Owing a whopping $521,000, a Conroe pipe fitter, an insurance agent, two moms and a waiter with a pierced tongue all secured spots on Texas’ 2009 top 10 deadbeat-parents list. (Click here to view the list http://www.oag.state.tx.us/oagNews/release.php?id=2960) Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is seeking the public’s help in bringing these accused child support evaders to justice.
According to Greg Abbott, all of them have skipped court-ordered child support payments for at least six months and have had warrants issued for their arrests. Two of the parents are thought to have left the state, but the rest are believed still to be in Texas, some in the Greater Houston area.
In recent years, Texas has achieved notable success in ensuring that non-custodial parents pay court-ordered child support. In the last fiscal year, ending in August, $2.6 million in child support payments were recovered. In 2007, the National Child Support Enforcement Association named Texas the nation’s leader.
Parents have a legal and ethical obligation to support their children. Child support laws ensure that both parents will share in these responsibilities. Child support is determined by the obligor’s (person paying support) net income and the number of children he or she has. For example, if the obligor has one child, support will be based on 20% of his or her net income. If there are two children, it jumps to 25%.
Failure to pay court ordered child support payments can (and usually will) lead to the obligor being held in contempt of court, fined, and incarcerated. If for some reason you are unable to pay your court-ordered support, pay as much as you can and immediately seek a modification to lower your payments. I often have clients come to me after several months, if not years, of not paying court ordered support. Do not wait this long! If you are unemployed, making less money, suddenly disabled, or have more children to support, a modification is the only way to protect yourself against a contempt action.
While I understand that not all non-paying parents are “dead-beats,” in my experience, that fact won’t matter much in court. All the custodial parent has to do is prove that you didn’t pay as ordered. It will then be up to you to prove that you were not able to make the payments or borrow the money. That is often hard to do, especially considering the fact that you’ve retained an attorney! Where did that money come from? If you are unemployed, you still must pay support. In those cases, the law will assume you earn minimum wage and calculate your support based on that amount.
It is the opinion of most judges that child support should be paid first—before any other bills! (Yes, even before your rent/mortgage payment). Children come first in family court and children have a right to receive child support. Not paying is not an option.
For more information on Texas Child Support laws, click here.
Monday, May 4, 2009
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