Child Support

CHILD SUPPORT ATTORNEY IN TYLER, TX

Your Compassionate Advocates in Family Legal Matters

We represent either side of the dispute whether you are the mother or you are the father in a child support cases. Our attorneys understand that child support can have a dramatic impact on your child as well as your personal and family finances.

Who should pay child support?

In Texas, parents have a responsibility to provide for their child’s financial needs, even if their marriage or relationship has ended. The family courts in Texas generally order the parent without the primary physical custody of the child or children to pay child support and to help provide for their child’s other financial needs. Child support is paid until the child turns eighteen or graduates from high school depending upon which event comes last.

Texas determines child support by using a formula or “calculator.” The court can also take into account other factors. Together, these help establish the amount of support for the child. Things to be considered may include:

• The income of the noncustodial parent and the custodial parent
• Each parent’s ability to pay
• How many children are involved
• The ages of the children
• The needs of the children
• Child care expenses
• Whether the parents pay or receive child support for other children in the household
• Whether there are financial resources to support the children

How much will a parent have to pay for child support?

The court that signs the child support order has some discretion to determine the amount of child support a parent should pay. The amount of child support ordered should always be in the child’s best interest. The legislature has established guidelines to help a court determine child support amounts. The guidelines are presumed to be in a child’s best interest.

The guidelines give the court a percentage to apply to a parent’s net resources. For a parent who has no other children outside the current court proceedings, the percentage to be applied is as follows:

• 20% for 1 child,
• 25% for 2 children,
• 30% for 3 children,
• 35% for 4 children,
• 40% for 5 or more children

What if the Texas Attorney General has sued me for child support?

Our law firm represents both mothers and fathers of children who have been sued by the Texas Attorney General’s Office for child support, medical support, back child support, or paternity. It is important that your rights be explained and protected by an experienced attorney before you appear in front of a child support court.