The best ways to pay child support in Texas

Child support is a contentious subject in the world of Texas family law. Understanding the best way to pay child support can be a tremendous advantage for you and your family. As the parent who pays child support the ball is in your court when it comes to taking care of this responsibility. The better equipped you are to handle this issue the more likely it is that your family has fewer disputes regarding child support. Empowering yourself with knowledge of child support and how to pay enhances your chance of accomplishing this goal. 

Child support needs to be prepared for

Assuming that you will be able to handle child support as you would any other financial responsibility is a mistake. Child support is not a “bill.” It is not the same thing as paying the gas or electrical bill. Rather, child support truly is a responsibility that you owe to your child. Remembering this can make it easier for you to pay child support each month. Getting frustrated with your co-parent or the courts will not help you to pay child support on time or in full. 

Having a plan for child support is essential. Once you learn that you are going to be the parent who pays child support it is time to create a plan. For instance, if you have not been the primary caretaker for your child before the family law case it is unlikely that you would be after the case comes to an end. As a result, it would be sensible to create a plan on how you are going to pay child support. 

Communicating to your employer that you are going to be paying child support. Looking at your household expenses to determine what, if anything, can be cut out. Finally, creating a budget that can assist your family during this time can help a great deal.

Creating a household budget helps you pay child support

Budgeting is not exciting. Nobody jumps out of bed in the morning at the prospect of creating a budget. However, budgeting is extremely helpful in planning the finances for your household. It is especially helpful when considering you have a new responsibility like child support. Introducing something like child support into your home creates a range of new challenges.

Therefore, a household budget becomes an incredibly important tool in handling this correctly. What is a basic budget? A basic budget reflects two crucial inputs- your income and your expenses. A monthly budget allows you to have an overview of your life from a financial standpoint. It removes the guesswork from trying to run a household. You no longer have to wonder if you “have the money” to do this or that. Rather, you would be able to refer to the budget with confidence.

The importance of an experienced attorney in paying child support

Ultimately, paying child support comes down to preparing before child support is even ordered. If you know that you are going to pay child support because of your case, you need to take action. Waiting for something to appear or happen that helps you get set up is a bad idea. Rather, take matters into your own hands and create a plan of action. If you know that you need to start budgeting, then do that. 

There is also a great deal of benefit in acknowledging that you don’t know everything there is to know about child support. Even if you have paid child support before that does not make you a walking expert. Rather, there are gaps in knowledge that even well-versed individuals have regarding child support. Laws change. Your circumstances may be different now than they were previously. 

All of these are good reasons to begin working with an experienced family law attorney. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan offers free of charge consultations to folks just like you. People trying to balance responsibilities and realities. Finding help does not need to be a second, full-time job for you. Rather, contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan for assistance. Our attorneys have the heart of a teacher. This means that we take the time to educate our clients. That way, you can wise decisions for yourself and your family. 

Can you pay child support without paying money?

A question that the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan are sometimes asked has to do with “informal” child support. As in, what if you were able to pay child support informally? To many people, this means non-money payments of child support. Diapers and wipes for younger kids. School clothes and groceries for older kids. Parents engage in this type of informal child support payment all the time. Usually, it is done before a formal child support order is set up. 

So, can this type of child support take the place of formal child support payments? In short, no it cannot. When you go through the family courts of Texas it is expected that you will pay money to your co-parent. While informal support like supplies, clothing, food, and other materials are appreciated that does not take the place of financial support. As a result, you should not expect that you are ordered to pay anything other than money to your co-parent because of the child support case. 

One thing that you can do in this regard is to offer to continue to provide supplies as a negotiating point. For example, if you otherwise would be ordered to pay $1000 per month in child support you could offer to provide all school supplies, clothes, and other yearly costs in exchange for reducing your formal child support obligation. This may be suitable for your co-parent. This also brings up an important point about how child support is determined. 

