In Texas, child support is a serious matter. Parents like you and the courts treat violations related to child support as extremely important. Where does that put you as a parent who currently owes child support? It was not your intent to fall behind in the payment of support. However, life came at you fast. Now you are left holding a bill for a major amount of money. The trouble is you are just now able to dig yourself out of the hole for what you owe. Getting back on your feet financially means having a game plan.
The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan help people just like you when it comes to child support. Understanding your options when it comes to handling a sensitive matter like this determines the course of your child’s well-being. Child support usually consists of payments of money that a child depends upon. It is not a situation where your little one can get by without child support. Rather, every dollar counts when it comes to their day-to-day life. With that said, managing the intricacies of child support is an important parenting role.
Falling behind in child support happens for a variety of reasons
One of the issues to discuss right off the bat today is that falling behind in child support does not make you a bad person. Life happens and before you know it a job opportunity falls aside. Immediately many parents become consumed with guilt. How could you allow this to happen? What is your co-parent going to think? Are your children going to be ok? This spirals into a situation where shame is the name of the game.
Many times when we feel shame we tend to try to hide what is going on. Job loss is a real thing and impacts families in ways great and small. Losing your income means losing the ability to pay your bills- including child support. When push comes to shove some obligations cannot be met. Child support is oftentimes one of those obligations. The idea of having your child miss a month of support hurts. So does losing your car or not being able to pay your light bill.
The tradeoffs in life do not necessarily matter to a family court judge, however. Or to your co-parent. These two people stand to make it difficult for you to stop paying child support. When you are faced with a situation where the payment of child support is important you need goals. Setting goals for yourself and your case matters for a few reasons. Goals allow you to stay centered and focused on the situation at hand. The more you look out for these goals the more intentional you become.
Losing a job means losing the ability to pay child support
In this “gig” economy where so many of us work several different jobs, there is not a great deal of consistency in income. This is why we are told to spread out our income streams so that when one dries up another can take its place. These types of jobs also allow for greater flexibility as far as hours are concerned. Coming out of the pandemic many of us saw remote work as the key to greater fulfillment in life.
While this has proven true over these past few years it is also the case that there are challenges that come with this this type of work. One of those challenges is that of irregular income. Irregular income means that you are not paid a consistent amount of money from month to month. Rather, your income is dependent upon several factors which are out of your control. Balancing one job against another for the sake of income is a reality of this situation.
It takes time to recuperate after losing a job. We see that income is not consistent and that causes stress in our lives. Being able to keep your head above water is not always easy. Throw in the responsibility of child support and you have a tough situation financially. When it comes to balancing these responsibilities there is no easy road to take. Rather, you must prioritize your spending and have a budget.
The importance of budgeting
A monthly budget may seem boring or mundane. Many of us don’t budget month to month. It shows up in the small details which affect your life and that of your children. Being able to understand where your money goes each month is critical to running a successful home. The better grasp you have on your finances the better off you and your family are. Take the time to create a budget for yourself and your quality of life improves.
Where does child support fit into your monthly bills?
For most parents, child support is a set-it-and-forget-it type of expenditure. After your family law case, a wage withholding order was created. This order notes the amount of child support you owe and sets it up where your employer withholds that amount of money. Each month your child support obligation is sent from your employer to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). The OAG then takes your payment and sends it to your co-parent. This way the two of you do not keep track of your payments.
Having the OAG play a central role adds a layer of protection to the payment of child support. Your co-parent does not depend on you writing a check each month and getting it to her. You do not depend upon the goodwill of your co-parent to deposit a check and give you credit for the payment. However, when you have a bill automatically paid it also creates a situation where the money needs to be there each month. When the money is not there your co-parent or the OAG becomes aware of that.
This leads to a situation where you face potential legal issues with child support. Finding yourself in a position where you owe your co-parent money is not ideal. Working with an experienced attorney with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan helps. We know how to navigate the choppy waters of child support. Whether you owe one month or one year’s worth of child support, our attorneys have your back. Reach out to us today for a free-of-charge consultation.
Enforcement cases- what they are and why they matter
The court orders from your prior family law case need to be followed. When they are not you run into a situation where time is of the essence. Adhering to those court orders is a major issue for many families who struggle with the day-to-day challenges of life. Losing a job is enough to knock the wind out of you. Having to find new employment while keeping your child support paid up is not easy. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid potentially bad outcomes while ensuring your child’s needs are met.
An interruption in your income is never ideal but it does not have to be devastating. When this does happen, there are steps to follow related to child support. First, communicate with your co-parent as soon as possible. Whatever circumstances you are facing with your employment do not hide them from her. Help your co-parent to understand what is happening. Provide a timeline for your job hunting. Reassure her that you are working to solve this issue. Doing so helps alleviate many concerns she has at this time.
