Texas Child Support Legal Questions

You and the mother can enter into a mediated settlement agreement to ensure that no child support becomes part of the bargained for agreement when modifying the prior order to change custody.  Also, take into consideration as to what the minor child wants and the reasons behind it as he/she is one year away from becoming an adult.... Read More

Your question is a little confusing.  It sounds to me like you say your wife has been receiving child support from you since 2012.  So I am assuming that in 2012, you and she were not married, but had a child together.  At some point thereafter, you got married, but no one notified the OAG or SDU.  An order for you to pay child support automatically terminates when the payor marries the payee.  Tex. Fam. Code 154.006(b).Since you say you need to file for divorce, I assume that you and she are still married, but have been separated since 2019.  If so, you need to file a motion to terminate withholding and attach a copy of your marriage certificate proving the date on which you were married.  It is a math question whether all of the support you paid through the OAG, including any tax refunds, exceeds the total amount of child support you owed from the date the order was entered through the date of your marriage.You might be able to argue that amounts you paid her other than through the OAG, via Zelle or PayPal, also ought to be credited to any past due child support you owe her for the time before your marriage.  The burden will be on you to show that those payments were specifically for child support, and not for another purpose.  ... Read More

You should check your child support order to see if it already includes a name change. If you were not married to the mother when the child was born, you would have had a paternity suit to prove paternity. Once paternity is established in such a situation, the order usually includes a name change. If there is no name change in the order, you can petition the court for a name change. In Texas, most courts will grant a name change to the father's name.... Read More

I am not sure if you mean that you have been denied possession and access to your child, or if your parental rights were terminated by a court order.  A parent can be ordered to pay child support yet denied possession of or access to the child if the court finds it is in the child's best interest. My suggestion is you look up the case on the court's electronic file online. Most counties have electronic access. If that is not the case, a call or trip to the court clerk may help you out. At this point, I think more detailed information will help you and an attorney.   ... Read More

If you are going through the Attorney General, they will have the court order a DNA test on the presumed father. If he is indeed the father, it doesn't matter whether he signed the birth certificate, he will be required to pay child support and the court will most likely order the birth certificate amended to reflect the kid's paternity.As far as your personal life goes and him bringing up bad things about you, gather as much evidence as you have to the contrary. Unless you are engaging in criminal conduct, it is typically difficult for a father to gain full custody of an infant in Texas.... Read More

The Attorney General of Texas has a form you and your wife can complete that indicates direct payments of child support. This is the link for the form: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/files/child-support/forms/direct-payment.pdf Fill out the form and send it in as indicated. This will allow the Attorney General to correct the child support amount due.... Read More

The biological father could voluntarily terminate his rights and your husband could adopt your child and her name could be changed in the adoption. Do you know if the biological father would do so voluntarily? If not, you could still ask the court to terminate his rights without his consent. You are likely to be succesful if your husband wants to adopt your daughter.... Read More

Some courts will not allow your ex to terminate his parental rights. Does he want to terminate his rights so he doesn't have to pay child support? Is there another man who will adopt your child? Has there been CPS involvement? Those are some questions that may be asked if he tries to voluntarily terminate his parental rights. It's not impossible, but I have seen situations where the judge would not allow a parent to voluntarily terminate rights. Even in CPS cases, the courts often try to allow a parent to maintain parental rights even if they have only supervised visits. Whethr he can termiante his rights will depend on the court you're in and the reasons why he wants to terminate his rights.... Read More

If you have a possession schedule in the court order that orders you to pay child support, you absolutely have a right to see your daughter as scheduled even during Covid 19. The Supreme Court of Texas made it clear that parents are not to use the pandemic as an excuse to keep the other parent from seeing their children. Unless the mother forgives the arrears, you will have to pay them in Texas. Maybe you read something from some other state, but the Attorney General of Texas is keeping track of the child support you pay and if you get behind, interest will accrue and you have to pay that too.  You are not legally required to buy things for your daughter unless the court order specifically requires that you pay for something in particular like private schoo, day care, specific extra-curricular activities or something like that. In a standard order, you are simply required to pay child support every month. You can enforce your rights to your possession time by filing an enforcement for possession and access. ... Read More

Depending on whether he has children at home, the child support amount for the other child will be a lower percentage based on his income. The original child support will remain the same, so the $500 will not change (unless the mom asks for a modification. In that case the $500 could go up or down depending on your husband's income.)... Read More

