Many paying parents want to put restrictions on what child support can be spent on, to prevent the other parent from personally using the money. While it may seem like child support is being mismanaged to some – and maybe in some cases it is being mismanaged — Texas law does not support placing restrictions on how child support is spent.
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4-day delay in entering written contempt and commitment order renders enforcement void
By Michelle O'Neil on
Posted in Dallas County Divorce
Child support enforcement is akin to a criminal prosecution and must be handled with the utmost eye toward the due process rights of the accused. It is a well-settled and obvious rule that, in order to hold someone in jail on an enforcement case, such as for nonpayment of child support, both the contempt order and the commitment order must be in writing and signed by the judge immediately following the commitment. Failure to do both of these things renders the commitment void.
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Would Marc Anthony Be Required To Pay More Child Support in Texas?
By Michelle O'Neil on
Posted in Child Support
In Texas if three years have passed since the last court order regarding child support, Dayanara would be entitled to an automatic review of Marc Anthony’s child support obligation.
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Maintaining a Client’s Expectations During a Divorce in Texas
By Michelle O'Neil on
When representing a person going through a divorce, sometimes you have to be the bearer of bad news and sometimes you have to give your client a reality check.
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Texas Maximum Child Support Cap Is Changing September 1, 2013
By Michelle O'Neil on
Posted in Child Support
Currently, there is a cap in the monthly net resources used when calculating child support in Texas. The current child support cap in Texas is $7,500.00 net monthly resources per month. Depending on the number of children involved, the monthly net resources are then multiplied by a percentage for the number of children a parent has a duty to support as represented below.
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Having Another Child Will Affect Your Child Support in Texas
By Michelle O'Neil on
Posted in Child Support
In Texas, when the parent who has a child support obligation has another child, the parent paying child support is entitled to a modification of their child support obligation.
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Can I pay my child support directly to the other parent instead of making payments through the State?
Posted on
Posted in Child Support
Most Texas divorce decrees and custody orders contain very specific language prohibiting these kinds of payments.
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Statutory Presumptions Don’t Apply to Modification Proceedings
By Michelle O'Neil on
Posted in Child Support
In a modification of orders regarding children following a Texas divorce, sometimes lawyers get confused about the application of presumptions……
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Supreme Court Finds No Automatic Right to Counsel in Child Support Contempt Proceedings
By Michelle O'Neil on
Posted in Child Support
The U.S. Supreme Court has found no automatic right to counsel for indigent civil defendants facing jail time, though it ruled on behalf of a father who served a year in prison for failing to pay child support.
Free lawyers aren’t required in such situations, but states must have procedural safeguards in place to help determine whether the parent is able to comply with the support order, according to the majority opinion (PDF) by Justice Stephen G. Breyer.
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US Supreme Court Set to Hear Child Support Contempt Case
By Michelle O'Neil on
Posted in Child Support
The nation’s top court will hear the appeal of an indigent father who contends his rights were violated because he wasn’t provided an attorney before being jailed for failing to pay child support.
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