Child support is negotiated between parents

A key point to this conversation on child support is that you and your co-parent can work together to negotiate the amount of child support you pay. This is not a situation where a child support case is filed and it immediately goes before a judge. Rather, going before a judge is a last resort. Parents are given every opportunity to work together to create a suitable child support figure. The question is whether you two are up to the challenge of working together. 

How is child support calculated?

There are two categories of ways that child support is paid in Texas. The first is a specific manner of calculation based on the guidelines contained in the Texas Family Code. First, your net monthly resources are determined. This is done by considering all your streams of income. Sometimes it is easy to do this. For example, if you work a standard 9-5 corporate job then your income should not be difficult to calculate. However, if you work multiple jobs then it becomes more complex how to calculate your monthly resources. 

Having an irregular income or multiple side jobs makes it critical that you have experienced representation in your child support case. Your child deserves to have the correct amount of child support paid to him or her. Therefore, you need an accurate assessment of your income performed in your case. Additionally, there is no doubt that having your income correctly calculated is critical to being able to pay child support each month. Having your resources overestimated makes it difficult for you to pay child support moving forward. 

The other method of calculating child support is a reflection of you and your co-parent working together. In truth, there are countless number of ways to calculate child support. The key is understanding that it can only be done this way when negotiated. An inability to negotiate successfully means that your case goes before a judge. In that situation, it is likely the guideline method of child support calculation is utilized. 

Best interests of the child’s standard

Overall, the best interest of your child is what guides a court in creating child support orders. The best interests of the child standard attempts to consider the needs of your child now and in the future. When looking at the best interests of your child a court looks at their physical, mental, and emotional needs. It is presumed that parents act with the best interests of their children at heart. 

When it comes to calculating child support so long as the amount that you and your co-parent agree on for monthly child support is in line with the best interests of your child it is likely that a court will honor your agreement. Only when the amount is so out of line with some factor in your case would a court ask you to revise the amount. 

It may be useful, therefore, to figure out what a guideline level of support looks like even if you are not planning on using that amount. This can give you a strong basis for what a court would believe is in the best interests of your child. Doing this helps to ensure that your amount of child support is honored by a court after your case. 

The role of the Texas Attorney General in child support payments

In Texas, the Office of the Attorney General plays a major role in the payment of child support. To begin with, the Attorney General has local offices in most towns and cities which help facilitate the negotiation of child support between parents. For example, if your co-parent files a child support case it may be assigned to a local office before you ever go to court. That local office has employees who help parents negotiate and settle upon child support amounts. They can also help you create orders on child custody and other issues. 

If you can settle on child support then the proposed order would go before a judge for review. So long as the amount of child support agreed to does not violate the best interests of the child standard then you are set. On the other hand, if you and your co-parent cannot agree to an amount of child support in your meeting the case would go before a judge. 

After that, the Office of the Attorney General helps facilitate the payment of child support. To many people, this strikes them as strange. After all, why should the government get in between parents when the payment of money is concerned? Isn’t it enough that the OAG helps parents to settle on an amount of child support?

Why going through the Office of the Attorney General for child support payments makes sense

There are multiple reasons why going through the Office of the Attorney General for child support makes sense. To begin with, having a third party involved means that you and your co-parent are not in charge of keeping track of all your payments. Over time, you may end up having to make hundreds of monthly child support payments. This can be a lot to keep track of. It would likely become overwhelming if you were expected to keep track of all these payments. 

As a result, the Office of the Attorney General does an admirable job of keeping solid records of child support payments for you. Their website contains a section for parents like you to log in and view your payment history. For a parent like you who pays child support, this helps because you are not in charge of having to keep your records. It would be tedious to not only have to pay child support but keep an accurate log of your payments. 

Suppose that your co-parent came to you, upset that you had been missing child support payments. Without the OAG, you would need to show your co-parent that you had sent in your payments on time and in full. This may not satisfy your co-parent. She may file an enforcement lawsuit against you as a result. Instead, you would just need to point your co0parent to your account on the OAG’s website. The proof would be right in front of her. 

