Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
This is something my boyfriend is currently going through with his ex whom is also his sons mother. As of last January she put him on child support so he gets close to $100 deducted off every paycheck. He owed about $2000 in back chld support only because she said he never gave her anything when in fact he gave her $100 a week and I say it in past sense because I am assuming he already finished paying that back considering his income tax from last year went to her because of it. She is currently a cosmetologist. She is 21 years old and their son is about a week shy of turning 4. She still lives with her parents and has family babysit their son when she goes to work. She is never home when my boyfriend picks up and drops off the child every weekend. She recently started complaining that she isnt getting as much child support as she used to. Stating that for 2 weeks she will get $94 and then $80 the following week and $20 the week after. Why this is happening I am not sure but they still take about $100 off every pay check. We know for a fact that she doesnt use that money much on their child and instead uses it as an extra pay check for HER. In the year since they went to court for child support he bought a truck and he and I rented an apartment and are now going to purchase a home. She knows of all this and all she sees are money signs. With that said she wants to take him back to court to get more money. Will she be able to do that? Is more than $400 a month really necessary for a 4 year old considering we have him every weekend and he is basically supported by 3 adults on her side (her and her parents). I am pretty sure she doesnt pay rent nor groceries so the only thing her money should be going for really is for their son and her cell phone if she even pays that. Basically all I want to know is that is this fair and is it possible if she took him back to court she would get more out of him? Dont his expenses count in how much child support he can give too? And another thing, her mother is more of a mother to their child than she is. Everything has to go through her instead of his ex.
1 Answer from Attorneys
I'm not really sure what you are asking.
Are you asking - how much should a man pay in child support?
What a mother making is irrelevant. She can be a millionaire and drive a Mercedes. It is irrelevant on what he pays in child support.
Child support is based on his gross monthly income. You can look on the TX A G website or on several other websites and get a pretty good idea for the State of Texas what that is. Even if he is not working it is based on a 40 hour minimum wage job. I think that is approximately $225/month but I'm doing it from memory - I don't have my child support book in front of me right now.
What his monthly expenses are each month are irrelevant. His child support comes before anything else. That is the policy of the Texas legislature. And, this child will come before any other child he has in the future. So if the two of you have any children, your future children will always be "second-rate" citizens in the eyes of any court. Your children will always "suffer" until this child turns 18 -- so you need to be aware of this fact BEFORE the two of you have any children.
I urge you to do some research on Texas laws regarding family law & child support. This man has obligations that will never go away. You might also want to talk to a family law attorney if you have any questions. Look on this website for an attorney in your area.
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