Child support modification in Texas and other states is a court order through which either of the separated parents can change the terms of their child support order. Though, the parent can increase or decrease the child support amount through modification, they must provide a solid reason to the court to get the order in their favor. Right research and assistance of a child custody attorney could help parents in understanding how and for what reasons the court may agree to modify the child support order. To shed more light on the subject, here are four FAQs about child support modification in Texas.
Must Read: 5 Lesser-Known Facts On Child Custody Modification 1. How do you change the child support order? The only way to make changes in an existing child support order is through the CSRP (Child Support Review Process) or a court order. Any sort of informal agreement between the noncustodial and custodial parent does not modify the child support payment. Must Read : Child Support Modification: Essential Aspects that Both Parties Need to Know 2. What if I cannot afford child support payments? Keep paying the amount of money you can afford until the court issues a new order. Try to make the payments in the form mentioned in the order. This way the court would be able to see that you put your best effort in making child support payments, which may work in your favor. This also ensures that you do not pile up unpaid child support amount. 3. Is there a limit on the number of times you can request for child support modification? Yes, some jurisdictions place a limit on the number of times a parent can appeal for child support modification. In Dallas, for instance, the court will listen to a new request for child support modification only three years after it has approved the last request. 4. Can child support modification be ordered for a temporary period? Yes, depending on the circumstances, the court may approve your request for temporary child support modification. That said, the court may grant a temporary child support modification if one of the parents has temporarily lost the job or if the child has a medical emergency. Hire a Child Support Lawyer! Any parent requesting for child support modification must prove that there has been a considerable change in circumstances after the last order was issued by the court. Valid reasons include change in the child’s needs or a substantial increase or decrease in the parent’s income. Understanding all these clauses may not be easy for every separating parent on their own, and this is where you can seek help of a child support lawyer in Texas, especially when the case is complicated.
0 Comments
Adoption is although, governed by the state law in the U.S., limited federal statutes and federal constitutional principles might come in picture in some cases. The general rules in adoption law such as requirement of consent, permanent nature of adoption are common across the states. Most couples or individuals planning for an adoption usually have a lot of questions related to child adoption laws, and getting the help of child adoption lawyers is the ideal way to understand the law. If you have a basic understanding of the procedure, it will help in communicating your concerns in a better way with the attorney. The blog post answers three common questions related to child adoption to give you a heads up.
How to go about adoption? When you are considering an adoption, these are the options available: Agency adoptionYou can adopt a child through:
If you are planning to adopt a Caucasian infant, you might need to wait for minimum one year from the time the home study of the child is finished. The estimation of waiting period is difficult as birth parents select and interview the adopter who wants to take the legal responsibility of the child. If you want to adopt an African-American infant, the wait could be less than six months. International adoption usually take one year or more, but the wait and process is predictable in most cases. What is the cost of adoption? The cost of adoption is influenced by several factors and varies according to the type of placement. Let’s look at the approximate cost.
More than 100,000 children are waiting for permanent homes in the U.S. Adoption is a noble decision, and if you want to give a good life to a child, there are many companies and government agencies offering help to adopters. These organizations provide adoption benefits such as agency fees, legal expenses and post adoption counseling to help adopters deal with financial and emotional issues in the best possible way. Divorce is an emotionally draining process and things get worse when both the parties need to make decisions for their child. The court grants custody to one parent and the other parent has to pay a fixed monthly amount for education, food, medical and other responsibilities of the child. Many parents do not pay attention to certain important points related to child support that could land them in trouble as a result of stress of attending hearings and fighting for child custody. Whether the court has given you the custody of the child or you are supposed to pay the monthly obligation, the blog discusses four facts related to child support fraud that you need to know: 1.Monthly obligation can decrease The parent paying for child support can request for amount modification in the scenario of extreme financial problem. The parent, however, needs to provide evidence of long-term unemployment, severe disability or other proof for dramatic change in the income to decrease the child support amount. There are, however, a few conditions such as one or a couple of bad months at work, wherein you won’t get modification approval from the court. 2. Monthly obligation can increase If the monthly income of a parent paying for child support dramatically increases, there is a possibility that ex-spouse might file a petition to increase the amount. The party filing the petition, however, needs to show that monthly gross salary has significantly increased from the time when the order was issued, and the change is permanent. 3. Increase in parenting time might impact obligation Many jurisdictions calculate child support amount on the basis of the percentage of time a co-parent spends with the child. If the custody visitation amount of the parent increases as result of the rise in the number of times the co-parent provides housing, clothing, food and other necessary things to the child, this might reduce the obligation amount. 4. Monthly obligation payment failure could hurt badly Different states might have different laws to ensure that the child support payer meets obligation. If the co-parent fails to make payment regularly, this could result in criminal penalty, suspension of driving license, wage garnishment, passport cancellation, deductions from tax refunds, and suspension of fishing license. Last Few Words Child support payment isn’t forever and might last through college. The support is usually cut off when the child reaches age 18. You need to understand that there could be severe consequences of failing to pay the child support amount and might get you jail term. Seeking advice of reputable family attorney in a bad scenario or when filing divorce is helpful for most of the separating parents. Child custody is referred to as ‘conservatorship’ in Dallas, TX. Instead of referring to a parent as a ‘custodian’, the court names the custodian of the child as ‘conservator’. If both the parents do not agree on the custody plan, it is the family judge who decides the terms of conservatorship. The court only requires a proof to approve the written agreement. The court, however, needs to decide the conservatorship plan that is right for the child. We discuss the types of child conservatorships in detail in the blog post.