Can you make direct payments of child support to your co-parent?

A key question to ask in this discussion of the best ways to pay child support would be whether it is a good idea to make direct payments of child support to your co-parent. As we discussed earlier in today’s blog post, direct and informal payments of support to your child have been ongoing for many years. Parents will always make direct payments of support to one another. In many ways, this is the simplest method of paying or sending support to your co-parent. 

However, you need to consider whether this is the best method for you to employ. The OAG exists to help parents keep an accurate record of payments. It also exists so that you and your co-parent do not constantly need to be going back and forth on what has been paid in child support. They do not have a dog in this fight, in other words. Being a neutral, third party means that both you and your co-parent can trust their records. 

Since direct payments of child support are not counted on the OAG ledger it is not recommended that you go through your co-parent for direct child support payments. We have already listed the main reason why- not receiving credit for the payment. Even if you and your co-parent are on good terms this is not a good idea. She may honor your direct payments now but what about the future? Your co-parent could deny you made any of those payments. Paying child support through the OAG keeps both parents accountable to one another. 

Final thoughts on the best ways to pay child support

Paying child support through the Office of the Attorney General is the tried and true method. You will find that doing this ensures the well-being of your child. Additionally, the record-keeping feature provided by the OAG is second to none. In the future, if you or your co-parent needs to file an enforcement case much of the evidence you need is contained on the OAG’s website. With both parents knowing this it is unlikely that either of you will try something out of hand when it comes to the payment of support. 

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is a group of experienced family law attorneys. We focus our practice on family law issues including child support. Whether you are a parent who expects to pay or receive child support, the Law Office of Bryan Fagan is here for you. We advocate for our clients inside the courtroom and negotiate strongly for them outside the courtroom. Our attorneys also post unique and informative blogs each day of the week on our website. Thank you for choosing to spend part of your day with us here. 

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

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law. Before signing a document or negotiating on a subject you do not know well, contact our office. We look forward to the opportunity of serving you during an important part of your life. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is on your side. 

Child support is a contentious subject in the world of Texas family law. Understanding the best way to pay child support can be a tremendous advantage for you and your family. As the parent who pays child support the ball is in your court when it comes to taking care of this responsibility. The better equipped you are to handle this issue the more likely it is that your family has fewer disputes regarding child support. Empowering yourself with knowledge of child support and how to pay enhances your chance of accomplishing this goal. 

Child support needs to be prepared for

Assuming that you will be able to handle child support as you would any other financial responsibility is a mistake. Child support is not a “bill.” It is not the same thing as paying the gas or electrical bill. Rather, child support truly is a responsibility that you owe to your child. Remembering this can make it easier for you to pay child support each month. Getting frustrated with your co-parent or the courts will not help you to pay child support on time or in full. 

Having a plan for child support is essential. Once you learn that you are going to be the parent who pays child support it is time to create a plan. For instance, if you have not been the primary caretaker for your child before the family law case it is unlikely that you would be after the case comes to an end. As a result, it would be sensible to create a plan on how you are going to pay child support. 

Communicating to your employer that you are going to be paying child support. Looking at your household expenses to determine what, if anything, can be cut out. Finally, creating a budget that can assist your family during this time can help a great deal.

Creating a household budget helps you pay child support

Budgeting is not exciting. Nobody jumps out of bed in the morning at the prospect of creating a budget. However, budgeting is extremely helpful in planning the finances for your household. It is especially helpful when considering you have a new responsibility like child support. Introducing something like child support into your home creates a range of new challenges.

Therefore, a household budget becomes an incredibly important tool in handling this correctly. What is a basic budget? A basic budget reflects two crucial inputs- your income and your expenses. A monthly budget allows you to have an overview of your life from a financial standpoint. It removes the guesswork from trying to run a household. You no longer have to wonder if you “have the money” to do this or that. Rather, you would be able to refer to the budget with confidence.

