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Changes in expenses can call for changes in child support

Child support is one of those subjects that can be highly tedious for parties to discuss during a divorce. No matter what position you are in, whether you are the party paying child support or the party receiving child support, you likely hold the role that the Child Support payments in place for your case are not quite what you would want them to be. Either you would wish the amounts to be more money if you are the parent primarily responsible for caring for your child, or you would want the charges to be less money if you are responsible for making child support payments. Either way, you are probably not happy with the result of your divorce or child custody case when it comes to child support.

Before we go any further, I will weigh in on the side of parents who are responsible for paying child support. You may be the parent who primarily cares for your child and thus receives child support payments each month. You may have had experiences with your child’s other parent in which they were not always happy beyond belief to pay you child support. This may have, understandably, led to your thinking that they were selfish and didn’t want to care for their child throughout the year. However, I would like to defend the parent who typically pays child support in these scenarios.

In my years as a family law attorney, I have not met one parent who does not want what is best for their children. Now, that may mean something different to you than what it means to me. I cannot think of one parent I encountered in my time as a family law attorney who would not tell you that they want what is best for their child. In their heart hearts, parents believe that they are doing what is best for their children. Whether or not that parent knows what is best for their child is a different subject altogether. However, parents typically make decisions that they believe are in the best interest of their children.

This brings us to the subject of child support. If you are angry at an ex-spouse because they have not always been A happy payor of child support, then you should look at it from their perspective. Many parents responsible for paying child support believe that they would be better off putting that money into a college fund for their child or paying for other costs associated with that child’s upbringing. Much of the resentment towards paying child support has nothing to do with the money itself but, instead, it goes directly to you rather than now to your child. Accountability for how the money is used is at the core of these issues.

Today’s blog post subject does not have much to do with the psychology or any animosity regarding child support and how it is utilized to whom it is paid. However, I feel like this is an issue that interests many parents going through the divorce or child custody process in his one that I would like to deal with this set while the subject was on my mind. My overall point is that you should not assume the worst of your co-parent and think that they only want to rip you off or be cheap with your child. In their mind, they may believe that the money spent on child support could be better spent elsewhere or at least better paid directly to the child than to you.

How is child support allocated and calculated in Texas?

Before we engage in any meaningful discussion on child support, we should first discuss how one parent comes to receive child support and the other one comes to pay, and then how child support is calculated. Child support is a means by which you as a parent R can remain engaged in the child-rearing process even if your child does not live with you on a full-time basis. The parent with whom the child lives primarily will be able to designate that child’s primary residence and be able to receive child support on behalf of that child. This is one of the reasons why parents tend to fight so hard to be designated as the child’s primary conservator.

Once you or your co-parent are named as primary conservator, you can determine your child’s primary residence and, in all likelihood, receive child support. Your ability to receive child support will remain in place unless and until you lose the right to determine your child’s primary residence. Once it is determined which parent will receive child support in which parent will pay child support, then we need to get into how child support is calculated.

Child support calculation can typically be a straightforward experience. For instance, the Texas family code contains guideline levels of child support which are outlined and utilized by many families going through child custody and divorce cases. You can review the language in the code if you are interested, but for our blog post today, all you need to know is that a percentage of your co-parent’s net monthly income will be paid to you for child support each month. The rate of your co-parent’s net monthly payment that they will be responsible for paying tends to be between 20 and 50%. The fewer children you have, the lower the percentage will be. Likewise, the more children you have, the higher the rate will be.

Now that we have answered the questions regarding how one parent gets to receive child support and how much child support will be, the next issue we need to tackle is what a parent can do to change the amount of child support that is paid in the future. The answer to this question means that we will need to figure out a little more about child support modifications and how they fit into your specific circumstances, given the child’s fluctuations in income and expenses.

Modifying a family court order in Texas

At the core of modifying it is a family court order due to changes and expenses associated with child support into a discussion on How a Texas family court judge can grant a modification request. Family court judges will not immediately modify a court order unless there is a specific reason. That reason must be in the best interest of your child and must come along with a material a substantial change in the circumstances of you, Your co-parent, or one of your children. To have your modification request approved, you must present evidence to substantiate your position that material or substantial change in your circumstances has occurred.

This is a somewhat high hurdle for most people to clear. This hurdle can be difficult for many parties to remove because they either do not wait long enough to modify their order or the circumstances do not merit a modification. That’s not to say that a minor change in One Direction or the other cannot be attained by filing the modification case. Usually, however, it means that you and your co-parent will agree to negotiate through whatever issue the modification was filed for, and middle ground will be reached on a settlement.

When it comes to child support, there are several reasons why a modification may be requested. For one, the parent’s income who pays child support may have changed since the parties were last in family court. For example, if your ex-spouse’s income has recently increased, you may want to file a modification request to improve their child’s propagation. Likewise, if your ex-spouse’s income has decreased, they may file a modification request to have their child support obligation fall. If the Proper amount of child support based on the new income differs by 20% or $100 from the current level of support, the general rule of thumb is that the request to modify the Child Support amount will be granted.

Changes in expenses as a motivator to modify the level of child support.

After a family law case, your expenses associated with raising a child may have changed at some point in your life. That increase in childcare expenses may be related to the need to put your child into daycare if you have gotten a job or may be associated with medical care that your child requires due to a condition that arose after the end of your initial family court case. If you find yourself in a position where your child has increased care costs since the end of your family court case, you will likely need to file a modification petition to have the level of child support that you receive increased.

I would do right off of the bat to figure out the monthly expenditures associated with this care. The more specific you can be, the more evidence you can base your request on, the better off he will be, in the more likely your petition to modify will be granted. The nice part about requesting to modify a child support order is that you can prove that a substantial change in your circumstances has occurred merely by presenting an accounting of your bills now compared to what they were at the time of your divorce or initial child custody case. There isn’t a lot of subjectivity to a discussion like this.

It may be possible for you and your co-parent to discuss your modification attempt before a hearing and resolve the issue independently. Sometimes parties to a modification case are surprised that a resolution to this matter may be gained through a simple discussion with the other parent. It does not take a lot to have a civil conversation about the needs of your child. My advice would be to make each of your arguments for an increase in the Child Support obligation based on the proven needs of your child. If you focus more on what your child needs and less on what you need to pay your bills, then I think you would be better served.

Overall, the child support modification case can be complex. As such, you would be well served to contact and speak to an experienced family law attorney before filing your claim. A modification case has more moving pieces than many child custody cases do. As a result, having someone by your side with experience handling such matters can be a significant leg up for you to enter your subject. An attorney can also help you focus more on your child’s needs and help you come up with strategies that will help you in mediation and a trial setting.

Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan

If you have any questions about the material presented in today’s blog post, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations can be an excellent opportunity for you to learn more about the world of family law and how an experienced family law attorney can help guide you during a legal matter such as the one you are facing. I appreciate your interest in our blog post today, and we hope that you will join us again tomorrow as we share more information about the world of Texas family law.

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The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding child custody, it’s essential to speak with one of our Houston, TX, child custody lawyers right away to protect your rights.

Our child custody lawyers in Houston, TX, are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, handles child custody cases in Houston, Texas, Cypress, Klein, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, The Woodlands, Houston, the FM 1960 area, or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County.

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