once the monthly net is determined, child support is calculated based upon a percentage amount determined by the number of children involved in the suit as well as other factors. For instance, if you have one child child support would be 20% of the obligor parent’s monthly net resources. If the obligor parent has one other child that they are responsible for (remarries or has another child with another person) lowers the percentage down to 17.5% and then gets lower depending upon the number of additional children outside of your case.

I cannot afford our house without my husband’s income. Will he still have to pay the mortgage during the divorce?

October 11, 2013 | by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Many people avoid getting divorces because they cannot afford to do so. They know that they depend upon the other spouse’s income in order to continue paying the bills. You are not alone in wondering how you will be able to afford everything during and after your divorce. You know you cannot stay married and you know you need financial assistance at least with some of the bills.

Fortunately, Texas does allow for temporary spousal support while your divorce case is pending. During initial consults with clients, the question always arises on income, who is going to stay in the marital residence, and if financial assistance is needed. If it is, then clients will complete a financial information sheet for temporary orders hearing purposes which will be filed. This allows the judge to see your income and expenses, your spouse’s income and expenses, and any expenses associated with the child. It is basically a breakdown of your household monthly income and expenses so that the judge can determine whether or not you truly have a need and if your spouse has enough income to make up for the deficit. In most cases, and especially if the spouse has already been doing so, the court will order the spouse to continue paying the bills that they have already been paying after separation and prior to the court date. For instance, if your spouse has already moved out of the home but they have continued to pay the mortgage after moving out, then we would ask the court to maintain that status quo while the case is pending.

Additionally, if you have a child and you are awarded the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child then the other parent will most likely be paying child support. This is additional assistance for you. If it is only one child, it would be 20% of the other parent’s monthly net resources. The percentage goes up with the number of children.

Do I have to wait three years to modify child support? What about custody? How long do I have to wait to modify a final family order?

October 10, 2013 | by Guest and Gray Law Firm

You have a final family order, whether it is an order in suit affecting the parent-child relationship, final decree of divorce, etc., and you would like it modified. You are either the parent receiving child support and you want the amount increased or you are the parent paying child support and you want it decreased. Or, there has been a change that would require the conservatorship or visitation modified. It is not an uncommon question and the Texas Family Code does specify particular deadlines and requirements with respect to filing a modification.

For child support, Texas Family Code Section 156.401 states that final orders can be modified if either (a) there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances for a party or the child after the order was entered; or (b) it has been three years since the order was last entered or modified AND the monthly amount either differs by 20% or $100 from the amount that it should be under the child support guidelines. So, it has been less than three years but something has happened that would require a change in child support then you can seek a modification. For instance, did the parent paying child support get a new job after your orders were rendered and they are now making more money? Or, did the obligor lose their job and they are no longer making any money? Additional instances of material and substantial change in circumstances would also be (a) the obligor parent had another child that they are financially responsible for; (b) health insurance has changed (lost or new premiums); or (c) the children are now living with the obligor parent or another person.

That brings us to modifying orders as to conservatorship and/or possession or access. If you are seeking to modify the parent who has the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child in less than one year from the orders being rendered, Texas Family Code Section 156.102 governs. If you do so, you must attach an affidavit to your pleadings and the affidavit must allege specific facts that the child’s present environment may endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair their emotional development. Not only must these allegations be made, but you also have to prove this. If you do not have this, you will have to wait more than one year to change who has the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence. If you are modifying in more than a year, your burden is a material and substantial change in circumstances of a party or the child AND it must be in the best interest of the child. In fact, best interest of the child is the ultimate burden in every family law case.

What Fathers Need to Know about Child Support

October 8, 2013 | by Guest and Gray Law Firm

You are a father who wants to be a good dad and support his child without breaking the bank and not being able to support yourself. You do need financial resources in order to do this and you will probably pay guideline support. Our firm can help you.

How Much Will I Pay in Child Support?

Some fathers fall into the trap of paying above-guideline child support. That is, they agree to pay more than they are required either in amount of child support or they pay support and in addition to that pay for extracurricular, daycare, etc. Texas Family Code 154.125 provides the chart on child support guidelines and it is as follows:

New Texas Family Laws for 2013

October 1, 2013 | by Guest and Gray Law Firm

New 2013 Texas Family Laws

At Guest and Gray our Forney and Rockwall Family team works to keep our clients informed on changes in the Family Code. Recently, the legislature passed many new laws that affects Texas families. Our family attorney can help you understand how these laws will affect your case, and we offer confidential consultation for all family law cases. Call us today so we can help you.

Miscellaneous Changes

What happens if I fail a drug test in a child custody case?

September 3, 2013 | by Guest and Gray Law Firm

If there is an allegation that either you or the other parent is abusing an illegal controlled substance, then a drug test can be requested. Typically, the testing will occur with Forensic DNA & Drug Testing facility in Dallas and if requested by either party, then the court will order both parties to participate and pay for their respective drug tests. However, sometimes, the court will only order the one party accused of using an illegal substance to take the drug test and order that the requesting party pay for the drug test with the caveat that if the testing party has a positive result, then they must reimburse the requesting party the drug testing fee.

