In Texas, as well as everywhere else in the country, divorce is often very difficult for children. While parents may be excited about starting a new life after a divorce, children are often upset and insecure as a result of their parents no longer living together. They may be worried about who will raise them, whether their home will be stable, and who will support them financially. Hence, in the best interest of the child, U.S. courts, including those in Texas, often award child custody to one parent and order the other parent to pay child support.
In an earlier post, there was an explanation of how a Texas court may issue a child support order without having knowledge of the income of a non-custodial parent. However, a non-custodial parent may approach the court and have the order revised. In this post, we will explain how a child support order is determined by the court.
A child support order is based on a combination of the net income of a parent and the Texas child support guidelines. The state guidelines state that if there is only one child in question, a non-custodial parent will have to pay 20 percent of his or her income. For two children, the payment is 25 percent of the income of the non-custodial parent. If the non-custodial parent has to support three children, the amount will be 30 percent of net income. For four children, the amount is 35 percent and for five or more children, 40 percent of the net income will be ordered for child support.
Even if a non-custodial parent is not working, he or she will have to pay child support. In these instances, the best thing to do is to provide all of the relevant information to the court so that a payment amount can be figured that is fair to the child but does not financially cripple the non-custodial parent.
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