Going Back to Court for Child Support in Texas

Child support, or the lack thereof, is high on the list of complaints among divorcees. This issue is more likely to lead ex-spouses back to court years after a divorce than custody, visitation or any other issue. The problem usually involves one of three situations:

• An ex isn't paying child support at all
• An ex isn't paying enough child support
• From a payer's perspective, he or she is paying too much child support

Before you decide whether to take your ex back to court — or if you were served with papers from your ex who is taking you back to court — take a few minutes to learn about different types of child support in Texas.

Back child support is not the same thing as child support arrearage

Although it may sound like splitting hairs, back child support and child support arrearage are actually two different things. Back child support is retroactive child support. At the conclusion of a divorce or custody case, a non-custodial parent might be ordered to pay back child support to cover the period of time since the case began. Child support arrearage, on the other hand, reflects past due child support which the payer had a legal obligation to pay but failed to do so. If a parent is ordered to pay back child support but does not pay as ordered, the back child support would then become a child support arrearage.

Getting child support changed

Regardless what parents agree on outside of court, only a court with proper jurisdiction can change or modify an existing child support order. If a payer or recipient of child support has a material and substantial change in circumstances, if the needs of the child have significantly changed, or if three years have passed since the last order and a new child support calculation would result in a 20 percent or $100 change, either parent can ask the court to reopen the case and change the child support order. Consult an experienced Bryan-College Station or Conroe divorce attorney to learn more about child support payment and collection in Texas. The experienced family law attorneys at Peterson Law Group review your situation and recommend a course of action to deal with your legal problems head-on. To schedule a consultation, call us today at 979-703-7014.