Support for your child in the process of divorcing is extremely important to you. Ensuring that this child has no additional changes to his or her life is paramount to you. They have already had to face the fact that their mom and dad are not going to be together anymore. How much more upheaval will they have to endure?
The state of Texas’s Family Code spells out in exact detail how support will be calculated and who will pay for it. It is a good idea for you to be familiar with it. The court has the authority to order either or both parents to offer support to the child until he or she is 18 years old or has graduated from high school, whichever comes later.
If the child is emancipated through marriage or has a disability, you may not be required to pay child support. Of course, if the child dies, no additional support need be paid.
If you lose custody of your child to a third party, you may still be required to pay for his or her support. If and when the child gets adopted by a third party, you may not have to pay. You will have to pay until the child is 18 years old otherwise. If your child is disabled and is collecting disability, you may not have to pay child support.
The authorities remain in control, though, and can order both of you, as parents, to pay support periodically if the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services is named as a temporary conservator for your child.
Knowing the ins and outs of what the Texas Family Code says about support is so important. Having someone on your team who is completely familiar with this statute is vital at a time like this.
Source: Texas Family Code, “Chapter 154, child support,” accessed Sep. 08, 2015