Top Five Things to Know About Child Support

The most important thing to know is that you can and most likely will be sent to jail if you don’t pay regularly and on time. Debtors’ prisons are still open in Texas for people who fail to follow a court order for payment of child support. You can be held in jail until you have either paid all the back support you owe or worked out a payment plan to get the arrearage paid which has been approved by the court.The second most important thing: don’t make any deals with your ex-spouse about the child support you owe. That won’t work. Money you give directly to your kids or to your ex-spouse will not count toward compliance with your child support order. Agreements you make with your ex-spouse do not rise to the level of a court order and are unenforceable. Always pay exactly in the manner specified in the court order. Your best bet is to submit to an Employer’s Order and have your child support payment withheld from your paycheck and sent to the San Antonio child support collection agency, which will take it from there.The State of Texas will pursue you independently to collect unpaid child support you owe and unpaid medical expenses you may owe for your child, even if your ex-spouse doesn’t want that to happen.You will be ordered to pay interest on the arrearage, which will be added to the amount of past-due child support you already owe.You will be ordered to pay the attorney’s fees your ex-spouse incurs in pursuing collection of the back child support you owe, which will also be added to your arrearage.There are solutions for you. If you are behind in payment of child support, or are worried you may fall behind, we can help you. The sooner you call, the sooner the solution will take effect. The court can retroactively reduce the amount of support, but only back to the date you filed a motion asking the court for help. If your ex-spouse is willing to work with you, your agreement can be turned into a court order superseding the original child support order.Talk to one of our Board Certified divorce attorneys so you can get back on track, and avoid a mounting arrearage.