If you fail a drug test, or if the other party fails a drug test, there are consequences in a child custody case. The court could order that the failing party have little to no visitation with the child and if any visitation, then it will be supervised. Sometimes, the judges will ask if there is a family member who could do the supervision of the visits with the child. If there are not, then the extreme form of supervised visits is either Family Court Services if in Dallas County or other court-approved supervision facility. Also, if there is a history of abuse of an illegal controlled substance, then the court could order that you participate in a rehabilitation program before the failing party has any access to the child. In fact, there could be several steps that the court puts in place for the failing party to complete before they have any visitation with the child. Again, most courts will order supervised visitation with the child but it could be very limited to a number of hours per month.

Courts have also started putting injunctions in place to the effect that a party is to not consume an illegal controlled substance within a certain period of time (example 72 hours) before possession or access to the child begins. This is also something that can be requested by either party. Additionally, in final orders, it can be ordered that you submit to random drug testing at any time in the future if requested by the other party and they pay the testing fee.

Tips for a Successful Family Law Mediation

September 3, 2013 | by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Congratulations, you have made it to mediation stage in your family law case. For many, this is the step to final orders in your case. That is, if you have a successful mediation. There are a few things that you and your attorney can do to ensure this is the case for you.

(1) Many mediators send out a mediation packet to the attorneys/parties once the mediation is scheduled. This mediation packet should be taken seriously and completed to your utmost ability. It gives the mediator information about you, the other party, and the issues at hand as well as your stance on those issues. Some mediators go into more depth than others. The more that is addressed right off the bat, the better.

(2) If your case is a divorce with property issues, make sure you have at least a sworn inventory and appraisement from both sides so that you can make sure all of the property is addressed. To be more organized, you could make a spreadsheet of assets and debts, with a column for the ones you would like and the ones you would like for your spouse to have, as well as a column to check off whether or not the asset/debt is addressed in the mediation settlement agreement.

Can the court order me to pay attorney’s fees in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship?

August 30, 2013 | by Guest and Gray Law Firm

The court in your family law case has received a request to order you to pay attorney’s fees for the other party. Is the court allowed to do that? And if they are allowed, what kind of evidence is required to prove the amount? The Dallas Court of Appeals explored this issue in a recent decision and stated that reasonable attorney’s fees may be awarded. The Court also discussed the factors that it considers when calculating attorney’s fees.

When a suit affects the parent-child relationship, courts have the discretion to award attorney’s fees to a party. Suits affecting the parent-child relationship include matters like child support, possession, and conservatorship or custody. Awards of attorney’s fees can be challenged on appeal. The appeals court will analyze the award based on the “abuse of discretion” standard. This lenient standard is difficult to overcome because the appeals court can look at many factors, any or all of which can show that the trial court was not arbitrary. Most of the time, these factors will support the original award or attorney’s fees and the award will be upheld.

Factors to consider in determining the reasonableness of attorney’s fees are: (1) the time and labor required based on the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved and the skill required to perform the legal service properly; (2) the likelihood that the acceptance of the particular employment will keep the lawyer from taking other cases and employment; (3) the fee customarily charged in the local area for similar legal services; (4) the amount of money involved in the case and the results obtained; (5) the time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances; (6) the nature and length of the professional relationship between the client and lawyer; (7) the experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer performing the services; and (8) whether the fee is a set fee or if it is contingent on results obtained or if before the legal services have been rendered there is uncertainty about the ability to collect.

Can the court change or modify a mediated settlement agreement in a family case?

August 30, 2013 | by Guest and Gray Law Firm

When you seek to modify a mediated settlement agreement that is an original determination of parent-child relationship matters, does a trial court have to enter an order that meets the terms of the mediated agreement? The Dallas Court of Appeals considered this issue in a recent decision and found that because modification suits apply a different set of rules than the rules that apply to original agreements about the child-parent relationship, a modification of child support suit may result in a ruling that does not comply with the terms of the agreement produced by mediation between the parties.

A mediated settlement agreement reflects the agreement of the parties about the child-parent relationship, including matters like child support, possession, and conservatorship. Child custody is called conservatorship in Texas. Texas courts and laws put a heavy emphasis on mediation and encourage alternative dispute resolution in a lot of situations. Mediation is supposed to encourage problem-solving and cooperation as well as reduce the financial burden on families and the court system. Many courts actually require mediation before allowing litigation to begin. Because of this emphasis, courts are likely to respect mediated settlement agreements unless a compelling reason exists that indicates that the court should ignore the agreement. Sometimes, statutes provide that required compelling reason.

In this recent case, the parties’ mediated settlement agreement was the original determination of conservatorship, possession, and access to the children. An original determination arises under § 153 of the Texas Family Code. As long as the mediated agreement met the rules of § 153, the court would enforce the agreement as written if a suit was brought seeking enforcement of the agreement. However, one of the parties sought a modification of child support suit. This type of suit is brought under § 156 of the Texas Family Code. This section requires different policy concerns than § 153, namely the need for stability for the child and the necessity of preventing constant litigation in family law cases. Because the policy concerns are different, the law has a different standard the court must use when applying the law. The Texas Family Code’s § 156 legal burden requires the court to determine if there has been a “material and substantial change” in the circumstances of the parties as well as to consider whether the requested modification is in the best interests of the child. So, when there is both a “material and substantial change” in circumstances and the modification sought is in the best interests of the child, the court only has to consider these facts and is not bound to enter an order that strictly complies with the mediated settlement agreement.