Practice Areas
Child Support
Your children are the most important part of your life, but they are expensive.
Our child support practice includes:
Negotiate & determine initial support based on:
-
your exes' gross income;
-
your exes' contribution to medical/dental/vision insurance; and
-
any other contributing factors
-
Disputing child support fees or arrearages
-
Registering out-of-state child support orders to be used in Texas
-
Enforcing non-payment of child support amounts
​​
These issues can be quite difficult to handle on your own due to the legal complexity and emotionally-charged nature of the proceedings. It’s best to consult with an experienced family law attorney in your area.
Understanding Child Support in Texas
Child support is intended to help provide for a child's financial needs and ensure that both parents contribute to the costs of raising their child. Determining the appropriate amount of support can involve more than simply looking at a parent's paycheck. Texas law provides specific guidelines for calculating child support, while the circumstances of each family may affect the amount ultimately ordered by the Court.
Can Child Support Be Modified?
Child support orders are not necessarily permanent. As circumstances change, a parent may be able to request an increase or decrease in the amount of support.
A modification may be appropriate when there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances or when the statutory requirements for modification based on the passage of time and the difference between the existing obligation and the current guideline amount are satisfied.
Child Support Arrearages
When a parent fails to make required child support payments, unpaid amounts can accumulate as arrears. Child support arrearages can create significant financial and legal consequences, and resolving the amount owed may require reviewing payment histories, prior orders, wage withholding records, and other documentation. A parent who believes the amount of arrears is incorrect may have legal options for disputing the amount.
Enforcing Child Support
A child support order is enforceable even when the parent who owes support does not voluntarily make payments. Depending on the circumstances, enforcement may involve wage withholding and other legal remedies available under Texas law. When a parent consistently fails to pay, it may be necessary to pursue court enforcement to obtain the support that has been ordered.
Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
Child support cases may also involve responsibility for the child's medical, dental, and vision expenses. The cost of providing insurance coverage and the allocation of uninsured medical expenses may need to be addressed in the order. These expenses should be considered when negotiating or litigating the overall financial responsibilities of each parent.
Fergus & Tomanka Can Help
Child support disputes can involve detailed financial information, statutory requirements, changing circumstances, and disagreements about a parent's actual income or ability to earn. Issues can become even more complicated when a parent is self-employed, owns a business, receives irregular compensation, has multiple sources of income, or has significant changes in employment. Properly identifying and presenting the relevant financial information can make an important difference in the outcome.
Fergus & Tomanka can help you navigate the legal and financial issues involved in establishing, modifying, enforcing, or disputing child support. Whether you are seeking appropriate support for your child, facing a request to increase or decrease your obligation, dealing with unpaid support or arrears, or attempting to enforce an existing order, our attorneys can help you understand your rights and options and work toward a resolution that protects your child's best interests.
Call (512) 291-6952 to set up a consultation with one of our attorneys OR simply Make An Appointment on your own!
These issues can be quite difficult to handle on your own due to the legal complexity and emotionally-charged nature of the proceedings. It’s best to consult with an experienced family law attorney in your area.
Child Support
We Will Walk You Through the Steps
Almost every non-custodial parent of a child under 18 owes child support, but it can be hard to actually obtain each month. We can help you withhold earnings from your exes' paycheck each month as well as check to see if your child support amount is the maximum allowed.
​
We will walk you through the legal steps, explaining costs, consequences, and your rights in the child support dispute. We focus on understanding your priorities so that we can advocate for you and your children’s best interests.
​
Child Support in the state of Texas is governed by the Texas Child Support Guidelines as set out in the Texas Family Code. These Guidelines determine how the calculation of child support is determined. It takes into account the payee's gross wages, monthly health insurance payment for the children and how many children the payee has.
​
For one child, support is 20% of the payee's gross wages (minus Texas Guideline deductions) for one child and it builds (or decreases) from there the more children you have. An attorney can help you set the right amount of child support based on the Guidelines.