Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
Child Support
I am getting ready to get medically discharged from the military which also means that I will be losing my civilian job as well as they are tied together-one being for the military and the other for the Air National Guard. I will be getting 60% of my pay the first year I am retired and the second year and until I am 62, my retirement pay will drop down to 40%. I am having my child support taken out of my retirement pay, including the arrears I am paying. If I get another job in the civilian world, do I have to pay child support out of that job as well? According to our divorce decree and the child support order it says that I must pay $550 a month plus $175 for any arrears.
I cannot afford a lawyer as I will be without a paycheck for anywhere from two to six months (due to the situation in Iraq, there is a backlog in the system)and will be paying support the first two months by cashing in my TSP (or the civilian equivalent of 401K). I know that I must notify the courts and my ex-wife of my job change as well as the change in the support will be monthly instead of twice a month.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Child Support Modification
Do not delay taking action on this matter. Your change in income appears sufficiently significant to authorize the modification of your child support obligation (which requires �a significant change in circumstances�). However, your petition to modify child support applies only to support accruing AFTER the petition has been filed and served. So, each month you delay in filing a petition to modify support is a month lost for modification purposes.
You say you can�t afford a lawyer, but on the other hand, you can�t afford to do nothing.
Illinois Law
After responding to your question, I realized that you are in Texas. My prior response related only to Illinois law. I am not familiar with Texas law on this subject. You may wish to resubmit your question for answer by a Texas lawyer.
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