Child Support Texas

If you do not routinely handle family law cases and you have an attorney friend with the software for calculating child support this might be a good time to ask for a favor. Otherwise, calculate child support the old fashioned way with the formula.  Do not forget to account for other children that the obligor is responsible for when calculating child support. The net resources of a new spouse may not be used in the calculation of child support. Suit for failure to comply with a child support order may be filed at any time during the pendency of the order. An action to enforce temporary orders must be pursued prior to entry of a final order or the claim is waived. If the support obligation issues from another state, the issuing state's statute of limitations applies only if it is longer than that of Texas.

Spousal Maintenance

Texas spousal maintenance (alimony) provisions are relatively weak. They are basically designed to keep the non-income earning spouse from going on the welfare rolls. The Family Code provides as follows:
In a suit for dissolution of a marriage or in a proceeding for maintenance in a court with personal jurisdiction over both former spouses following the dissolution of their marriage by a court that lacked personal jurisdiction over an absent spouse, the court may order maintenance for either spouse only if:

(1)    the spouse from whom maintenance is requested was convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a criminal offense that also constitutes an act of family violence under Title 4 and the offense occurred:
(A)    within two years before the date on which a suit for dissolution of the marriage is filed; or
(B)    while the suit is pending; or
(2)    the duration of the marriage was 10 years or longer, the spouse seeking maintenance lacks sufficient property, including property distributed to the spouse under this code, to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs, as limited by Section 8.054, and the spouse seeking maintenance:
(A)    is unable to support himself or herself through appropriate employment because of an incapacitating physical or mental disability;
(B)    is the custodian of a child who requires substantial care and personal supervision because a physical or mental disability makes it necessary, taking into consideration the needs of the child, that the spouse not be employed outside the home; or
(C)    clearly lacks earning ability in the labor market adequate to provide support for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs, as limited by Section 8.054.

The order for spousal maintenance may not last more than three years. Inability to pay is an affirmative defense that must be pled. Often, the income-earning spouse will voluntarily agree to spousal maintenance rather than a property settlement due to the tax consequences of paying out the alimony. When representing the obligor, consider filing a Motion to Terminate Alimony if you find out that the payee spouse is co-habitating. When representing the obligee, put in the decree "this spousal maintenance shall not be dischargeable in any bankruptcy proceeding." Prior to the Temporary Orders hearing, prepare a document showing the expenses that the client has to be presented as an exhibit. The amount of maintenance is limited to the lesser of $2,500 or 20 percent of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income. The court will set the amount to provide for the minimum reasonable needs of the spouse receiving the maintenance, considering the employment or property received in the divorce or otherwise owned by that spouse.

Requesting a Hearing

If a hearing is going to be necessary, send a letter to the court requesting a setting for a final hearing. If this is required by the local rules, this can be done after the initial petition is filed and given a cause number (rather than waiting until the 60-day waiting period has passed). This may allow the matter to be set on the court's docket as early as possible. Some attorneys do not send the letter until the attorney's bill is paid in full. Always ask the client at the initial intake in divorce, or requests for contempt for non-payments, or in a Suit Affecting the Parent Child Relationship (SAPCR) if he or she has ever received AFDC. If AFDC has been collected by a participant, notify the Attorney General in SAPCR cases the same as you would any other party. The filing of an application of receipt of AFDC with the Texas Department of Human Resources creates a mandatory referral for child support services to the Attorney General and an assignment of the right to collect all child support (including any amount due at the time the application is filed). If you fail to notify the Attorney General, the order will not bind the State. To determine if the Attorney General is involved, look for a notice of assignment on file with the district clerk's office. If there is a request for termination of a parent's rights, the Attorney General will require reimbursement of unpaid support before the Attorney General will agree to the termination. A notice of termination may be placed in the file any time after AFDC is reimbursed.