Put yourself in her shoes. When you are facing rising daily costs associated with childcare, child support comes as a great relief. Being told that your co-parent cannot pay child support that month is frustrating. Therefore, talk to her as soon as possible about this situation. Do not play games or hide information. Be transparent about whatever financial issues you think are upcoming. Hopefully, a budget is a part of your life. If it is, then you know exactly where the issues are.
Having money in reserve
Having an emergency fund helps, as well. Retaining some money each month helps to reinforce your household when job loss hits. Even a small emergency fund can help. Finding whatever income, you can at this time helps you to be forced to draw from your emergency fund excessively. There are methods to choose from when it comes to job loss and child support. However, you first need to be intentional about your life and child support responsibilities.
Modifying a court order on child support
Child support orders are set in stone- until they’re not. Once you go through a court case involving child support those orders need to be followed closely. As we have talked about there are consequences to not following those orders. This does not mean that these orders cannot be changed in the future. The process related to changing a court order is a child support modification.
Child support modifications are a separate legal case from your initial child custody or divorce matter. However, it is filed in the same court as your initial family law case. This has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over your case. A benefit is the familiarity of the court with your issues. Filing a modification on child support requires you first establish that a material or substantial change in circumstances has occurred. This is in your life, your co-parent, or the life of your child. A material and substantial change is a significant development that was not in place when you were last in court.
A change in income can help you reach this threshold. For instance, suppose that you lost a job not because of a seasonal employment factor but because you were injured. Not being able to work competitively, going on disability or anything like this is a good reason to file a modification. Do not underestimate the impact of something like this in your life. On the other hand, your co-parent may file a modification if your child now has a disability where additional care is required. The knife cuts both ways, so to speak.
The best interests of your child are critical
Even if you can prove that a material and substantial change has occurred since the last time you were in court that is not the end of the story. Rather, the best interests of your child need to be considered. The best interest of your child is an actual legal standard applied by courts across the country. In Texas, judges are given a great amount of latitude when it comes to making best interests determinations on behalf of children. This means a judge can look at their own experiences as well as the circumstances of your family when deciding on best interests.
For instance, even if the financial circumstances you are in justify a reduction of child support that does not mean that your request will be granted. Rather, the needs of your child will be looked at in detail. When your child’s needs are more pressing than their requirement that your child support be reduced a modification will not be successful. In that case, any arrearage in child support would be continued based on the needs of your child.
The best interests of your child come first and foremost. Your child’s best interests will not always align with your financial best interests. For some parents, this is a difficult realization to come to. However, understanding this reality puts you in a superior position when it comes to a child support case. It also hammers home the lesson that just because the math adds up to a lesser amount of child support does it mean a family court will necessarily agree to a modification?
Penalties associated with the failure to pay child support
One of the ways that a Texas family court can punish you for the failure to pay child support is by not allowing you to register your vehicle when it comes time to do so. As a noncustodial parent, your responsibility to pay child support is a monthly obligation. Job loss is a reality for many of us. It is understandable to have a brief interruption in income means not being able to pay child support. However, longer stretches of not paying child support mean something more significant.
Failing to pay child support for six or more months leaves you susceptible to your inability to register your vehicle. The OAG communicates the lack of child support payments to the Department of Motor Vehicles. When you receive that email or letter asking you to register your vehicle for the upcoming year it is a problem. Not paying child support puts you in a difficult position when it comes to using your vehicle for day-to-day purposes.
However, it usually will not come to you waiting until the month your vehicle registration is set to expire. The OAG mails a letter out three months in advance of this date to notify you that your registration has been denied. You do not necessarily need to immediately go to court to remove the denial. The state of Texas has a phone number for you to call to follow up on this.
Pay up to register your vehicle
A $200 lump sum payment, at least, needs to be paid for your renewal to be processed. An agreement through the OAG can be entered into as well which squares you away on those payments going for. This is an agreement to engage in a payment plan, essentially. Do not mistake this opportunity as one that is going to be offered frequently. Approximately three days later you should be able to register your vehicle.
Closing thoughts on vehicle renewals and child support
In Texas, our cars are our lifeblood. We depend upon them to help transport us and our children. Getting to and from work likely depends on motor vehicle transportation. In short, there is not much movement over great distances that we can do without our vehicles. In some cases, our vehicles may even be our lifeline as far as the main way for us to earn any income. As a result, renewing the registration on your vehicle is a crucial part of daily life as a Texan.
As you consider the consequences of not paying your child support it is best to understand that all cases are created equally. You may never get to a point in your case where the inability to renew your driver’s registration becomes A possibility. However, you must understand the possibilities of this happening and how it impacts your case. Thank you for choosing to spend part of your day with us here 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
If you have any questions about the material contained 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. Interested in learning more about how your family is impacted by the material in this blog post? Contact us today.
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.