The importance of an experienced attorney in paying child support

Ultimately, paying child support comes down to preparing before child support is even ordered. If you know that you are going to pay child support because of your case, you need to take action. Waiting for something to appear or happen that helps you get set up is a bad idea. Rather, take matters into your own hands and create a plan of action. If you know that you need to start budgeting, then do that. 

There is also a great deal of benefit in acknowledging that you don’t know everything there is to know about child support. Even if you have paid child support before that does not make you a walking expert. Rather, there are gaps in knowledge that even well-versed individuals have regarding child support. Laws change. Your circumstances may be different now than they were previously. 

All of these are good reasons to begin working with an experienced family law attorney. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan offers free of charge consultations to folks just like you. People trying to balance responsibilities and realities. Finding help does not need to be a second, full-time job for you. Rather, contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan for assistance. Our attorneys have the heart of a teacher. This means that we take the time to educate our clients. That way, you can wise decisions for yourself and your family. 

Can you pay child support without paying money?

A question that the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan are sometimes asked has to do with “informal” child support. As in, what if you were able to pay child support informally? To many people, this means non-money payments of child support. Diapers and wipes for younger kids. School clothes and groceries for older kids. Parents engage in this type of informal child support payment all the time. Usually, it is done before a formal child support order is set up. 

So, can this type of child support take the place of formal child support payments? In short, no it cannot. When you go through the family courts of Texas it is expected that you will pay money to your co-parent. While informal support like supplies, clothing, food, and other materials are appreciated that does not take the place of financial support. As a result, you should not expect that you are ordered to pay anything other than money to your co-parent because of the child support case. 

One thing that you can do in this regard is to offer to continue to provide supplies as a negotiating point. For example, if you otherwise would be ordered to pay $1000 per month in child support you could offer to provide all school supplies, clothes, and other yearly costs in exchange for reducing your formal child support obligation. This may be suitable for your co-parent. This also brings up an important point about how child support is determined. 

Child support is negotiated between parents

A key point to this conversation on child support is that you and your co-parent can work together to negotiate the amount of child support you pay. This is not a situation where a child support case is filed and it immediately goes before a judge. Rather, going before a judge is a last resort. Parents are given every opportunity to work together to create a suitable child support figure. The question is whether you two are up to the challenge of working together. 

How is child support calculated?

There are two categories of ways that child support is paid in Texas. The first is a specific manner of calculation based on the guidelines contained in the Texas Family Code. First, your net monthly resources are determined. This is done by considering all your streams of income. Sometimes it is easy to do this. For example, if you work a standard 9-5 corporate job then your income should not be difficult to calculate. However, if you work multiple jobs then it becomes more complex how to calculate your monthly resources. 

Having an irregular income or multiple side jobs makes it critical that you have experienced representation in your child support case. Your child deserves to have the correct amount of child support paid to him or her. Therefore, you need an accurate assessment of your income performed in your case. Additionally, there is no doubt that having your income correctly calculated is critical to being able to pay child support each month. Having your resources overestimated makes it difficult for you to pay child support moving forward. 

The other method of calculating child support is a reflection of you and your co-parent working together. In truth, there are countless number of ways to calculate child support. The key is understanding that it can only be done this way when negotiated. An inability to negotiate successfully means that your case goes before a judge. In that situation, it is likely the guideline method of child support calculation is utilized. 

Best interests of the child’s standard

Overall, the best interest of your child is what guides a court in creating child support orders. The best interests of the child standard attempts to consider the needs of your child now and in the future. When looking at the best interests of your child a court looks at their physical, mental, and emotional needs. It is presumed that parents act with the best interests of their children at heart. 

When it comes to calculating child support so long as the amount that you and your co-parent agree on for monthly child support is in line with the best interests of your child it is likely that a court will honor your agreement. Only when the amount is so out of line with some factor in your case would a court ask you to revise the amount. 

It may be useful, therefore, to figure out what a guideline level of support looks like even if you are not planning on using that amount. This can give you a strong basis for what a court would believe is in the best interests of your child. Doing this helps to ensure that your amount of child support is honored by a court after your case. 

