When you go through a family law case in Texas, you are establishing parental rights and responsibilities. In addition, the time that you can spend with your child will also be determined. It is a bit odd to have these aspects of your relationship with your child defined in terms like these by a judge that doesn’t know you from your next-door neighbor, but that is how these things tend to go.
An essential part of this process is knowing what to expect so that you and your attorney can prepare to negotiate and, if necessary, litigate your case successfully. Today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan will attempt to provide you with the information you need to prepare for your family law case regarding some of the most critical issues in Texas family law.
Could you receive supervised visitation in your divorce or child custody case?
You will likely not receive supervised visitation in your child custody or divorce case. Family law courts usually expect you and the other parent to have similar possession and access to your child. One of you will choose where your child lives full-time, but the court typically splits possession periods fairly evenly.
If you have a history of abusing or neglecting your child, the court will likely order you to have only supervised visitation. During these visits, another person will supervise your time with your child. These visits may happen at a restaurant, park, managed visitation facility, or even the other parent’s home.
As you show improved behavior around your child and prioritize their safety, you may earn unsupervised visitation. Every case involving supervised visitation differs, so I encourage you to contact our office to speak with one of our attorneys if you have specific questions about your situation.
The right to determine the primary residence of your child is typically a heated topic.
As I mentioned to you a moment ago, periods of possession allow you and your child’s other parent to have time with your child once your family law case has concluded. For the most part, the rights and duties that you and your child’s other parent share are relatively equal. However, perhaps the most crucial difference is that only one of you will have the right to determine your child’s primary residence.
“Determine the primary residence of your child” means that only one of you will be able to have your child reside with you during the school year. One parent will have visitation rights. All of that parents’ periods of visitation will be outlined in your final orders. The parent with the right to determine your child’s primary residence will have visitation at all other times. Generally speaking, in a Joint Managing Conservatorship, all other rights and duties are split down the middle.
Geographic Restrictions
A limitation to your determining your child’s primary residence comes in the form of a geographic restriction. A geographic restriction forces you to live within a particular geographic area after your family law case is over with. This is done to keep you from bouncing around the country and world wherever you would like, thus forcing the other parent to move with you to see their child.
Many parents will agree to use their home county and any county that borders that home county as the primary conservator’s geographic area. Some even pinpoint it further to either the home county by itself or even a school district within the home county. If you all go to court to have your case decided, the default setting would be to set your geographic restriction to your home county and any surrounding county. If you prefer something different, then it is up to you to negotiate with your opposing party.
Setting up child support in your family law case
In determining your child’s primary residence, the primary conservator receives child support. You use child support to cover your child’s daily needs. You allocate child support for food, clothing, shelter, and medical care at a basic level. As a parent with only visitation rights, you can’t physically provide for your child every day, so child support helps balance the responsibility.
Courts assess a percentage of your net monthly resources for child support. You can multiply your take-home pay by 20% for one child, 25% for two children, and up to 40% for five or more children to estimate your child support obligation. You may receive small offsets if you have other children not involved in the current case. The maximum child support payment a parent can make is 50% of their net monthly income.
Your child support obligation remains the same whether or not you were married to your child’s other parent. Courts cap your income at $8,550 when calculating child support. If your monthly net income exceeds $8,550, they only consider the first $8,550 for child support.
Relevant factors in calculating child support
If a court finds that the standard method of calculating child support doesn’t serve your child’s best interests, they will adjust it. They consider your child’s age, your child’s needs, the other parent’s ability to earn income and provide necessities, and whether your child has a disability. If your child has a mental or physical impairment requiring extra care, the court will likely increase your child support responsibility.
What about medical expenses? Are they a part of child support?
In addition to child support, If you are a noncustodial parent, you will also have to pay the medical bills (in part) of your child and provide health insurance coverage for them. If the child’s other parent pays for their health insurance, you will pay them directly for the cost of that policy. You may also pay for a policy out of your company’s health insurance. The final option that is likely to be relevant here is when you pay back the State of Texas for placing your child on a public health insurance option.
