While the decisions and lives of celebrities can be interesting it is difficult for many people to see themselves in the lives of a celebrity. After all, celebrities have lifestyles and circumstances that are unique. The nature of being a celebrity is such that what they do may rarely resemble the habits that you have in your life. In some circumstances, it could be that we look at the life of a celebrity with curiosity.
However, in some instances, the lives of celebrities may have something for us to learn. Recent news about the actor Al Pacino and his girlfriend is one such opportunity. In today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, we are going to spend some time discussing The child support agreement Mr. Pacino reached with his girlfriend in November 2023. Doing so allows us to learn more about how the child support laws of Texas may impact you and your family moving forward.
Al Pacino establishes child support for his young son
The girlfriend of Pacino gave birth to their son in the summer of 2023. Given that Pacino and his girlfriend were not married when the child was born this would present an interesting circumstance in a Texas family court. Namely, that Pacino would need to establish paternity regarding the child. Paternity is a legal status of being a father under Texas state law. Establishing fraternity is an important question for unmarried fathers.
Before an unmarried man can be ordered to pay child support, he must first establish paternity. This is not only true for child support but for any rights, duties, and privileges that come with fatherhood. Married fathers can take advantage of the presumption that a child born of the marriage is the legal child of that man. If Pacino and his girlfriend were married, then the automatic presumption of paternity attaches to the child. Since that is not the case here Pacino would need to take extra steps to establish paternity under Texas law.
There are two main ways to do this in Texas. The first is to file an acknowledgment of paternity. When the acknowledgment of paternity is signed by a man and woman, paternity is established under the law. Filing the document with the state of Texas completes the establishment process. The other option would be to file a lawsuit in the proper family court seeking to establish paternity. However, signing and acknowledgment of paternity is the more straightforward route to take.
Duty to support your child
Parents have a legal obligation to support their children. This includes financial support. From this obligation, we see parents ordered to pay child support. This happens frequently in situations where parents are not married or living together. Texas has courts that are geared specifically toward the creation of child support orders. The Office of the Attorney General oversees the payment in receipt of child support. Al Pacino and his girlfriend acknowledged that Mr. Pacino must support his son.
Many potential clients of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan have walked into our office to say that they have been paying child support informally since the birth of their child. This can include monetary support, diapers, formula, clothes, and even things like rent payments. While these informal child support payments are helpful, they do not count towards the formal child support obligation set up through a court. As a result, no matter if you are a mother or father, it is wise to formally establish child support.
Learning as much about the child support process as possible before a case begins is essential to your success. Additionally, finding trustworthy and competent representation is also crucial. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan are equipped to be able to help you develop a strategy regarding child support. Whether you are the parent who expects to pay or receive child support, having representation during this process can help determine the well-being have your child for years to come.
Al Pacino’s child support
Let’s take a closer look to see what Al Pacino is paying in child support. Pacino agreed to pay his girlfriend, Noor Alfallah, $30,000 per month in child support. Already, we can see that this number is extraordinary. In Texas, child support is determined based on the best interests of your child. This standard takes into consideration the needs of your child now and his likely needs in the future. It is important to consider that the best interests of your child may not be the same as your own best interests.
The Texas child support guidelines as contained in the Texas Family Code lay out the method many courts implement to determine monthly child support. Again, the best interests of the child drive the determination of child support in Texas. Your child’s needs may not align with the Texas child support guidelines. However, courts will determine the best interests of children and oftentimes assign child support based on these guidelines.
Al Pacino will pay child support at a tremendous rate to his girlfriend. The daily needs of an infant are minuscule compared to the $30,000 figure. However, Mr. Pacino’s income is so substantial that applying the calculations that apply to most of us does not make sense. The next point to make is that Pacino and his girlfriend settled upon this figure of child support. Going to court was not necessary. In that case, if the agreed amount of child support does not violate the public policy of Texas it is likely going to be approved by a court.
Paying more support than is required
Al Pacino also agreed to pay more in support beyond child support. First, he will contribute $15,000 annually towards his son’s college savings. With the costs of college skyrocketing, it is wise to save up as much as possible to pay for those expenses. The earlier you start saving the more compound interest can get to work in your favor.
That said, parents who pay child support in Texas are not required to also save up for their child’s college. This is something that goes beyond the child support required by the Texas Family Code. You and your co-parent may agree to include something like this in your court orders. However, it is not required that you do so. Additionally, you should make sure to review any proposed language before signing the order. Understanding what your responsibilities are regarding college savings is a reasonable position to take.
Medical costs paid for by Al Pacino
Mr. Pacino additionally agreed to pay $110,000 towards the relocation of his girlfriend and the uninsured medical costs of his son. Relocation assistance is beyond what most people agree to in their child support orders. If you or your co-parent wish to relocate after a family law case, then that would need to be planned for outside of the court orders. Again, in Al Pacino’s situation, there is greater flexibility due to his income and the amount of wealth he has built over the years.
Medical bills that are not covered by health insurance are also known as uninsured medical costs. Anyone who has gone to see the doctor or dentist knows that a portion of your bill is typically paid for by insurance. The provider may further reduce the bill for other reasons, leaving you with an amount to pay out of pocket. This amount is the uninsured medical costs that are almost always included in child support orders.
Parents in Texas typically divide up the costs of uninsured medical treatment. Dividing these costs 50/50 is typical. Other methods of dividing the uninsured medical costs involve doing so based on your relative income. For example, if your combined income were $100,000 of which $65,000 were your income then you would pay 65% of the uninsured costs. Again, because of Pacino’s wealth this type of calculation would be impractical.
