Arlington, TX Child Support Attorneys

Child Support Lawyers Helping You Set, Enforce, and Modify Support Orders in Arlington, Texas

In Texas, your child support order decides who insures your child, how payments are tracked, what happens when someone falls behind, and how long the duty lasts. Most parents arrive focused on the amount and later discover the other pieces caused the real problems. An Arlington child support attorney can help you get it all right the first time.

At Powell Law Offices, P.C., we provide clear legal advice and driven representation for parents with real concerns about child support. With over 100 5-star reviews, we have made a name for ourselves as devoted family advocates.

Who Can Ask for Child Support in an Arlington, TX Case?

You can ask for support whether or not you were married to the other parent. A grandparent or other non-parent with conservatorship of your child can also ask, and so can the state when a family receives public benefits. Support can be set inside a divorce or in a standalone suit.

If parentage has not already been established, that issue must be resolved before support can be ordered. Parentage may be established through a valid acknowledgment of paternity, a legal presumption, or a court order. Genetic testing may be used in a court case, but it is not required in every case.

If years have passed without an order, you still have options. A court can order retroactive child support for a prior period. Texas presumes reaching back four years before your filing date is reasonable, and a court keeps that authority until the fourth anniversary of your child's 18th birthday.

How Does a Texas Court Set the Child Support Amount?

A court applies a set percentage to the paying parent's monthly net resources, as follows:

• One child: 20 percent
• Two children: 25 percent
• Three children: 30 percent
• Four children: 35 percent
• Five children: 40 percent
• Six or more children: not less than the amount for five children

Net resources are not take-home pay. It includes wages, overtime, tips, bonuses, self-employment income, rental income, and retirement and disability payments, minus the deductions the statute allows.

The percentages apply only up to a capped amount, and a judge can depart from the guideline figure when the evidence supports it. They weigh your child's needs, what each of you can pay, child care costs, and how much time you each have with your child.

Note that prenuptial and postnuptial agreements can address property and spousal support, but they cannot take away your child's right to support or stop a judge from setting it.

What Can Child Support Cover Besides the Monthly Payment?

Medical and dental support are separate duties that come on top of the base amount. A court prioritizes insurance available through a job when the cost is reasonable, which Texas defines as no more than nine percent of the paying parent's annual resources for health coverage and 1.5 percent for dental. If neither of you has access at a reasonable cost, the court can order cash medical support instead.

Costs insurance does not cover are divided as well. A judge allocates uninsured medical and dental expenses, deductibles, and copays between you based on your circumstances. If your support is set as part of a divorce, all of these terms belong in your final decree, written clearly enough to enforce later.

What if the Other Parent Stops Paying Child Support, or Your Situation Changes?

Child support and conservatorship are separate issues in the court's eyes. A court cannot make support depend on whether you allow visits, and the other parent cannot withhold your visitation—known as possession in Texas—because payments are late.

Most orders include wage withholding from the start. When past-due payments reach three months, and the paying parent ignores a repayment schedule, a court or the state can suspend that parent's driver's license, professional license, or recreational licenses. Contempt is another possible consequence and can carry jail time.

You can also seek a change to an existing support order. A modification is available when circumstances have materially and substantially changed. In many cases, you may also qualify if three years have passed and the current guideline amount differs from your order by 20 percent or $100 per month. However, if you previously agreed to an amount outside the guidelines, you generally must show a material and substantial change. A handshake agreement does not count. Until a judge signs a new order, the old one is what they will enforce.

Contact Our Arlington, TX Child Support Lawyers

At Powell Law Offices, P.C., we help you set a support order built on real income, collect what your order already requires, or adjust one that no longer fits your family. Contact our Arlington, Texas child support attorneys at 972-584-9382 to schedule your free consultation. You will not wait days for a call back. We take consultations by phone and video, and we answer around the clock when something urgent comes up with a payment or a hearing.