Updated by Kristina Otterstrom , Attorney. In Texas, physical custody— meaning, the amount of time a parent spends with a child—determines who will make child support payments. Although a court could order either or both parents to support a child, in most cases the " noncustodial parent," the parent with the least amount of time with the child or children , pays child support.
The parent who pays support is referred to as the "obligor. The payment amount is based on a percentage of the noncustodial parent's income. You can estimate how much your child support payments will be by using Texas' child support guidelines , which are simply a fee schedule.
While parents are free to pay more than the guideline amount, they can't agree between themselves to pay less. In any event, a court must approve the payments. Also, there are circumstances where the result given by the guidelines would be unfair to a parent or the child.
In those cases, a court will review a set of factors and may adjust the amount of support up or down. Just because one parent tends to pay child support, that doesn't mean that the other parent is off the hook for the costs of raising a child. Instead, the law assumes that the custodial parent spends the money directly on the child.
In other words, the custodial parent automatically pays child support through the daily cost of raising the child.
Calculating the amount of child support from the guidelines is a straightforward process, once you know the non-custodial parent's net monthly income.
To determine net monthly income, you first take all available income and then make specific deductions, explained below. For child support purposes, income includes all wages, salary, commissions, military pay , tips, overtime, and bonuses.
Income also includes gifts, prizes, and alimony, among other things. If a parent collects income from a property, then add in the net rental income as well. Additionally, a court may assign an income value to assets that do not currently produce income, like a second house or car, if it's appropriate to do so.
For example, a parent may not have a job but could have received property in an inheritance. In cases like this, if the asset—say a vacation home bequeathed from grandma's will—can be liquidated sold , then a court will consider its market value as part of income. Likewise, in situations where a parent is purposefully unemployed or underemployed to avoid making support payments , then a court can impute attribute income to that parent based on what he or she should be earning.
The resulting figure is the parent's annual net income. Divide the net income by 12 to establish monthly net income. Learn more about the specifics of the Texas child support laws and guidelines below. However, as further discussed below, if the child is deemed to be disabled by the court physically or mentally , then the child may receive support indefinitely.
Guidelines are applied based on Net Monthly Income calculation of net monthly income is discussed below. However, there is a limit on the amount of child support that can be awarded. The court will limit the amount over guidelines to the proven needs of the child. In determining gross income, the court will calculate net resources. The court will then deduct the following: social security taxes; federal income tax; state income tax; union dues; health insurance for the child.
The court may determine that Guidelines are unjust or inappropriate and may deviate. According to Texas child support laws the court can basically consider anything that is relevant including a number of statutory factors.
For example, the court can consider: the age and needs of the child, the ability of the parents to contribute to supporting the child, the amount of time and possession of and access to a child, financial resources available to support the child, child care expenses, special or extraordinary education, health care or other expenses of the child.
The court will look a numerous factors in considering who shall bear the cost of health insurance for the child. If an obligor has not been paying child support, the court can order retroactive child support to be paid to the obligee. Figuring out who makes decisions for the child, where the child will live and go to school, and when he or she will see each parent can be more emotional and difficult than reaching agreement on child support.
We see parents for child support , custody , and parenting plan mediation in Colleyville, Texas between Dallas and Fort Worth or through tele-mediation over Zoom for Texas residents anywhere in the state, United States, or the world. Yes, really! Search form Search. How do I calculate my child support payment in Texas? Calculate Average Net Monthly Resources If you want to make a stab at calculating the amount of guideline child support in Texas yourself, you will need to calculate the paying parent's average net monthly resources.
Include the following income in your annual gross income: One hundred percent of all wage and salary income and other compensation for personal services including commissions, overtime pay, tips, and bonuses ; Interest, dividends, and royalty income; Self-employment income; Net rental income rent after deducting operating expenses and mortgage payments, but not including noncash items such as depreciation ; and All other income actually being received, including severance pay, retirement pay, pensions, trust income, annuities, capital gains, social security benefits, unemployment benefits, disability and workers' compensation benefits, interest income from notes regardless of the source, gifts and prizes, spousal maintenance, child support, and alimony.
Do not include in your gross income: Return of principal or capital on a note not included in net resources; Accounts receivable; Benefits paid through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families TANF ; Payments for foster care; or Net resources of a new spouse. Do the division to get your average monthly gross income then subtract: Divide the annual gross income you get by 12 to give you average monthly gross income, then subtract the following from the average monthly income to give you average net monthly resources: Social security tax and Federal income taxes paid for a single person these taxes based one personal deduction and the standard deduction are figured for you for both salaried and self employed persons in the Texas Attorney General's Tax Charts ; State income taxes; Union dues; Child's health insurance cost or cash medical support and for new cases filed after September 1, also include child's dental insurance cost ; and Non-discretionary retirement contributions if the noncustodial parent does not pay social security taxes.
What happens to the amount of child support I owe if I have a duty to support other children too? What factors can a judge consider to set the child support amount above or below the guideline amount? The judge is not allowed to consider these factors: A history of voluntary payment above the guidelines amount; The sex of the paying spouse, the recipient spouse, or the child; or The marital status of the child's parents.
Click here for answers about medical and dental support, how to modify child support, what happens if someone stops paying, and other questions. Professional divorce mediator Stacey H. Langenbahn, Esq. Schedule your free online consultation today.
0コメント