The role of the Texas Attorney General in child support payments

In Texas, the Office of the Attorney General plays a major role in the payment of child support. To begin with, the Attorney General has local offices in most towns and cities which help facilitate the negotiation of child support between parents. For example, if your co-parent files a child support case it may be assigned to a local office before you ever go to court. That local office has employees who help parents negotiate and settle upon child support amounts. They can also help you create orders on child custody and other issues. 

If you can settle on child support then the proposed order would go before a judge for review. So long as the amount of child support agreed to does not violate the best interests of the child standard then you are set. On the other hand, if you and your co-parent cannot agree to an amount of child support in your meeting the case would go before a judge. 

After that, the Office of the Attorney General helps facilitate the payment of child support. To many people, this strikes them as strange. After all, why should the government get in between parents when the payment of money is concerned? Isn’t it enough that the OAG helps parents to settle on an amount of child support?

Why going through the Office of the Attorney General for child support payments makes sense

There are multiple reasons why going through the Office of the Attorney General for child support makes sense. To begin with, having a third party involved means that you and your co-parent are not in charge of keeping track of all your payments. Over time, you may end up having to make hundreds of monthly child support payments. This can be a lot to keep track of. It would likely become overwhelming if you were expected to keep track of all these payments. 

As a result, the Office of the Attorney General does an admirable job of keeping solid records of child support payments for you. Their website contains a section for parents like you to log in and view your payment history. For a parent like you who pays child support, this helps because you are not in charge of having to keep your records. It would be tedious to not only have to pay child support but keep an accurate log of your payments. 

Suppose that your co-parent came to you, upset that you had been missing child support payments. Without the OAG, you would need to show your co-parent that you had sent in your payments on time and in full. This may not satisfy your co-parent. She may file an enforcement lawsuit against you as a result. Instead, you would just need to point your co0parent to your account on the OAG’s website. The proof would be right in front of her. 

Can you make direct payments of child support to your co-parent?

A key question to ask in this discussion of the best ways to pay child support would be whether it is a good idea to make direct payments of child support to your co-parent. As we discussed earlier in today’s blog post, direct and informal payments of support to your child have been ongoing for many years. Parents will always make direct payments of support to one another. In many ways, this is the simplest method of paying or sending support to your co-parent. 

However, you need to consider whether this is the best method for you to employ. The OAG exists to help parents keep an accurate record of payments. It also exists so that you and your co-parent do not constantly need to be going back and forth on what has been paid in child support. They do not have a dog in this fight, in other words. Being a neutral, third party means that both you and your co-parent can trust their records. 

Since direct payments of child support are not counted on the OAG ledger it is not recommended that you go through your co-parent for direct child support payments. We have already listed the main reason why- not receiving credit for the payment. Even if you and your co-parent are on good terms this is not a good idea. She may honor your direct payments now but what about the future? Your co-parent could deny you made any of those payments. Paying child support through the OAG keeps both parents accountable to one another. 

Final thoughts on the best ways to pay child support

Paying child support through the Office of the Attorney General is the tried and true method. You will find that doing this ensures the well-being of your child. Additionally, the record-keeping feature provided by the OAG is second to none. In the future, if you or your co-parent needs to file an enforcement case much of the evidence you need is contained on the OAG’s website. With both parents knowing this it is unlikely that either of you will try something out of hand when it comes to the payment of support. 

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is a group of experienced family law attorneys. We focus our practice on family law issues including child support. Whether you are a parent who expects to pay or receive child support, the Law Office of Bryan Fagan is here for you. We advocate for our clients inside the courtroom and negotiate strongly for them outside the courtroom. Our attorneys also post unique and informative blogs each day of the week on our website. Thank you for choosing to spend part of your day with us here. 

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

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law. Before signing a document or negotiating on a subject you do not know well, contact our office. We look forward to the opportunity of serving you during an important part of your life. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is on your side.