Understanding Conservatorships Custody or conservatorship gives a parent the right to get information about the child’s health, welfare and education. The parent who doesn’t have the custody of the child has access to psychological, medical, educational and dental records and can speak with the physical, dentist or psychologist about the child. The parent also has the right to speak to the school officials about the education and welfare of the child and school activities. You can consult a child support lawyer in Dallas, TX to get detailed information about the child custody laws in Texas. Types of Conservatorships Joint Managing Conservatorship (JMC) Both the parties share the duties and rights of a parent in JMC. The court can, however, award the exclusive right to make certain decisions only to one parent, considering what’s in the best interest of the child. If both the parents are made conservators, the judge specifies responsibility of each parent. An essential point that you need to know is that even if the judge makes both parents JMCs, it doesn’t mean that two of them will have equal access to the child. The court makes the decision in a separate visitation schedule, which is also called as standard possession order (SPO). Sole Managing Conservatorship (SMC) The court grants legal rights to make certain decisions about the child only to one parent in SMC. The parent gets right such as - decide the primary residence of the child, consent to medical, psychological, dental, and psychiatric treatment, right to attend school activities, and making decisions about the child’s education. The court may give SMC if the other parent has history of neglect or family violence, addiction to alcohol and drugs, or no presence in the child’s life. Last Few Words When the court decides the child’s custody, it always asks the non-custodial parent to take the financial responsibility to support the child. The non-custodial parent needs to pay the amount till the time the child is over 18 years. If the child is disabled, the non-custodial parent might need to provide support for a longer period. A child custody lawyer in Dallas, TX is an ideal person to seek advice about custody of child laws. Find an experienced family lawyer for child custody cases to ensure that a trusted person is representing you in court. Summary If you wish to learn more about rules to get the custody of a child during a divorce, read the blog post to know about the two types of conservatorships. When a couple decides to part ways in Texas, the court orders a certain amount of child support to be paid by the non-custodial parent to finance the needs of the child. As the child grows, there might be a need to revise the child support to match up to the scaling costs. Requesting and approving a change in the child support is a legal process for which couples require the assistance of attorneys specializing in family law. Instead of getting caught in a whirl of legalities, seeking the assistance of a family law attorney can guide the right way to approach the requirements of a revised child support. The blog post discusses a few FAQs that divorced couples always have regarding child support modifications. Let’s have a look, starting with the process.
1. The Process to Make a Child Support Modification Modification of child support is possible either through means of court hearing or the Child Support Review Process (CSRP). Typically, a CSRP processing works faster than a court hearing if both the spouses reach a mutual decision on the child support. The spouse who requests for a modification needs to furnish a valid reason along with tangible proofs to support their argument for a child support modification. Ideally, income changes are the primary factors for a revision in child support. In addition to income changes, some of the other factors that lead to child support modification:
The above-mentioned factors are just a tip of the iceberg as there are plenty of other factors responsible for a revision in child support. Typically, the revision follows with an increase in income of the paying parent, or there is a spike in the needs of a child due to increasing expenses or a debilitating physical or mental disorder. On the contrary, if the paying parent loses employment, the court may reduce the amount of child support. 3. The Criteria for Revision in Cases of Part-Time or No Employment Non-custodial parents who either lose their job or are paid less due to some reasons may request a revision in child support. A family law attorney can assist in calculating the revised amount of child support and submit the same to the court. The non-custodial parent cannot discontinue the payment of child support until the request is processed in the Texas court. 4. The Correlation Between Unemployment Benefits and Child Support Even if the non-custodial parent gets sacked or loses employment, child support is payable from the unemployment benefits through a mechanism called wage withholding. The Texas Workforce may withhold up to 50 percent of the amounts received as unemployment benefits to match up with the monthly child support obligations. 5. The Possibility of a Temporary Child Support Order in cases of Unemployment Though it’s uncommon for a court to issue a temporary child support order, a family law attorney may assist in arranging them until the non-custodial parent seeks employment opportunities. If a temporary order is issued, there will be a hearing post six months from the issuance of an order or when the paying parent gets employment; whichever is earlier. The final revisions will be made after the court issues a new order. However, if the parent fails to pay the revised amount of child support listed in the temporary order, the court takes an enforcement action. The Way Forward The emotional gaps among the divorced couples may hinder the process of child support modifications. While one parent requests for a modification, the other parent may be unwilling for an upward revision. Moreover, the legal route has its timelines to process and accept the requests which are unknown to most divorced couples. A family law attorney is a person who can help couples navigate the sensitive issues of child custody as well as the matters of child support. Family law attorneys possess an extensive experience in handling child custody matters and may prove helpful in successfully disposing of the matters of child custody and support. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2017
Categories |