El Paso Child Support Guide

A court may order either or both parents to support a child in the manner dictated by the court order: (1) until the child is 18 or until graduation of high school, whichever occurs later; (2) until the child is emancipated through marriage, or through removal of any disabilities of minority by a court order; (3) until the death of the child; or (4) if the child is disabled, for an infinite period.  

In Texas, a person who is obligated to pay child support is called the “obligor,” while the person entitled to receive child support is called the “obligee.”  Usually, the obligee is the person who also has primary possession of the child or children, meaning, the person with whom the child or children live with, incurs most of the living expenses, and has primary possession of the child or children.  The obligor almost never has primary possession of the child or children and may or may not have access and/or possession to the children.  

You will frequently hear the term “Guidelines” when dealing with child support related issues.  Texas has developed a child support guideline for attorneys and the courts to utilize when calculating the amount of child support owed in each situation.  

Duration

An obligor pays child support until the child is 18 years of age or graduates from high school (whichever is the later or the two options), or the child dies, gets marries, or any disabilities are removed.

Calculating Child Support in Texas

The guidelines discussed above will be applied when calculating child support.  The child support guidelines set a basic minimum amount of child support, and the court may deviate from them after taking into consideration several factors (discussed below).  

The child support guidelines are presumed to be reasonable and in the best interest of the child.

The guidelines are applied based on a person’s net monthly income (discussed below).  After the net month income is determined, the court then applies one of two standards: (1) the first standard applies if an obligor’s net monthly income is less than $7,500.00; and (2) the second standard applies if an obligor’s net monthly income is greater than $7,500.00.

1. If an obligor’s net monthly income is less than $7,500.00, the court looks at the number of children, in a household, which are the subject of the suit.  A different calculation would apply if an obligor has children in two separate households.

a. The Family Code provides the following guideline calculations: (1) one child = 20% of obligor’s net monthly income; (2) two children = 25% of obligor’s net monthly income; (3) three children = 30% of obligor’s net monthly income; (4) 35% of obligor’s net monthly income; (5) 40% of obligor’s net monthly income; and (6) six children = no less than 40% of net monthly income.


2. If an obligor’s net monthly income is more than $7,500.00, the court applies the same calculations as set out above to first $7,500.00 of net monthly income.  If the obligee can prove that the child or children have “needs” warranting more child support, then the court may order the obligor to pay more child support.  These “needs” may include tuition, extra medical costs, tutoring, and extra-curricular activity.  

However, there is still a limit on the amount of child support that can be awarded—the court will limit the amount over guidelines to the proven needs of the child or children.   

Calculating Monthly Income

Step 1: Determine what income to include:

Include the following income in your annual gross income calculation: All wage and salary income and other compensation for personal services (including commissions, overtime pay, bonuses, and tips); interest, dividends, and any royalty income; self-employment income; net rental income (this means rent after deducting operating expenses and mortgage payments, but not including non-cash items like depreciation); and all other income actually being received, including severance pay, retirement pay, pensions, trust income, annuities, capital gains, social security benefits, unemployment benefits, disability and workers’ compensation benefits, interest income from notes regardless of the source, gifts and prizes, spousal maintenance, child support, and alimony.

Do not include: return of principal or capital on a note not included in net resources; accounts receivable; benefits paid through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); payments for foster care; or net resources or a new spouse.

Step 2: Find the average monthly income.

Divide the annual gross income by 12 to come up with the average monthly gross income.

Step 3: Subtract the following from the average monthly income to give you the average monthly net resources:

Federal income taxes paid for a single person claiming one personal deduction and the standard deduction; state income taxes; social security taxes; union dues; and child’s health insurance cost or cash medical support.

Once you have your net monthly income, apply the percentages discussed above.

Deviation From the Child Support Guidelines  

Discussed briefly above, a court may deviate from the child support guidelines if the evidence shoes that the best interests of the child justify such a deviation.  For example, a court can consider: the age and needs of the child; the ability of the parents to contribute to supporting the child; the amount of time and possession of and access to a child; financial resources available to support the child; childcare expenses; special or extraordinary education; health care; or other expenses of the child.

Support for a Minor or Adult Disabled Children

The court may order either or both parents to provide for the support of a child for an indefinite period and may determine the rights and duties of the parents if the court finds that: (1) the child, whether institutionalized or not, requires substantial care and personal supervision because of a mental or physical disability and will not be capable of self-support; and (2) disability exists, or the cause of the disability is known to exist, on or before the 18th birthday of the child.

Medical Child Support/Health Insurance

In addition to ensuring that the child is financially taken care of through child support, the court must also order either of the parties to provide health insurance.  The court looks at numerous factors in considering which parent bears the cost of health insurance for the child.  

The court will look at the cost and quality of health insurance; inquire whether coverage is available at a reasonable cost through one of the parties’ employers; or whether coverage may be available through another source at a reasonable cost.

Retroactive Child Support in Texas

If a parent has failed to make his or her child support payments, a court may order a parent to pay retroactive child support if the parent: (1) has not previously been ordered to pay support for the child; and (2) was not a party to a suit in which support was ordered.

A court can order retroactive child support to be paid to the obligee if an obligor has failed to make child support payments.  The court looks to the “net resources of the obligor during the relevant time period” and whether the mother made any attempts to let the father know of his paternity (or possibility of), if the father knew of his paternity (or possibility of), whether an undue hardship will be imposed on the father, and if the father had provided actual support or necessaries prior to the filing of the action, in determining the amount of retroactive child support.

The court can order retroactive child support to be paid for the four years preceding the date of the petition for support.  The court will presume that four years of retroactive child support is in the best interest of the child.  

However, an obligee may argue that it is in the best interest of the child to be entitled to more than four years of child support.  The obligee must show that the obligor knew or should have known that the obligor was the father of the child and sought to avoid the establishment of a support obligation to the child.

Manner of Payments:

There are several ways in which a court may order child support to be paid: (1) periodic payments; (2) lump-sum payments; (3) an annuity purchase; (4) the setting aside of property to be administered for the support of the child; or (5) any combination of (1) – (4).

Termination of Child Support:

A child support order terminates on: (1) the marriage of the child; (2) the removal of the child’s disabilities for general purposes; (3) the death of the child; (4) a finding by a court that the child: (a) is 18 years of age or older; and (b) has failed to comply with the school enrollment or attendance requirements laid out in the Family Code.

Continuation of Duty to Pay Support After Death of Obligee

In the event, the obligee passes away, the Texas Family Code informs us that a child support obligation does not terminate on the death of the obligee.  Rather, the obligation continues to the child named in the support order.