ADVANTAGES OF DIVORCE MEDIATION A courtroom or a judge’s chambers can be an intimidating place, which can add stress to an already tense divorce. The role of the judge is to make decisions and give orders. Conversely, mediation occurs in a more comfortable setting, typically a conference room or lawyer’s office, and often with refreshments…
Texas Child Support 101: What is Considered Net Income? To calculate current child support, courts must determine the amount of the obligor’s income available for support (“net resources”) and apply the child-support guidelines to the obligor’s net resources. Child Support The purpose of child support is to help a custodial parent maintain an adequate standard…
FACTORS IN DETERMINING CUSTODY IN TEXAS When a couple is going through a divorce or separation, the court will need to determine some sort of child custody arrangement for the children involved. When determining custody, Texas uses a standard that prioritizes the best interests of the child. There are many factors that play into the…
HOW DO TEXAS COURTS DIVIDE PROPERTY/ASSETS IN A DIVORCE? Texas is one of the few unique community property states. Community property means any property acquired in the marriage by a spouse unless otherwise classified as separate property. The exception to this is property acquired by gift, devise or descent. In Texas, the presumption is everything…
WHEN CAN A CHILD SUPPORT ORDER BE MODIFIED IN TEXAS? A child support order may be modified under two broad conditions. Specifically, the child support order may be modified if: A child support order is more than three years old and the amount of the monthly child support calculated using the statutory child support guidelines…
Child Support Enforcement in Texas When a child support order is issued through a divorce decree, it is registered with the Office of the Attorney General, (OAG), which is the agency responsible for enforcing collection measures for past-due child support. If the non-custodial parent is self-employed or unemployed and failing to pay child support, the…
WHAT ARE THE TEXAS CHILD SUPPORT STATUTORY GUIDELINES Under the guidelines, a parent will pay the following percentage of their “net” monthly resources to the custodial parent: • 20% of net income to support one child • 25% of net income to support two children • 30% of net income to support three children •…
WHAT EXACTLY DOES CHILD SUPPORT COVER AND NOT COVER It is an all-too-common complaint by the parent paying child support that the other parent “spends the money on him/herself”. Many paying parents want to put restrictions on what child support can be spent on, to prevent the other parent from personally using the money….
