Frequently Asked Questions
About Child Support:
[use your browser’s “back” key to go back]
Q.
What must I do first to obtain
child support?
A. First, a parent or guardian must be granted legal custody of the child. The legal custodian of the child, usually a parent, will then be granted child support. The person ordered to pay child support is called an obligor. Custody and child support can both be established in the same proceeding. Click here(insert hyperlink) for more information about custody.
Q. How is child support calculated?
A. Generally, child support is calculated by applying guidelines set forth by the Texas Family Code. The guidelines provide that the custodian shall receive 20% of the obligor’s net monthly income using the obligor’s first $6,000 of net monthly income. The percentage increases for more than one child as follows:
2 children – 25%
3 children – 30%
4 children – 35%
5 children – 40%
6 children – at least 40%
Q. What happens if I already pay child support to my first wife
for two children, and will have to pay child support to my soon-to-be second
ex-wife?
A. The Court will use slightly different guidelines that those above. Generally the percentages used will be those in the grid below.
|
Number of Children Before the Court |
||||||||
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
|
Number of other children for whom the obligor has a duty of support |
0 |
20.00 |
25.00 |
30.00 |
35.00 |
40.00 |
40.00 |
40.00 |
|
1 |
17.50 |
22.50 |
27.38 |
32.20 |
37.33 |
37.71 |
38.00 |
|
|
2 |
16.00 |
20.63 |
25.20 |
30.33 |
35.43 |
36.00 |
36.44 |
|
|
3 |
14.75 |
19.00 |
24.00 |
29.00 |
34.00 |
34.67 |
35.20 |
|
|
4 |
13.60 |
18.33 |
23.14 |
28.00 |
32.89 |
33.60 |
34.18 |
|
|
5 |
13.33 |
17.86 |
22.50 |
27.22 |
32.00 |
32.73 |
33.33 |
|
|
6 |
13.14 |
17.50 |
22.00 |
26.60 |
31.27 |
32.00 |
32.62 |
|
|
7 |
13.00 |
17.22 |
21.60 |
26.09 |
30.67 |
31.38 |
32.00 |
|
Q. How is net
monthly income determined?
A. Net monthly income is calculated by adding together all of the obligor’s monthly resources (see below), and deducting the following: social security taxes, federal income taxes (based on the tax rate for a single person claiming one exemption and the standard deduction), state income tax, union dues, health insurance premiums for the child
Q. What economic
resources are included in net monthly income?
A. Net monthly income includes overtime pay, wages, salary, tips, bonuses, commissions, interest, dividends, royalty income, self-employment income, net rental income, severance pay, retirement benefits, pensions, trust income, annuities, capital gains, social security benefits, unemployment benefits, disability benefits, workers’ compensation benefits, interest income from notes, gifts, prizes, spousal maintenance and alimony.
Q. For what reasons might the Court deviate from the standard guidelines?
A.
Q. What about medical costs?
A.
Q. How is child support paid?
A.