Updated on August 22, 2022
Child support is a critical element of any divorce involving children, and it is a complicated issue that demands close attention. Understanding the basics as they relate to child support in Texas, as well as consulting with a Killeen child support attorney, can help you move past your divorce with increased confidence—knowing that your children’s best interests are provided for.
The Payor’s Responsibility
If you are the primary custodial parent, it means that your children live primarily with you and spend time with their other parent according to a visitation schedule. As such, you financially provide for your children’s needs and creature comforts on a daily basis, and this is your ongoing contribution to their financial support.
Your child’s other parent, however, has a financial responsibility to continue supporting your shared children, and this obligation is fulfilled via monthly child support payments.
Related: Making a Parenting Plan that Works for You
The Payee’s Responsibility
If you receive child support, it will come in the form of monthly payments in a specific amount. The presumption is that this support will go toward your children’s continued care, but the court does not track how you spend the money.
As the custodial parent, you obviously run a household for the benefit of your children and regularly incur expenses on their behalf. Therefore, you are not obligated to demonstrate that the child support payments go directly toward your children.
Your ex’s child support payments will first be funneled through the Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Registry before being deposited directly in your bank account. The Registry serves as a ledger that records the ongoing status of your child support payments.
The child support process can be complicated. It is important to work closely with a Killeen child support lawyer to make sure that you get access to the funds you need.
Automatic Withdrawal
Your child support payments will likely be withdrawn directly from your ex’s paycheck each month. A Wage Withholding Order will be drafted along with your Divorce Decree, and this order entitles your ex’s employer to withhold money from his or her paycheck for your child support payments.
If your ex changes jobs, it is his or her responsibility to notify both the court and you of the change.
Health Insurance
If your ex pays child support, he or she will also be responsible for providing your children with health insurance post-divorce.
If You Have Child Support Concerns, Consult with an Experienced Killeen Lawyer Today
Child support is critical to your ability to continue providing for your children’s well-being, education, and health.
Attorney Brett Pritchard at the Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard in Killeen, Texas, is committed to helping ensure that your child support arrangements serve you and your children’s best interests. We are on your side; contact us online or call us at (254) 781-4222 for more information today.