I read an article in the Fall 2017 Family Lawyer Magazine (yes, I’m behind on my reading pile) that talks about away to hide income – at the IRS. Husband owed wife spousal support, which was calculated on his actual net income. After receiving a raise, Husband increased his federal withholding taxes above the amount … Continue Reading
The Texas Family Code awards child support based on the monthly net resources of the obligor. Tex. Fam. Code §§154.125-.126. The calculation of net resources includes 100 percent of all wages and salary income and other compensation for personal services (including commissions, overtime pay, tips and bonuses). Tex. Fam. Code §154.062(b)(1). The Texas Family code … Continue Reading
This is part 2 in a two-part series on the basics of net resources for calculation of child support. Deemed Income Deemed Income is a term we get from Texas Family Code Section 154.067: “Deemed Income (a) When appropriate, in order to determine the net resources available for child support, the court may assign … Continue Reading
This is Part 1 in a two-part series on the basics of net resources for the calculation of child support. To calculate current child support, courts must (1) determine the amount of the obligor’s income available for support (“net resources”), apply the child-support guidelines to the obligor’s net resources to determine guideline support, and (3) … Continue Reading
Child support is ordered to be paid by Texas judges in terms of monetary support. In my 25 years of practicing family law, I have never seen a judge approve a court order for payment of child support in some manner other than cash money. But, then I saw this article (Italian court rules divorced … Continue Reading
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.… Continue Reading
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.… Continue Reading
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.… Continue Reading
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.… Continue Reading
In an opinion delivered on March 8, 2013 and authored by Justice Lehrmann, the Texas Supreme Court lent clarity to the Family Code's "purging" provision (Texas Family Code 157.162(d)… Continue Reading
For obligors (people paying child support) it is important that you strictly follow your child support orders as to the date, amount and method of payment.… Continue Reading
In a modification of orders regarding children following a Texas divorce, sometimes lawyers get confused about the application of presumptions...… Continue Reading
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.… Continue Reading
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.… Continue Reading
In July, Congress approved the overhaul of financial regulations protecting borrowers against abuses in credit card, mortgage, and other types of lending. However, the new law failed to reform a 2005 bankruptcy law that hurts single mothers and benefits the credit card industry. This law makes it easier for delinquent dads to avoid paying child support and alimony.… Continue Reading
The Dallas Court of Appeals issued an opinion today in a Dallas child support case and held that an inheritance should be included as income for the purposes of calculating child support.… Continue Reading
Today, channel KDTX featured Michelle May O'Neil on the television show Joy In Our Town to discuss challenges in paying and receiving child support in a down economy.… Continue Reading
On August 28, 2009, the Dallas Court of Appeals issued an opinion relating to intentional underemployment and its impact on determining child support. Pursuant to Section 154.066 of the Texas Family Code, if an obligor is intentionally unemployed or underemployed in an attempt to reduce child support payments, the court's wage and salary income calculations are not limited to actual earnings, but instead are based on the obligor's earning potential.… Continue Reading
Dallas Divorce Lawyer Michelle May O'Neil was quoted in the July 2nd, 2009 edition of Dallas Morning News in Emily Ramshaw's article Child Support Suffers As Economy Suffers. The story lead Thursday's edition with Ms. O'Neil's picture appearing on page 14A.… Continue Reading