Is there already a court order adjudicating your son as the father? If so, he would need to file a modification and serve the mother and the biological father. If not, he would file an original suit affecting the parent-child relationship and serve the mother and biological father and seek a court order excluding him as the father and naming the other man as the father.... Read More

I do not think the Judge will think it is in the child's best interest for the biological father's parental rights to be terminated in the circumstances you describe. A person "signing over his rights" is not effective unless the Court follows that with an order terminating the parental rights of the father.  In other words, it takes a court order to terminate the parent-child relationship.  One cannot simply declare oneself "not it." The Judge works for the State and the State wants the biological parent, who has a legal obligation to financially support the child, to be ordered to pay child support and provide health insurance and dental insurance for the child. Sounds like the father is in a good position to do that now. So that is probably what you should request if you want to counter a move by the father to have his own rights terminated. If you are requesting a termation of the biological father's rights and also have a step-parent adoption filed, the court is more likely to approve the termination, but also approve the adoption by your husband at the same time.  There are, of course, requirements you must meet before a step-parent adoption may be approved.  ... Read More

Michigan may be able to try to collect child support from you for periods prior to the adoption when your sister had the child.  If there was ever an order for you to pay child support, Michigan may be trying to collect on the old, unpaid obligation plus interest.  You should ask your question of a Michigan attorney because that attorney will know the Michigan child support laws and be able to advise you on those laws.  The attorneys who answer Texas questions are usually only licensed to practice in the State of Texas. You may want to confirm that the termination was finalized.  If your sister has custody but the termination was not finalized, the state most certainly will try to get one or both parents to pay support.... Read More

To change your child support you must file a motion to modify--seeking a change in the parent with the right to designate the primary residence of the child.  This motion should be filed in the same court that issued the order in which the divorce or suit affecting the parent-child relationship was filed.... Read More

It is possible that the Office of the Attorney General shows that you owe a large amount of money to your child's father.  I recommend getting a copy of the financial transaction record for your case from the Office of Attorney General's office or website.  After that you may want to enlist the help of the child's father if he will agree that you do not owe him support.  There is something called an affidavit of direct payment that, if true, the OAG may accept and wipe out some or all of the child support arrearage.  If you and the father have been living together the full time then you may be able to get a credit for that time.  There may be a court order somewhere that orders you to pay support and provide health insurance or pay medical support.  Finding out what is ordered is the starting place.  Then you need to try to get the orders modified if they order you to pay support.  You do not need legal aid to help you with this. You should be able to handle this yourself.  Legal aid probably would not take on a case to help you eliminate an obligation to pay child support.  That is not part of their mission.... Read More

It appears that your question is whether you must file for divorce to get child support. If you are separated from your spouse and you have the child or children, you could get child support. You should contact the attorney general online and fill out the form to get your case started. You could also hire an attorney so that your case moves forward more quickly.... Read More

Your daughter should go to the attorney general in her state and file for child support. If the father also lives in Louisiana, the case would move forward in Louisiana. If the father lives in another state, the case will move forward in that state. Your daughter should be in contact with the court in the other state and request to appear by phone for any hearings. This process may take a long time. If your daughter hires a private attorney, her case could move forward more quickly.... Read More

When you cash out your 401(k) taxes will be  withheld. Then when you file a tax return, if you are due a refund because you owe less than what was withheld, the child support office will intercept your tax refund and pay it to the obligee. I don't know if the OAG will intercept money before you receive it fro the administrator of the retirement account. ... Read More

In Texas, only your husband's income is considered for child support purposes. Even afer you get married, your income will not be garnished for his child support obligation. However, it is possible for him to get in a situation where the state may garnish his bank accounts so you may want to keep your income in an account that does not have his name on it.... Read More

If he is at least one month behind, you can ask the Texas Attorney General's office to file for enforcement.  Go to  https://childsupport.oag.state.tx.us/wps/portal/CSIMobile/MobileCSIHome/!ut/p/a1/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfGjzOJ9_H1MDN1NjHwsPA1NDRwDfILNnD18DQ0MDfULsh0VAXHbQ8M!/  and click on the button to "Request Services."    The AG is slower than a private attorney, but they do not charge for their services.... Read More

You could file a Motion to Modify the child support based on your job change.  The Office of Attorney General may be willing to do that for you, so try them first.  If they will not help, then you may need to hire an attorney to represent you.  In the meantime, you need to continue to pay at the rate ordered.  If it has only been a few months since the date of the order, you may not be able to get the support modified so soon after the order. ... Read More