Better to establish child support sooner rather than later?
The article that we linked to contains quotations from a family law specialist. He offers his opinions on the arrangement that Pacino and his girlfriend came up with. One of the first opinions shared in the article is that it was likely in Pacino’s best interests to set up an agreement now rather than wait to do so. In support of this position, the family law attorney cites an extended legal battle that Pacino went through twenty years ago regarding another child of his.
Does drawing out child support matters tend to create acrimony? In many cases, yes it does. The longer you and your co-parent debate on a subject your opinions may harden. At that point, it is very difficult to convince the other person to see things your way. Finding a middle ground on child support is not complicated. You have your number, and your co-parent has theirs. Getting to a middle ground is how negotiation works. However, the longer the two of you engage in a child support case the more difficult it may be to establish that middle ground.
For Pacino, the proceedings on child support began before he and his girlfriend even went their separate ways. For this reason, the two people must have seen some benefit in creating court orders sooner. Negotiating while on good terms with one another certainly beats having to do so while disagreeing on important subjects. Working with an experienced family law attorney, as Pacino hopefully did, also helps considerably.
Could Pacino’s girlfriend have taken him to court “for a long time”?
One of the quotes from the family law attorney in the article is that Pacino’s girlfriend could have chosen to take him to court for a long time had they not reached an early agreement on child support. He further reasoned that because of Pacino’s advanced age (83), that he had even more of a reason to try and settle rather than prolong the child support proceedings. This speaks to the reality of all family law cases, that the proceedings are impacted as much by individual circumstances as anything else.
Family law matters are incredibly fact-specific. What happened in the child support situation for your friend does not guarantee the same will happen to you. Rather, the specific needs of your family are what matters most. Remember- the best interest of the child standard applies to your situation based on the facts and circumstances of your child. This is where a best interests determination comes into play.
Ultimately, the longer you spend in a family law case the more expensive it gets. This is because family law attorneys bill by the hour. The more hours spent working on a case, the more expensive it becomes. So, there is some truth to the assertion that the more time Pacino spent in court the more expensive it could become for him. However, that does not mean that he would have ended up having to pay more in child support. The costs could have been more on the side of representation rather than child support.
Where do child support cases begin?
A reasonable question to ask is where would have Pacino’s case gone had an agreement not been reached? In Texas, child support cases begin with a petition. You would petition the court for child support establishment. From there, your co-parent would file an Answer to your child support petition.
Negotiation is the next step. Child support negotiations frequently go back to two subjects- the income of the paying parent and the number of children before the court. The net monthly resources of the paying parent are what matters first. Many sources of income such as wages, tips, salaries, and certain investments are used to calculate net monthly resources. This calculation is critical to coming up with child support amounts. For that reason, it is a good idea to have an experienced family law attorney help you with calculations.
Those net monthly resources are then multiplied by a percentage. That percentage is determined based on the number of children you have before the court. In the Texas child support guidelines, one child equates to twenty percent of a paying parent’s net monthly resources going towards child support. That percentage increases up to forty percent for six or more children. Courts will typically stop at 50% of resources going towards child support monthly.
Temporary child support
Temporary child support is paid during a family law case. These temporary payments are a preview of the child support to be paid after the child support case comes to an end. It is advisable to have payments go through the Office of the Attorney General. The OAG’s office is a clearinghouse for the payment of child support. Once payments are made, the OAG receives and deposits them in the account for the custodial parent.
There are two roles for parents in a child support case. The first is as the custodial parent. This is the parent who has primary custody of the child. You determine the primary residence of the child and receive child support on his behalf. Or you may be the noncustodial parent. A noncustodial parent pays child support. These are the basic terms that you need to be familiar with heading into a case.
The costs of a child support case
The family law attorney in the article on Mr. Pacino notes that child support hearings can cost up to half a million dollars and take up to six months to complete. It is impossible to tell exactly how expensive a case may have gotten for Al Pacino. However, for a standard child support case, these types of costs are completely beyond reasonable. Speaking with an experienced family law attorney in Texas is the best way to determine the likely costs for your case.
The costs of a family law case do increase as a trial becomes necessary. A trial on child custody would be similar to a temporary orders hearing on child custody. However, the process involved with preparing for a child support trial takes time on the part of your attorney. You not only pay the attorney for the time spent in court but also prepare for the big day.
Part of that preparation is requesting documents from your co-parent. Bank statements, tax returns, and pay stubs are just a few of the relevant documents in the child support case. Additionally, any consistent medical costs required by your child may also need to be turned over. All of this takes time and money to complete. Negotiating your way through child support is a more cost-effective method geared towards helping families. Thank you for joining us today on the blog for the Law Office of Bryan Fagan.
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.
Evan Hochschild was raised in Houston, TX and graduated from Cypress Creek High School. He went on to graduate from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX with an undergraduate degree in Political Science. While in college, Evan was a four-year letterman on the Cross Country team.
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncle before him, Evan attended law school after he completed in his undergraduate studies. He graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law and has practiced in a variety of areas in the law- including family law.
Mr. Hochschild is guided by principles which place the interests of clients first. Additionally, Evan seeks to provide information and support for his clients with the heart of a teacher.
Evan and his wife have four small children together. He enjoys afternoons out and about with his family, teaching Sunday school at his church and exercising. A veteran attorney of fourteen years, Mr. Hochschild excels in communicating complex ideas in family law simply and directly.
