Can A Mother Cancel Child Support In Texas?

You’ve never been late or upset about making your child support payments. But your life and the lives of your children can change. Now you don’t know if the payments are fair or necessary. But you do have to do things the right way. So, today we’ll talk about when and how child support costs can be stopped.

What Child Support Means In Texas

The word custody is not used in Texas courts. They talk about conservatorship instead. In your divorce, the court may have said that the kids should live with one of you most or all the time. This person is called the primary guardian or custodial parent by the court.

The noncustodial mother or possessory conservator is the other person. The court has a good reason to think that the parent who has the kids most of the time will have more costs. To make up for this, the court tells the parent who doesn’t have custody to pay child support.

• The court probably decided the amount you pay using a child support calculator from the Texas Attorney General’s office.
• Some parents might feel bad about having to pay child support.

The court wants this plan to be fair to both parents, though. It also encourages the parent who doesn’t live with the children to stay involved in their lives. We can give you free 30-minute counseling if you have queries about figuring out your payments.

You can stop paying when your kids turn 18.

In Texas, you can stop making payments when your child turns 18. The Texas Family Code calls this the age of majority. The State thinks young individuals can decide about the law and their money.

The most obvious cause for payments to stop is that the loan has reached its end date, which is also the easiest. However, a parent can stop paying once the child finishes high school. Keep in mind that the court will accept whatever comes last.

It’s a good idea to send the paperwork 45 to 60 days ahead. But things are different if you owe back child maintenance. In this instance, you must continue to make payments even after the child reaches the age of 18 until the obligation is paid in full, plus interest.

Additional reasons In Texas, a parent can stop paying child support in some situations.

If you’re thinking about stopping payments, it’s probably not because your child is now 18 years old. So, here are some other ways that a parent who doesn’t live with their child can legally stop paying child support in Texas.

Medical emergency:

In Texas, a parent can get out of paying child support if they are seriously hurt, too sick to work, or close to dying.

Paternity:

If a genetic test shows that you are not the biological father of a child, you can ask the court to end your relationship with that child. Be aware that you have one year to petition the court after you find out you are not the child’s biological father.

Compliance:

Payments can be stopped if the court finds that the child hasn’t met the Texas Family Code Section 154.002 requirements for enrolling in and attending school (a).

Emancipation:

A child is considered to be emancipated if they can support themself financially before the age of majority. This lets the parent stop paying child support legally in Texas. Common ways for a child to become an adult are to get married, move out, or join the military before high school graduation.

Disability:

If a child is disabled, the court will almost certainly order child support payments. If the child gets better, the parent who doesn’t have custody may be able to stop making payments.

Death:

If a child dies, the parent that’s no longer required to pay child support for that child to the ex.

If both parents agree, it is possible to stop paying child support in Texas. You might guess that this doesn’t happen very often.

To stop payments, you must file a petition.

You must ask the court if you don’t want to pay child support. You must complete the Implementation for Case Closure and End of Income Withholding in Tarrant County. Your ex does have 15 days to say something against the petition.

The petition is sent to the office of the Texas Attorney General once a judge has signed it. The office of the Attorney General will tell the bank to stop payment. They can also send a letter to your boss about the cancellation.

Are you in need of a lawyer in Texas to stop having to pay child support? Most of the time, the answer is no. But as we’ve seen, some cases are harder than others. If you’re worried that the court might not accept your petition, you should hire a lawyer specializing in family law.

When the judge decides on your petition, be ready to keep paying child support.

Even if you ask the court for something, you must do it. So it is important to keep making payments, even if you lose your job. If you don’t pay, the court can find you guilty of contempt or even put you in jail.

If you don’t make payments, that could also hurt your case. Most of all, it’s the right thing to do to help your child. Know that all states have to follow the child support orders of many other states. A child maintenance order can also be carried out in many other countries.

After turning 18, a Texan may still be eligible to receive child support payments.

If your child has a disability, you will probably have to keep paying for them for a long time after they turn 18. On either hand, you may decide to keep giving money to the child even after they turn 18. You don’t have to make these payments, and you don’t have to.

Also, if you would like to pay less, you can ask the court for a modification of child support. Your ex can also petition the judge for more money, of course. In a recent blog, we talked about how to find a child support defense attorney for fathers and what you ought to know.