The Office of the Attorney General has broad powers to file a child support action. These powers include filing a new case, filing a suit for modification, or a suit for enforcement. However, as we’ve discussed before, there are special provisions when child support for adult disabled children is the issue.
In a recent case the Attorney General filed a suit to modify the child support obligation of a Harris County father for the benefit of his two disabled children who were each no longer under the age of 18. The father’s child support attorney reviewed the law and challenged the authority of the Attorney General to file the child support modification lawsuit.
The Texas Family Code specifically outlines which individuals have the authority to file a lawsuit for child support for adult disabled children. These individuals are:
- a parent of the child or another person having physical custody or guardianship of the child under a court order; or
- the child if the child: (a) is 18 years of age or older; (b) does not have a mental disability; and (c) is determined by the court to be capable of managing the child’s financial affairs.
The statute does not mention the Attorney General and after careful consideration the court found that the Attorney General does not have inherent authority to file a lawsuit concerning child support for an adult disabled child. The outcome may have been different if an individual who did have proper authority assigned their rights to the Attorney General.
This case is an important reminder that the Attorney General makes mistakes and even they are not above the law. If you want something done right then consider an experienced child support lawyer. Contact us today at (832) 592-7913 if you need legal help with your Montgomery County child support case.
If you would like additional information, check out our free Woodlands Divorce Guide.
A parent’s child support obligation from a Woodlands Divorce generally ends when the child reaches 18 unless the child is disabled. Some parents mistakenly believe that if they drag their feet and avoid paying the child support they are ordered to when they are ordered to pay it that everyone will forget about it and move on. Unfortunately for them, a deadbeat parent can be sued for unpaid child support many years after the child reaches 18; many, many years.
Let’s take a look at one recent example from the Houston Appellate Court. In this case, the Mother and father divorced in 1972. The divorce decree ordered father to pay $50 per month in child support. In 2009, the mother filed an application for a writ of withholding alleging father owed $78,164 in unpaid child support. She won at the trial level and the decision stood on appeal.
Dormancy Does Not Apply
In ordinary civil lawsuits you can only obtain a judicial order to execute a judgment within 10 years of the judgment. If you ask the court to execute a judgment 11 years later they do not have jurisdiction. This case highlights the fact that dormancy does not apply to child support judgments.
If your ex-spouse did not pay their child support and your child is now over 18 call us at (832) 592-7913 and speak with a Woodlands Divorce Attorney about collecting the overdue child support. It is never too late to get what you are owed, even 37 years after the original child support order.
It happens a lot in the divorce process. Feelings of mistrust, betrayal, anxiety and more that start out small and manageable end up growing. They continue to grow as your case goes on and eventually grow out of control. This is how your Woodlands Divorce case can end up transforming from everyone sitting at a table working to resolve ongoing problems to everyone in the metaphorical boxing ring trying to knock each other’s lights out. It happens more often than you might think. The Downward Spiral.
Parents with children usually have the most to lose if they let their divorce slide down that out of control path. Property can be replaced, but restoring Read more…
Curious about what a Collaborative Divorce can mean to you and your kids? Don’t take my word for it, listen to two couples who went through the Collaborative Divorce process themselves and discover how they preserved their irreplaceable relationship with their children and moved forward with their lives rather than digging endlessly through the past. It is only 6 minutes long and I strongly recommend anyone considering divorce with children involved take a moment to consider the choice you are about to make concerning what kind of divorce you will go through.
Read more…
The Standard Possession Order is the default schedule for visitation with children after a Woodlands divorce. There is one large category that the Standard Possession Order does not apply to. That category is children less than 3 years old. If you leave visitation up to the judge when you have a child younger than 3 you will likely not receive the Standard Possession Order.
What Will the Judge Do?
The legal responsibility of the judge in setting visitation for a child younger than 3 is to render an “appropriate order” under the circumstances that is in the best interest of the child. The judge has a lot of discretion to determine exactly what he or she thinks is appropriate, but there are some specific criteria the judge may also consider: Read more…
Revenge and inconvenience are not legal reasons for modifying a child custody order from a Woodlands Divorce. Your Woodlands Divorce Attorney must prove the modification is in the best interests of the child as well as the existence of a material and substantial change since the previous order was issued. Exactly what a “material and substantial” change means is what judges interpret on a daily basis, but a recent case reminds us that revenge and inconvenience are not material and substantial. Speak with a Woodlands Divorce Attorney today at (832) 592-7913 if you need assistance with your child custody modification.
Background
On November 6, 2007, Mother filed a petition to modify the child custody arrangement. Mother’s petition to modify followed Father’s earlier petition for enforcement and access after Mother denied him access to their child. The judge ruled for Father on his petition for enforcement and access.
In her later petition, Mother alleged that K.T.W.’s circumstances had materially and substantially changed since the entry of the previous order. She requested that Father’s “terms and conditions for access to and possession of the child be modified… to reflect visitation in regard to the over 100 mile visitation,” and that, since Father resided in Houston, he should “be responsible for pickup and return for visitation of the child.” Mother further pleaded that Father’s “change of address had caused [her] to incur increased costs.” Father answered and denied that there had been any “change of circumstances which would be grounds for any modification of the present Orders regarding access and possession.”
Discussion
At the trial court level Mother won her case and the judge modified custody to restrict Father’s access to his child. The Father appealed the ruling.
On appeal, Read more…
The Child Support Guidelines are a starting point. They reflect what the divorce court presumes to be in the best interests of your children. However, like many presumptions in the law, your Woodlands Divorce Attorney can help you attempt to rebut the presumption if it is appropriate that you receive more or pay less child support than what the guidelines provide for.
What Will the Court Consider?
Once your Woodlands Divorce Attorney is able to successfully rebut the presumption that the standard guidelines should apply the court should consider Read more…
The District Courts and County Courts of Montgomery County have automatic orders that go into effect for every divorce suit and every suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed in Montgomery County. These automatic orders are court orders and if either party violates one or more of the automatic orders they risk being found in contempt of court.
The first automatic order of the Montgomery County Courts is Read more…
The Office of the Attorney General has broad powers to file a child support action. These powers include filing a new case, filing a suit for modification, or a suit for enforcement. However, as we’ve discussed before, there are special provisions when child support for adult disabled children is the issue.
