Family Law AdvisorŪ

1. How is Child Support determined?

The vast majority of child support is paid according to the Child Support Guidelines. According to the Texas Family Code, child support is calculated by multiplying the proper percentage by the paying parent's net income.

Net income is calculated by subtracting only 5 items from the parent's gross income (gross income includes commissions, overtime pay, tips, bonuses, interest, dividends, rental income, royalty income, trust income, retirement income, disability income, etc.):

1. social security taxes,
2. federal income tax (based on the tax rate for a single person claiming one exemption),
3. state income tax (for individuals who reside in states that collect state income tax),
4. union dues, and
5. health insurance premiums for the child(ren).

The proper applicable percentage is calculated by determining how many children the paying parent has an obligation to support. For example, a parent who only has an obligation to support one child will pay 20% of net earnings. A father who has an obligation to support two children with the same mother will pay 25% of net earnings. However, a father who has an obligation to support two children with different mothers will pay 17.5% of net earnings to each child.

There is a cap on child support of $6000 of net earnings. In other words, if the paying parent earns more than $6000 per month (net), the percentage applied will only apply to the first $6000. The only exception to this is if the court finds that the child or children have additional or exceptional "needs" that require additional support.

If a child is disabled and has extraordinary needs, the court may and often will deviate from the guidelines to ensure that the child gets the additional services s/he needs.

2. How long is child support owed?

Child support is owed until the child becomes 18, unless the child has not graduated from high school, in which case the child support continues until the child has graduated from high school, as long as the child is fully enrolled in school. Presently, the law doe s not give judges the power to make a parent support a child beyond that, unless the child is physically or mentally disabled, in which case, support can be continued indefinitely.

Parents can agree that child support is to continue into the college years, or that one parent will be solely responsible for college expenses, and they can include such agreement as part of a decree of divorce. Such an agreement is not enforceable by contempt, but can be enforced as a contract, by either the parent who should be receiving the support or by the child, if that child is over the age of 18.

3. How is child support supposed to be paid?

The courts will almost always order that child support must be paid through either the local registry (in Travis County that is the Domestic Relations Office and in Williamson County that is the District Clerk's Office) or the State Disbursement Unit (the San Antonio office of the State Attorney General). Any payments not made according the court's order are not counted and are generally considered "gifts". This protects both the paying parent and the receiving parent because these registries keep an accounting of what payments have been made and on what date. This way the receiving parent can easily prove that certain payments were not made, or the paying parent can easily prove that such payments were made. The moral of this story: Don't make informal payments to the receiving parent and expect to get credit for it!

Additionally, most child support orders are made with a wage withholding order. That means that the paying parent's employer will be ordered to withhold the child support amount from the paying parent's paycheck and send the child support directly to the registry. This works best when the paying parent is with a large employer for a long period of time, but can work in other situations. Unfortunately, this doesn't work in every case. Parents who are self-employed or who work on commission generally have to be responsible for their own payments.

4. If I am being denied access to my children, do I still have to pay my child support?

Absolutely, yes. Texas law is very clear that even if you are being denied visitation with your children, you are still required to pay your support and you can still be held in contempt for failure to pay. If you are being denied access to your children, you should pursue an enforcement action against the parent denying you access.

5. Am I required to guarantee my child support with a life insurance policy?

You are not required, under Texas law, to guarantee your child support with a life insurance policy. However, many receiving parents will request that you have a policy for that purpose and if you have an existing policy, the courts may require that you name your children as beneficiaries for the term of your child support obligation.

- - Daryl G. Weinman, Attorney at Law