If you’re facing a Texas divorce that involves shared children and your divorcing spouse will be filling the role of the primary custodial parent, you can expect to be responsible for paying child support. Child support is the state’s tool for balancing each parent’s responsibility for supporting their shared children financially in relation to their financial means.
Understanding how child support is calculated can help you determine what your own financial obligation will likely be. Having the skilled legal counsel of an experienced Killeen child support attorney in your corner can play an important role in the outcome of your case.
The Texas Monthly Child Support Calculator
Texas offers a monthly child support calculator that can provide you with a basic understanding of what you will likely pay in child support moving forward. The process involves the following:
Identifying yourself as an employee or as someone who is self-employed
Entering the amount of income you earn and its frequency, such as monthly, semi-monthly, or weekly
Indicating if you provide your children with health insurance, dental insurance, or both – or can provide it – and the associated monthly premium amounts
Indicating if you are a member of a union and sharing the amount you pay in monthly dues
Entering the amount of state income tax that is assessed against your monthly income – as applicable
Entering the number of children who are under the age of 18 addressed by the child support order
Entering the number of children outside the current order whom you are also responsible for supporting
From here, the calculator will assess your net resources, which is the amount of income your child support payments will be based upon, and will apply the percentage assigned to your case. The calculator is set for a cap of $9,200 in monthly earnings, which is the maximum for child support payment calculations unless the court – in its discretion – determines otherwise.
The Basic Percentages
Generally, child support in Texas is based on the number of minor children included in the case and is calculated as a percentage of the obligor’s net income. Consider the following:
If you are supporting one child, you’ll pay 20 percent of your net income.
If you are supporting two children, you’ll pay 25 percent of your net income.
If you are supporting three children, you’ll pay 30 percent of your net income.
If you are supporting four children, you’ll pay 35 percent of your net income.
If you are supporting five children, you’ll pay 40 percent of your net income.
If you are supporting six children or more, you’ll pay no less than 40 percent of your net income.
When the Court Deviates from the Standard Child Support Calculation
Texas courts base every decision that directly affects children on the children’s own best interests, and if there is a demonstrated need that requires a deviation from the child support calculation, they have the discretion to implement it.
Texas courts can consider anything they deem relevant in addition to a range of statutory factors when calculating child support, including all the following:
Each child’s age and needs relative to their developmental stage, including any special needs
Each child’s overall mental and physical health and any extraordinary healthcare expenses
Each parent’s ability to contribute to their financial support
The amount of time each parent spends with the children
The cost of childcare for the children
Any special or extraordinary costs required for the children’s education or childcare
Child Support’s Duration
In Texas, your child support obligation extends until each covered child reaches the age of 18. When a child turns 18 prior to graduating from high school, however, the obligation extends to their graduation date. Under highly specific circumstances, this obligation can be extended.
Medical Coverage
The matter of which parent covers the children’s health insurance is, again, based on the children’s best interests. The court will consider the cost and the quality of the coverage that each parent’s employment provides – as applicable.
Any other sources of availability will also be taken into account, such as coverage that’s offered by any trade organizations or unions that either parent belongs to. The goal is finding the best coverage at the most reasonable price, which tends to be another balancing act.
Children with Considerable Disabilities
In Texas – when a child requires substantial care and supervision because of a mental or physical disability and will not be capable of self-support prior to turning 18 – indefinite child support can be sought.
In such circumstances, your child support obligation will have no end date. The parent who has physical custody or guardianship of the adult child has legal standing to pursue indefinite child support.
When You Divide Parenting Time Equally
If you and your ex have a 50/50 child custody arrangement, the child support calculation will hinge on each of your incomes and any extenuating circumstances that may apply.
The goal is balancing each parent’s financial contributions while supporting similar living standards in both households. Because the well-being of the children is paramount, Texas courts take a range of factors into careful consideration when determining child support in split custody cases.
Scrutinizing Each Parent’s Income
To begin, Texas courts carefully scrutinize each parent’s income in terms of all the following:
Salary or wages
Commissions
Bonuses
Additional income sources
Ensuring a balanced financial support system for the children in a 50/50 split generally requires that a parent who earns considerably more pay child support to the other.
