Galveston County Child Support Attorney

Galveston Child Support Lawyer Serving Galveston County

The costs involved in raising children can be very high. Parents will need to cover multiple types of expenses, ranging from basic necessities such as food and clothing to unique and extraordinary costs related to issues such as medical treatment, education, or activities. To ensure that both parents are contributing toward these costs and providing for their children's needs, it may be necessary to create child support orders in family court. These orders will usually be issued as part of a divorce or child custody case, and they will generally require one parent to make ongoing payments to the other to cover different types of expenses.

Whether you expect to receive child support payments from your children's other parent or will be required to make ongoing payments to an ex-spouse or partner, you will want to make sure these financial obligations will be calculated correctly. Daniel R. Bacalis, P.C. can provide invaluable assistance in these matters. In addition to explaining how Texas' laws apply to you, we can advise you on how to address any unique or extraordinary issues that may affect your case. We will work to ensure that your child support order will provide for your children's needs while also protecting your financial interests and making sure you will have the resources to support yourself and your family.

Calculating Child Support Based on Net Resources

While child support is usually paid by one parent to the other, these payments are meant to benefit a parent, but to ensure that children's basic needs will be met. In Texas family law cases, the amount of child support that will be paid is determined based on the "net resources" of the obligor, who is usually the parent that the children do not primarily live with. That is, if children will be residing in one parent's home the majority of the time, the other parent will generally be required to pay child support.

Net resources include all forms of income a person receives minus taxes and certain other types of expenses. Wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, tips, overtime pay, and any other forms of income should be considered, and resources may also include interest, dividends, royalties, severance pay, retirement benefits, capital gains, or annuities. Deductions may be made from these amounts, and these include federal and state income taxes, Social Security taxes, and union dues. The resulting amount will be used to calculate child support. If a parent is intentionally unemployed or underemployed, the court may calculate their child support obligations by determining the potential income they should be able to earn based on their education, employment history, job skills, age, health, and other relevant factors.

Child support obligations will be calculated using the following percentages:

• One child: 20 percent of the obligor's net resources
• Two children: 25 percent of the obligor's net resources
• Three children: 30 percent of the obligor's net resources
• Four children: 35 percent of the obligor's net resources
• Five children: 40 percent of the obligor's net resources
• Six or more children: at least 40 percent of the obligor's net resources, or a larger amount that the court believes is appropriate to provide for children's needs

If necessary, a court may decide to order child support payments that are calculated using a method other than the percentages detailed above. This will generally only be done if applying the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate. For example, if children will be living with each parent for equal amounts of time, child support payments from one parent to the other may not be necessary to meet the children's ongoing daily needs, or if the parent receiving support earns a significantly higher income than the obligor, a lower child support obligation may be appropriate. Deviations from the guidelines may be based on issues such as children's extraordinary needs, the parents' ability to contribute toward supporting their children, childcare expenses while one or both parents are working, spousal maintenance that either parent pays or receives, or a variety of other factors.

Contact Our Hitchcock Child Support Attorney

Daniel R. Bacalis, P.C. can help you make sure matters related to child support will be handled correctly in your divorce or child custody case. We can advise you on how to determine net resources, calculate child support obligations, and address related issues, such as sharing the costs of medical or dental insurance for children or contributing towards children's college expenses. Contact us and set up a complimentary consultation by calling 409-392-1511 today. We assist with family law cases in Hitchcock, Dickinson, League City, Galveston County, Texas City, Galveston, Brazoria County, and La Marque.