Wage withholding orders
Courts commonly send wage withholding orders to employers to ensure prompt and full child support payments each month. Your child’s other parent fills out this form and sends it to the judge for their signature. After that, they forward it to your employer for reference. Employers deduct a portion of each paycheck for child support. If you receive weekly pay, they take out a smaller amount, and if you work for the government and get paid once a month, they deduct a larger portion for child support.
Once your employer sends the money, the Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Division processes it. They then send the funds to your child’s primary conservator for use.
Changing child support orders
If you want to change how child support is paid, you must file a modification petition with the court. You file a legal document called a Petition to Modify in these cases. Courts look to see if a material and substantial change occurred in your life, your child’s life, or the other party’s life to justify a modification.
Changes in income, whether positive or negative, often form the basis for modifying a child support order. Another reason might be if your ex-spouse or child suffers a disability requiring additional child support for medical needs. If you plan to request an increase in child support, you must work with an attorney. Child support modifications often turn into some of the most contested family law cases.
How can you start a Texas family law case?
For the remainder of today’s blog, I would like to share how you would begin a Texas family law case. For example, if you want to file for divorce, you must file an original petition. Doing so would make you the petitioner in your case. Your spouse would then be the Respondent because they would need to respond to your Petition.
Before addressing the issues in your case, you must first decide where to file your claim. Most people file for divorce in the county where they reside because that is the proper venue. However, if you have recently moved or plan to move soon, filing in your current county may not make sense.
To file for divorce in Texas, you or your spouse must have lived in the county where you intend to file for at least the past ninety days and in Texas for the past six months.
What are the grounds for divorce?
You can file for divorce in Texas for any reason or none at all. I tell potential clients they can file for divorce because they don’t like how their spouse chews dinner. You can choose any reason to file, and the court will grant your divorce as long as you follow the procedural rules. In tomorrow’s blog, I will discuss the factors that can lead to a divorce and how fault grounds can impact the divorce process.
4oQuestions about Texas family law cases?
If you have any questions about the material that we discussed today, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys work tirelessly on our clients to achieve the results they and their families deserve. We work and live in this community and take a great deal of pride in providing the best representation in the city of Houston and its surrounding communities.
We offer free of charge consultations six days a week here in our office, where you can learn about our attorneys, our staff, and the services we can provide to you and your family. A half-hour can give you a huge leg up when it comes to learning about your case. Thank you for joining us today here on our blog, and we look forward to speaking to you in the future about your case.
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- What Wikipedia Can’t Tell you About Texas Divorce and Marital Property Division
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Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Houston, Texas Divorce Lawyers
The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding divorce, it’s essential to speak with one of our Houston, TX, Divorce Lawyers right away to protect your rights.
Our divorce 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 Divorce 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.
Bryan Fagan, a native of Atascocita, Texas, is a dedicated family law attorney inspired by John Grisham’s “The Pelican Brief.” He is the first lawyer in his family, which includes two adopted brothers. Bryan’s commitment to family is personal and professional; he cared for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s while completing his degree and attended the South Texas College of Law at night.
Married with three children, Bryan’s personal experiences enrich his understanding of family dynamics, which is central to his legal practice. He specializes in family law, offering innovative and efficient legal services. A certified member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, Bryan is part of an elite group of legal professionals committed to ongoing education and high-level expertise.
His legal practice covers divorce, custody disputes, property disputes, adoption, paternity, and mediation. Bryan is also experienced in drafting marital property agreements. He leads a team dedicated to complex family law cases and protecting families from false CPS allegations.
Based in Houston, Bryan is active in the Houston Family Law Sector of the Houston Bar Association and various family law groups in Texas. His deep understanding of family values and his professional dedication make him a compassionate advocate for families navigating Texas family law.
