Texas Child Support Legal Questions

The judge would probably not approve this arrangement.  The obligation to pay child support ends with the adoption.   As an alternative, you could agree that the arrears are a certain balance and that he pays $X per month for Y months.   Arrears are still owed after an adoption.  Check with your local county law library for the specific language to confirm the arrears, reduce it to a judgment, and set out an agreed monthly payment to pay it off.  ... Read Answer

You will want to get a paternity test before you agree to anythng.  If you are the biological father and there is no father in a court order and no father listed on the birth certificate, the mother may pursue the child support even this long after the child was born.  If mom was married at the time she had the child, then that husband is the presumed father of the child, and different time limits are involved.  An attorney could help you understand your rights and options in this situation.   It is fair to bring up that the mother has denied you an opportunity to know your child and should not be rewarded with back pay.  Especially if she knew where you were the whole time.  That may not be sufficient to prevent the court from ordering that you pay child support to mom until the daughter is age 18 and graduated from high school, whichever occurs last.  She has the right to seek retroactive child support.  There is a presumption in the law that four years of retroactive support is the maximum that may be ordered, but the court does not have to stick to that.  They will order a lump sum that is the total of the prior years' support added up and then order you to make installment payments toward the arrearage until it is paid off.  That arrearage will bear interest at the rate of six percent per year.  So, as you see, having an attorney by your side is very important.  ... Read Answer

Your first step would be requesting a paternity test to determine if you are the biological dad. If you are, then the court will order that you pay child support to the mom based on your income. This is true whether or not you wish to ignore the child.  You may also be ordered to provide health insurance for the child or to pay the mother for the cost of health insurance she provides.   Courts will terminate a parent's rights to a child if the court determines that is in the child's best interest. The courts do not normally determine it is in the child's best interest to terminate the rights of a parent because having two parents supporting a child makes it more likely that  the child will not require state aid to survive, than if only mom has to support the child.  In addition the court does not want to create a situation where the mother needs to seek state aid in order to survive as a single parnt, which is likely to happen if your rights were terminated.   The short answer is that most courts are not going to terminate your rights unless the mother agrees and even then, the courts usually prefer to have a new parent being established-- a step-parent adopting the child-- in order for the termination of the biological dad to be approved.  ... Read Answer

You would have to hire an attorney to file into the case on your behalf. Your attorney could have the father served through a private process server who doesn't give up until the person is served. Your attorney could also subpoena the father's employer and bank records to get income information and make sure child support is set correctly.... Read Answer

I am sorry that you aren't able to see the children.  If you are ordered to pay child support and want to modify the support you will need to file a suit in the same court that ordered the support.  The court will not eliminate the child support obligation for you because seeing the children and supporting the children are not linked under Texas law.  In other words, you may be ordered to pay child support for children you never see.  Likewise you may exercise possession orders and see children even if you fall behind on paying child support.  ... Read Answer

If there is a court order for the father to have possession of or visits with the children, then you should follow what the order says you must do.  There is no legal tie between the obligation to pay child support and the right to possession of one's children.  If there is no court order, then it is within your discretion to continue any verbal agreement you made with the father for him to see the kids.... Read Answer

You cannot serve the petition filed by the attorney general. However, you can file a cross-petition and have that served on the opposing party. Your could also serve the other party with a notice of hearing with proof that it was sent. If the other party doesn't show up and the cour finds that the party was properly served and notified of the hearing, you may be able to get a default order against the other party.... Read Answer

Yes, you can file for child support, but if there is current order saying the father has custody, that order need to be changed. You could either give notice to the attorney general of a change in the residence of the child and let them know you have custody or you could hire an attorney who would file a modification for you. If you notify the attorney general, there's not way to know how long they will take to file a modification. If you hire your own attorney, you know the case will move forward at a reasonable time.... Read Answer

You are obligated to pay child support under the guidelines in the Texas Family Code. You are also required to provide medical insurance for the child. If you do not set up child support through the state, you may owe arrears. If you have been sending the mother money, you should keep a record of what you have sent. You also have a right to access and possession of the child. You have a right to spend time with the child as well as call or video chat with the child.... Read Answer

Sometimes state agencies are really difficult to work with and they don't really follow up on a case and things are done automatically, like garnishing and stuff. Please contact a Texas based attorney for specific guidance. However, if you are reimbursing her make sure to keep records and confirmation of receipts. Feel free to contact my office and speak with a case manager at 877-866-8665 or email help@smsattorneys.com to go over your options. Licensed in New York and New Jersey.... Read Answer

Hey Thomas, if your ex-has waived the child support in the past, she is saying the child needs were being met at that time. You should retain counsel and contest it, otherwise some judges are just, you know, will go ahead and grant $xx, xxx arrears. We can certainly help you evaluate your options. Feel free to give us a call or text for a free consultation. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Support Lawyer in Texas.... Read Answer

