Ensuring Your Children Have What They Need
Child support serves an invaluable role – it prevents children from being impacted financially by their parents’ divorce or separation. It is paid to the parent with whom the child lives, and is used to cover basic necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, education and other things that they would have benefited from if their parents had remained married to each other.
At Branch Law Firm, attorney Crista Marichalar Branch and the firm’s staff help parents navigate the legal processes that lead up to the issuing of a child support order. She also helps parents who wish to propose a modification or who need help enforcing a child support order.
How Child Support Is Calculated In Most Cases
While spousal support is decided on a case-by-case basis, Texas has statutory child support guidelines that serve as the starting point for determining how much one parent will pay to the other. These guidelines are based on the following percentages:
- 20% of the noncustodial parent’s employed net income for one child
- 25% for two children
- 30% for three children
- 35% for four children
- 40% for five children
- A minimum of 40% for six or more children
The maximum monthly payments are based on a net monthly income of $7,500, but courts will order different amounts if the circumstances justify a claim for the support that exceeds the statutory guidelines. (Common examples include children with special needs or parents with a high net worth.) Support must be paid until the child graduates from high school or turns 18, whichever occurs later.
Health Insurance Coverage And More
In Texas, parents are legally obligated to provide health insurance for their children. When divorce or separation occurs, the court may order the parent responsible for child support to add their children to an existing policy or to pay insurance premium costs to the parent with primary custody.
Branch Law Firm can help you document special needs and otherwise present relevant input to the family law court that will issue your child support order.
We’re On Your Side
At Branch Law Firm, we help custodial parents request and, if necessary, fight for the support amounts needed for the care and well-being of their children.
To learn more about Texas child support guidelines, contact us by email or call (210) 229-2088.
