Children are a blessing, but taking care of them can be difficult, especially if only one parent is doing all the work. That is why you need to find an experienced child support lawyer to fight for you. Your lawyer knows the child support laws that can force the other parent to provide financial support for the child you share.
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Retroactive Child Support Texas
Retroactive Child Support Meaning
Sometimes one parent does not provide child support for a period of time starting from the date the child is born. The mother can seek retroactive child support in this situation. This is because both parents are expected to support their child even if their relationship has ended or there is no child support order in place.
You can go to court for the enforcement of a child support order if the other parent refuses to provide support. Retroactive support comes in if there was no child support order in place. The only option in this situation is to ask the court to make that parent compensate you for that period of time the parent did not pay child support.
How Does Back Child Support Work
Courts in Texas can order retroactive child support in certain situations. These situations include:
- When there was no child support order in place previously
- When the other parent was not a party in a lawsuit where the court issued a child support order
A court will base its decision on making a retroactive child support order on several facts including the two above. Generally, a retroactive child support order is likely if the court determines that it’s in the best interest of the child.
What Factors Do Courts Consider For Retroactive Child Support?
Retroactive support request success in court is determined by the specific case brought before the judge. This is because the judge has discretion in such cases. Judges often consider the following factors:
- The non-custodial parent’s awareness or lack of awareness about their responsibility to provide support for the child
- The custodial parent’s effort to inform the other parent about their responsibility to provide support
- The financial condition of the non-custodial parent in the time period before they knew about the child, and their current financial situation
- Whether making the non-custodial parent pay retroactive child support will put the parent in financial hardship
- Any instance where the noncustodial parent provides financial support and other kinds of support before a child support court order
You should talk to an attorney because your situation is unique and cannot be compared to other court decisions.
Calculating Retroactive Child Support
The court first has to determine the total monthly net resources of the non-custodial parent and the number of children brought before the court. Family law courts consider the children not brought before the court. These could be children from another marriage.
The court will calculate the total amount that should have been paid in the months the child support was not paid. This amount is what is referred to as retroactive child support.