In Texas, child support is paid by the Obligor who is almost always the non-primary conservator (meaning the parent who has the weekend visitation). The primary conservator is the parent with the right to designate the primary residence of the child and is also called the Obligee when it comes to child support.

Child support is controlled by the Texas Family Code and is usually set by the judge according to the code. Rarely do judges in Texas deviate from the percentages laid out in the code. In Texas, if you have one kid, you can count on paying about 20% of your monthly take-home pay. It goes up 5% for each additional child that is involved in that particular court case and percentages are often subtracted if you have other kids that are not part of the same case.

To have your child support decreased in Texas, your Monthly Net Resources must have changed by 20% -OR- the amount of child support that you should be paying has to change by $100. So, how does this work in the real world. Well, if you take a severe pay cut then it may be in your best interest to call us and talk about whether our attorneys can get your child support reduced. Not all people who have their salary reduced are eligible for a child support reduction. In these situations, our attorneys have to sit down and do the math with your past salary and your current salary to find out if you are eligible. Also keep in mind that if your salary goes UP during the case, then that could also cause your child support payments to go up.

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