Texas is a state that doesn't take cases of divorce very lightly,
especially when there are children involved. The Texas Family Code causes these
cases to weigh heavily in favor of having the non-custodial parent pay child
support, and also enforces that they paying parent has no say in how that money
is to be spent.
If the two parents choose to do so, they can reach an agreement on their
own of how much child support is to be paid. However, if they're unwilling or
unable to reach an agreement, the case will be brought to court under the Texas
Family Code Chapter 154 to reach a decision. Normally, each spouse will have to
find an attorney in the state who deals with family law, such as Marshall
Davis Brown, Jr, to ensure they're getting a fair deal.
There is a formula for Texas child support that takes gross income into
consideration rather than net income to make the decision a fairer one. This
includes regular salary and may or may not include bonuses, tips, interest,
business perks, et cetera. The court also accounts for potential taxes, social
security, and the like. Additionally, the cap to be taken into consideration is
is $6,000 per month; in other words, a person who makes $6,000 and a person who
makes more on a monthly basis will pay the same amount for the same number of
children.
Once the final income is determined, the formula is simple: 20% of that
income for one child, 25% for two children, 30% for three, et cetera. There are
other stipulations, as well, such as a deduction or credit of 2.5% for children
in separate households, depending upon the situation. But generally, the state
of Texas has a fairly straightforward way of determining the cost of child
support.