- Parents in Dallas, Fort Worth, Addison, and throughout North Texas turn to the award-winning attorneys of Williamson Law Firm, PLLC for help with child support and child custody disputes, visitation rights, and the enforcement of family-related court orders.
- With more than a quarter-century of legal experience, our lawyers have been recognized by colleagues and clients, and we have been named one of the best family law firms in Texas. We work hard to earn every legal award and all of our many positive reviews.
- A top child support attorney with our practice can offer sound, honest advice, aggressive legal representation, and will diligently fight for the best possible resolution of your child support dispute.
- If a child support order needs to be updated or modified, or if your child’s other parent is requesting a child support modification that you oppose, contact a skilled child support lawyer with Williamson Law Firm, PLLC for the legal representation you need.
CHILD SUPPORT ATTORNEYS ADVOCATING FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN DALLAS, TX SINCE 1990
When parents divorce, a legal child support arrangement must be created and enforced to ensure that the couple’s child or children continue to be cared for properly. At Williamson Law Firm, PLLC, our experienced Texas child support lawyers are exclusively focused on helping families prevail over difficult legal challenges. When a parent needs to establish, enforce, or modify a child support order, Williamson Law Firm, PLLC will make certain that any child support dispute is fairly and justly resolved.
WHAT ARE THE TEXAS CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES?
In Texas, both parents are legally obligated to provide for a child’s housing, healthcare, educational, and daily living expenses until the child reaches age 18 or graduates from high school. After most divorces – in Texas and in every other state – the noncustodial parent is typically ordered by the court to make child support payments. How is the amount of the child support payments determined in this state? The first step in determining a fair and equitable child support payment amount is an assessment of the noncustodial parent’s net resources, which include but may not be limited to:
- all wage and salary income including self-employment income and severance pay
- all income from interest, dividends, and royalties
- net rental income
- retirement benefits and pensions
- unemployment and workers’ compensation benefits
When the noncustodial parent’s net resources are combined and calculated, that parent must pay to the custodial parent a percentage of his or her resources based on the number of children involved. Texas law presumes that the state’s Child Support Guidelines are based on the best interests of the children and that compliance with those guidelines is also in their best interests, but there are rare exceptions when a court may consider other factors to determine whether adherence to the guidelines is inappropriate or unjust in a particular case.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO RESOLVE CHILD SUPPORT CONFLICTS THROUGH MEDIATION AND LITIGATION?
More often than most people might think, ex-spouses are able to resolve their child support conflicts outside of the courtroom through mediation, and they’re able to establish a valid, working child support agreement that a Texas court will approve. With facilitation by a neutral mediator, mediation provides an effective, confidential venue for openly discussing and resolving family conflicts.
Because we understand the financial and emotional costs of a trial, at Williamson Law Firm, PLLC, we always work to negotiate out-of-court settlements of child support disputes – when it’s possible. We’ve helped scores of families resolve child support and visitation disputes in a non-adversarial, mutually satisfying manner. However, when parents cannot reach an agreement outside the courtroom through mediation, our child support attorneys are always prepared to litigate a child support matter aggressively inside the courtroom. Our highest priority at Williamson Law Firm, PLLC is justice for our clients and their children.
CAN A PARENT MODIFY AND ENFORCE CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS IN DALLAS?
Over time, one or both parents may experience a substantial change in life’s circumstances that may affect a parent’s ability to comply with an established child support order. Modifications of child support orders are allowed if the court finds that the circumstances warrant a modification and if the modification is in the best interests of the child. Child support order modifications may be granted in these types of situations and in similar circumstances:
One or both parents have lost a job, taken a new job, or need to relocate.
One or both parents have been jailed or imprisoned.
One or both parents have remarried and/or become the parent of a new child.
The amount of time the child spends with one or both parents has significantly changed.
The child’s child care, educational, or medical needs have changed.
Any factor arises that significantly impacts the child or the child support order.
If a parent is unable to comply or intentionally fails to comply with the conditions of court-ordered child support, the court may order wages to be withheld until the arrears are satisfied. A noncompliant parent may face contempt of court charges and penalties including fines and even time in jail. If a support-paying parent becomes injured, is fired from his or her job, or cannot make child support payments for any reason, that parent cannot simply stop making payments. The parent must request a modification of the child support order from the court or deal with the legal consequences of noncompliance.
WHERE DO FAMILIES IN NORTH TEXAS TURN FOR RELIABLE LEGAL HELP?
Child support disputes can become highly-charged emotionally, but the seasoned family law attorneys at Williamson Law Firm, PLLC are ready to help. With a number of legal awards, our record of success, and our reputation for superlative client service, we are the child custody attorneys that parents have turned to for legal help in North Texas for more than a quarter of a century. Let us help you.
If you expect a fight over child support with your child’s or children’s other parent, if you need a child support order modified by the court, or if you oppose a child support modification that your child’s other parent has requested, obtain the help you need by arranging to speak promptly with an experienced Dallas child support lawyer at Williamson Law Firm, PLLC. To schedule a meeting, call us at 469-385-3305 or complete the online contact form here on our website. When you become our client at the Williamson Law Firm, PLLC, we will work on your behalf until your family law dispute is fairly and justly resolved.
