Child Support

Child Support Lawyer

Providing Legal Counsel in Texas

Both parents of a child have a legal obligation to provide financial support for the child, whether or not they are married. When the Texas family courts issue a child support order, payments should be set at a reasonable amount based on a parent’s actual income and expenses.

At the Schneider Law Firm our child support attorneys guide parents through the process of obtaining appropriate support orders in family court. If you are concerned about child support, do not hesitate to contact us for a free consultation.

Advocating for Fair Child Support Payments

In Texas, when a child’s parents get divorced or when a parent of a child born outside of marriage seeks child support from the other parent, the family court judge will use a formula to calculate the appropriate monthly support payment.

The basic formula considers the following:

• The adjusted net income of the parent required to pay child support (obligor)
• The number of children involved in the present case
• The total number of children that the obligor has a duty to support

The court also has the discretion to take into account various other factors, including time actually spent in possession of the child, and whether the child has special needs when setting the amount of support.

The income of the custodial parent is usually not considered in the formula, but family court judges do have some discretion to increase or decrease the payment and may choose to consider the income of both parents. Other factors that the judge may consider include child care needs, school tuition, and the special needs of a particular client.

Supporting Clients Throughout the Process

Our attorneys play several important roles in the child support process. We help clients make sure the court gets an accurate picture of each parent’s income, and we help them communicate any arguments for deviating from the typical child support formula.

We also handle requests for child support modifications when the underlying circumstances affecting the child support calculation have changed, and we can help clients with either prosecuting or defending the enforcement of child support orders. To learn more about your child support options, contact one of our family law lawyers today.