I feel for you man. Do you still have a copy of the divorce judgment from 15 years ago? I think she must have placed the child support as part of the court order. Otherwise, child support usually starts when its first entered in court. You will need to hire a lawyer to evaluate your case. We can certainly help you evaluate your options. Feel free to give us a call or text for a free consultation. But we will need to review the current mail and old divorce. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Support Lawyer in Texas.... Read Answer

I am really sorry for what you went through. This is not only just a problem in Texas, its in almost every state. Women are favored in court and fathers are left to find a good lawyer that can fight tooth and nail for the client. It's never to late to be a father, you can still spend time with them now and make up for the lost time. We can certainly help you evaluate your options. But like you said, they are all grown now, otherwise, we would be happy to evaluate your options and help you. We can't undo what has happened since kids are adults now? Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Support Lawyer in Texas.... Read Answer

Hey Hope, It is very common for parents to use joint custody to claim for children every other year. The court finds this as a cooperative way for parents to gain the benefit of the children and working together. If he decides to go to court to get permission to do that, you will have to comply, so might as well agree without court litigation unless you really don't want him to claim children. We can certainly help you evaluate your options. Feel free to give us a call or text for a free consultation. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Support Lawyer in Texas.... Read Answer

It is very common for parents to use joint custody to claim for children every other year. The court finds this as a cooperative way for parents to gain the benefit of the children and working together. If he decides to go to court to get permission to do that, you will have to comply, so might as well agree without court litigation unless you really don't want him to claim children. We can certainly help you evaluate your options. Feel free to give us a call or text for a free consultation. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Support Lawyer in Texas.... Read Answer

The first thing you need to do is find out how much you owe in child support, and the second thing is how do you know you have a warrant out for your arrest? From where? Please keep in mind that not all lawyers are same. Therefore be very cautious as to which attorney or law firm you chose to work with. We are based in New York City but my network of SMS ATTORNEYS does travel out of state for complex cases and at client request. If you would like to retain our services while on a limited budget, do let us know and we will try to do our best to offer payment plan option. Feel free to give us a call for a free consultation. Ahsan Syed answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship with SMS ATTORNEYS without a signed retainer. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Support Lawyer in Texas.... Read Answer

Okay, to me it sounds like your attorney wanted the case to be over which is why the situation happens the way it happened. Normally there are 30 days to appeal the decision. But you will need to review the court order to see it. However, There may be a possibility to modify the support order because the decision was not yours and it was your lawyer that made the decision. I would personally sue the lawyer as well if he does not overturn the decision. But that is my personal opinion about the lawyer you had. I mean come on, if you don't want to work on the case, just say I don;t want to work on the case and not going to refund the balance of unused funds. But instead, many attorneys use this method to get the case done with. Anyhow, feel free to contact my office if you would like to work with us. But you should first try to contact your attorney for an explanation and request to redo his decision. Please keep in mind that not all lawyers are the same, therefore be very cautious as to which attorney or law firm you chose to work with. We are based in New York but my network of SMS ATTORNEYS does travel out of state for clients and we might have a Child Support lawyer available in Texas. Feel free to give us a call for a free consultation. If you're facing financial hardship, one option may be to speak with the court clerk about a court-appointed lawyer, known as a Pro Bono, or free lawyer. If you would like to retain our services while on a limited budget, do let us know and we will try to do our best to offer payment plans options. Ahsan Syed answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship with SMS ATTORNEYS without a signed retainer. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Support Lawyer in Texas.... Read Answer

Service is the process and proof that you have been notified of a hearing. So, a simple waiver of service, means you accept the notification and no deputy sheriff or process server will serve you. It does not affect your later rights at the hearing. However, carefully review the acceptance of service form. Without knowing the full details of the case we cannot properly advise you of your situation. It is likely that Child Support office has failed to contact/locate the child father and asking you to waive child support and finish the case. It can mean many things, it would be best for you to obtain the copy of the order and have an attorney review it. Also, there may be other options available for you which I can not be sure about without knowing the details of the case. So you would have to work with a lawyer. Please keep in mind that not all lawyers are the same, therefore be very cautious as to which attorney or law firm you chose to work with. We are based in New York but my network of SMS ATTORNEYS does travel out of state for clients and we might have a Child Support lawyer available in Texas. Feel free to give us a call for a free consultation. If you're facing financial hardship, one option may be to speak with the court clerk about a court-appointed lawyer, known as a Pro Bono, or free lawyer. If you would like to retain our services while on a limited budget, do let us know and we will try to do our best to offer payment plans options. Ahsan Syed answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship with SMS ATTORNEYS without a signed retainer. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Support Lawyer in Texas.... Read Answer