The Court’s Balancing Act
In split custody cases, Texas courts carefully consider each of the following in relation to one another:
Each parent’s income, which establishes their ability to contribute, and any additional assets or financial resources that either parent has
Each child’s needs, including the basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter – along with their needs in relation to medical care and education
Any expenses that the parents share, such as out-of-pocket medical costs, extracurricular activities, and childcare, in relation to equitable distribution
Any legally binding prenuptial or postnuptial agreements that address child support – as long as the terms meet or exceed the state’s standards
Any other relevant factors, such as the standard of living the couple established during their marriage and the standard of living each parent can provide post-divorce
Child Support Can Only Be Modified via the Court
If either parent’s financial circumstances or any of the children’s needs change substantially, a child support modification may be in order. It’s important to understand, however, that your current child support obligation is legally binding until it’s modified by the court.
Couples who make deals between themselves without making it official through the court can run into trouble. For example, if you and your ex decrease your obligation by agreement between yourselves, there is no guarantee that they won’t come back and accuse you of being behind in your payments, and the court will have no choice but to acknowledge their assertion.
If you or your ex has experienced a substantial change in your income or if your children’s needs have changed substantially, you can seek a modification through the court.
Parenting Time Can’t Be Withheld in Response to Missing Child Support
If you are unable to keep up with your child support obligation, it’s time to consult with a skilled Texas child support lawyer – you may qualify for a modification. Your children’s other parent, however, does not have the right to withhold any parenting time from you in response.
Both parenting time and child support are designed to support your children’s best interests, and when one is withheld in response to a problem with the other, the children are hurt in two separate ways – supporting the old adage that two wrongs don’t make a right.
Failure to pay child support can lead to significant consequences that include all the following:
Wage garnishment
Suspension of your driver’s license, professional license, or both
Suspension of your passport
Loss of your federal income tax refund
Contempt of court charges, which can lead to serious fines and even jail time
Texas Courts Don’t Require Recipients of Child Support to Detail Their Spending
Texas courts don’t require parents who receive child support to detail what they spend it on. This is intended to support the broader purpose of child support.
The Children’s Needs
Every parent knows that children have immense needs that are difficult to accurately quantify. Child support is designed to cover children’s basic needs, including their food, clothing, and shelter, as well as their education and health care. Texas courts focus on children’s overall well-being and financial security without micromanaging how child support is spent.
The Flexibility to Address Evolving Needs
Children aren’t static expenses. Instead, their needs are constantly evolving, and requiring careful reporting regarding spending interferes with the flexibility parents need to address these changing needs. Further, the accounting process would almost certainly lead to ongoing administrative challenges in response to specific costs.
The Presumption that Parents Support Their Children’s Best Interests
Texas courts begin with the presumption that parents know what’s best for their children and that they focus on their best interests as a matter of course. Trust is foundational to family law in Texas, and overly zealous requirements regarding how child support is spent doesn’t align with this approach.
The Promotion of Respectful Co-Parenting
Texas courts promote effective co-parenting, which includes cooperating with one another and treating each other with respect. The goal is focusing on supporting the children, rather than tracking where every penny of child support goes. This extends to open communication, which is distinct from a purely financial transaction that must be carefully assessed.
Privacy and Autonomy
Texas courts respect each parent’s right to privacy and autonomy when it comes to raising their children and managing their households – as long as they remain on the right side of the law in the process. Forcing parents to provide a detailed accounting of their spending would infringe on their right to make their own decisions, which is a pillar of personal autonomy.
Reduction in the Administrative Burden
If a detailed accounting of spending was required in relation to child support, it would impose an immense administrative burden on the recipient, the payor, and the court that wouldn’t further the children’s best interests or serve any of the involved parties well.
Appropriate Financial Support
The overall goal of child support in Texas is ensuring that the children’s financial needs are met in relation to each parent’s ability to contribute. Once this is established via the child support calculation system, the court’s role is exhausted. At this point, it is each parent’s right and responsibility to parent their children as they see fit.
If you have questions or concerns about your child support obligation or think you may be eligible for a child support modification, it’s time to consult with a seasoned Killeen child support attorney.
Reach Out to an Experienced Killeen Child Support Attorney Today
Child support is an important divorce term, and your obligation can evolve over time – in response to a wide range of factors. Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard – proudly serving Killeen, Texas, for more than 20 years – is an accomplished child support attorney who has the experience to guide your case toward an advantageous resolution.
Our dedicated legal team will leave no stone unturned in our focused efforts to help, so please don’t put off reaching out and contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 to schedule your free consultation and learn more about what we can do for you today.