Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

If you haven't been served with anything (a petition or a citation), you should stop worrying.

I assume that your Court order requires you to pay child support through the State Disbursement Unit (a PO box in San Antonio). Start mailing in payments whenever you can. Remember to identify the payment with the ten-digit account number. If it's only $50, send in $50. You want to establish a record of having TRIED to pay.

$100.00 per week is a good idea.

When you (eventually) find yourself standing in front of the Judge, he'll have a printout of your payment record - you want him to be looking at lots of entries of lots of partial payments.

If you have the whole $10,000.00, then pay it. If you don't have it, you can't pay it.

And don't let Mom bully you with threats of going to jail. Tell her when she starts talking like that that you're going to hang up on her. Then do it.

She will probably go through the Attorney General's office (as opposed to a private lawyer). They take a long time (up to six months) to get the petition filed.

When you get served, the citation will probably show a hearing date, and will order you to appear. Whatever you do, SHOW UP IN COURT. This is very important.