Being worried about child support is one of the most common concerns in a Texas divorce. The parent who is going to receive child support may be losing an income from their household and needs to be compensated for that by receiving a monthly payment from their former spouse. If you are the parent paying child support, you want to ensure your children are able to live healthy lives but you also don’t want to overpay and certainly not to a former spouse.
Maximum Child Support in Texas
The Texas Family Code rules are straightforward with regard to the percentage of the obligor parent’s net monthly resources that go toward supporting their child. Any income earned beyond this amount is not typically considered when determining child support. “Not typically” means the obligor parent can sometimes be ordered to pay more than the statutory guidelines maximum amount.
Normally, child support is intended to cover essentials like food, clothing, and shelter. But, the Texas Family Code allows for greater than guidelines levels of child support, limiting it only by noting no court can order an employer to withhold more than 50% of an obligor’s earnings.
Assuming the parent paying child support (the obligor) is not responsible for any other children not a party to the instant case, the first $8,550 of the obligor’s monthly net resources is assessed for child support payments. Notably, as of September 1, 2019, the Office of the Texas Attorney General will increase the maximum amount of monthly income from $8,550 to $9,200. With this, the maximum amount, or “CAP,” of net resources for the support of a child will increase up to $700.00 a month without regard to other circumstances. This increase will affect child support cases filed after September 1, 2019. In the State of Texas, child support can be modified every three years if you can show that a new child support calculation would differ from the statutory guidelines by $100 or 20%, or when there has been a substantial and material change in circumstances.
Texas Child Support Lawyers
If you have questions about child support, please do not hesitate contact Terry & Roberts’ licensed family law attorneys. We are experienced in handling matters related to child support and available to speak with you about your case.