Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: Modification of Child Support

I agreed with the other attorney's comments. However, please be advised that if your husband's income increases, even though the percentage goes down, it will be based on his current income at the time you file a modification.

Good luck!

Fran Brochstein

713-847-6000

8980 Kirby Drive

Houston, Texas 77054

Re: Modification of Child Support

Whenever your husband has other children, that is a change in circumstances that will allow him to request a reduction in child support as each subsequent child is born. For example, right now in Texas if he has only one child, the standard order is 20% of net income, but if he has 2 children from two different relationships, that first child support is only 17.5% of net income. It will be up to him to file a modification petition and get a new order each time. As for child visitation, most orders state that they can be modified by mutual agreement, so if he and the child's mother agree to less visitation, no problem. Also, usually mothers don't file an enforcement petition demanding that the father exercise full visitation. You see, the court doesn't oversee the enforcement of the order unless one of the parties complains by way of filing a petition in court. The risk your husband has is that failure to visit could be construed as abandonment over time and be a reason to terminate his parental rights. Also, it is generally believed by most experts that children need to have a relationship with their fathers for many reasons. If there is friction between the parents, he might consider having the mother drop off the child with a neutral third party, such as having drop off and pick up at a daycare, so that the parents don't have to see each other. When you have your own children and need to modify the child support order, feel free to contact me.