After the pandemic, the cost of just about everything has gone up, and it is understandable that some people are having a hard time dealing with higher expenses. If you believe your ex got a big raise, you could ask the court to redo the child support payments. Recently, some employers have increased their employees' pay to encourage them to stay, rather than training new people. If you have custody of your child and you need more child support to cover the extra costs, you should seek the help of a Texas attorney to help you make the necessary changes in your child support order. 

What Is Involved in Changing a Child Support Order?

Under Texas law, if you want to change your child support payments, you will need to show the court that there has been a big change in your situation to justify the change. If the court decides that there is a significant change in your life, it will approve what it calls a modification or change.

For example, if you find out that your ex-spouse got a raise while you are dealing with higher expenses, you could ask the court to redo the child support payments. Just saying that prices are going up is not enough because that usually impacts both parents' cost of living. 

Child support payments are intended to be for the direct benefit of the children following a divorce. Within that context, there is a wide range of acceptable uses for child support funds that may not all be strictly related to a child's basic expenses. Of course, child support can be used for clothing, food, medical costs, or school expenses, but it can also be used for entertainment and vacations. If you feel your child's other parent is spending child support money on themselves, contact experienced Austin child support lawyers.

There are almost always expenses that benefit the children as well as their custodial parents. Rent, utilities, and household items are necessary to raise a child, and a parent may save child support funds in case of emergencies. However, if a parent is spending child support money in ways that are not associated with the welfare of the children, this can be a problem. Recognizing how child support can be improperly used is important for taking action when necessary. 

How Can I Find Out How My Ex Spends Child Support? 

Parents paying child support cannot get a detailed list of how child support funds are spent. Once child support payments are ordered by a court, the parent who receives the payments has complete discretion when it comes to how they spend the payments as long as they serve the children's best interests. Parents paying child support who are concerned about how funds are spent will need to raise the issue in court or with the Texas Child Support Division. 

If you have children, child support becomes a core part of divorce in Texas and the wellbeing of your children is a major priority for the courts. However, child support can become a bit more complex in a high-asset divorce.

Parents going through a divorce in Texas are subject to statutory mathematical formulas to determine their child support obligations. In this blog, we will discuss Texas child support guidelines, some unique challenges, and practical steps that high-income parents can take to ensure a fair and reasonable child support agreement.

Texas Child Support Guidelines

There are specific guidelines for calculating child support payments in Texas. These payments are based on the net monthly income of the non-custodial parent. The non-custodial parent pays a percentage of their net monthly income, based on the number of children they are supporting.

Under Texas law, every parent has the legal responsibility to provide financial support for their child, even if that child does not live with them. This is why non-custodial parents are ordered to pay child support. And although the majority of parents meet that obligation without any issues, there is no denying that it can feel financially liberating when the day comes that the parent no longer has to send that child support payment to their ex.

Generally, parents are responsible for child support until the child reaches the legal age of adulthood – 18 years – or graduates from high school, whichever comes last. However, some parents wonder if there are situations in which the court will order child support payments to be extended beyond that point. See below for a brief overview of that question.

Disabled Child

Under the Texas Family Code, if a child is disabled, then the law says that the court can order that child support be paid for an indefinite period of time. This is the only exception to extended child support under the law, but there are criteria that are required to be met. These include:

Under Texas law, when parents split up, all child support orders are issued in compliance with the state’s child support guidelines. There are situations, however, when the child or the parents may have what is referred to as extraordinary income or expenses. This is often the case in divorces involving a high net worth couple. In these situations, the court may deviate from the traditional guidelines and come up with a different amount.

Texas Child Support Guidelines

Generally, the court will take the parent’s net monthly income (based on the formula put in place by the state) and the parent will pay a percentage of that amount based on how many children the couple has. As of this writing, the current guidelines are:

• One child – 20 percent

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