Child support

Family Law · Custody

A percentage of net resources, with more moving parts than that suggests.

Texas guideline support applies a percentage to the paying parent's monthly net resources — commonly 20% for one child, 25% for two, and rising with additional children, adjusted where a parent supports children in more than one household. The guidelines apply up to a statutory cap on net resources, which is adjusted periodically; above that ceiling, support is set on the proven needs of the child rather than by formula.

Net resources is a defined term, not take-home pay

It includes wages, self-employment income, commissions, bonuses, overtime, rental income, interest, dividends, severance, retirement and unemployment benefits — then subtracts social security or income tax computed on a single-person basis, union dues, and the cost of the children's health and dental insurance. Business owners produce the most argument here, because personal expenses run through a company are routinely added back.

Medical and dental support are separate obligations

On top of the base figure, an order allocates who carries health and dental insurance for the child and how uninsured expenses are split — co-pays, prescriptions, orthodontics, therapy and everything else the insurance does not cover. These are frequently the source of later disputes because nobody defined a deadline for presenting receipts or reimbursing them.

Modification

• Available when circumstances have materially and substantially changed, or generally where three years have passed and the guideline amount would differ meaningfully from the current order.
• Job loss, a significant raise, a change in the possession schedule, or a change in the child's medical needs are the usual triggers. Remarriage does not by itself change the obligation, though new children a parent is legally responsible for can affect the calculation.
• Support does not adjust itself. Until a modified order is signed, the old amount continues to accrue — which is why a handshake arrangement after a layoff produces an arrears judgment later.

Enforcement

The tools are real and they are used:

• Wage garnishment through an income withholding order sent directly to the employer.
• Suspension of a driver licence, and of professional and occupational licences.
• Liens on bank accounts, property and settlement proceeds.
• Interception of federal tax refunds and lottery winnings, and passport denial.
• Contempt proceedings, including jail time in serious and repeated cases.

Arrears accrue interest and generally cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. If you are owed support, these tools work; if you are behind, there are answers — but they involve going to court rather than waiting for it to be noticed.

Common questions