One of the most common reasons that new clients contact our office is because they want to get their child support increased. While it is technically possible for you to do this on your own, you have a much better chance of having your motion granted if you hire a Texas child support attorney.
Our associates have decades of combined experience handling child support motions. In fact, in any given year, we may handle more than 50 of these motions. The reason they’re so common is that circumstances do change all the time. When you got divorced, your spouse may have been making $50,000 a year.
Since the child support guidelines consider income the most important factor, your child support may have been set rather low. If you’ve recently learned that your spouse is now making twice what they used to make, it makes sense to call a child support lawyer in Tomball. They can help you file your child support motion and attend the hearing on your behalf.
Here, we will briefly discuss how a child support motion works and what the court is going to look at when they make their determination. If you have any questions about your own child support case, feel free to contact our office directly.
You can schedule a consultation so you can sit down with one of our Texas child support attorneys and tell them your story. They will let you know if you have a good chance of having a child support increase motion granted. They can also help you get the paperwork started so that within a month or two, you can go before the judge and make your case.
Your Child Support Lawyer in Tomball Must First Review Your Current Child Support Order
Before your child support lawyer in Tomball makes any decisions, they will need to look at your current child support order. One of the most important things about the order is not the amount that your ex is paying you each month. The information that your attorney will be looking for is the date on which the order was signed.
Nothing aggravates the judge more than when a parent files a child support motion with the court every few months. The law is very clear when it comes to requesting an increase or decrease in child support. You must demonstrate that there has been a significant change in circumstances and that the new circumstances are permanent.
What this means is that you can’t request an increase in child support simply because your ex received a Christmas bonus. You must show that something has significantly changed, such as their income, and that this new status will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Your Texas Child Support Attorney Must Demonstrate a Significant Change in Circumstances
One thing our clients ask us is what constitutes a significant change in circumstances. This is a good question. According to the courts, in order to change your child support order, you must show that one of the factors that determine child support has significantly changed.
For the most part, this refers to either your income or your ex-spouse’s income. For example, if your ex is making significantly more money now than they did when the child support order was signed, the judge may grant your motion. Our Texas child support attorneys have had clients come in who want more child support because their own income has significantly decreased.
You want to be careful with this request. The first thing the judge will say to you is that you should look for a job that will pay you what you were earning at your prior employer. The last thing they want to hear is that you can’t find a new job or that the best job offer you had was $20,000 less than your previous job. As far as the court is concerned, your earning ability is what’s important- not your actual income.
The Court Will Rely on the Texas Child Support Guidelines No Matter What
One of the hardest things for us to explain to our clients is that the judge does not set child support based on the information you submit. We have had clients come in upset because they found out that their ex bought a new house or a new boat. They figure if they had enough money to buy these large items, then they should pay more in child support. The problem with this is that the child support guidelines in Texas, as in any other state, are based on income not assets.
Unless you can prove that your ex is earning significantly more than they did when the child support order was signed, the judge is not going to grant your request. For example, if you can show that your ex has been making $20,000 more a year for the last six months, that will constitute a significant and permanent change. All the courts are going to do is plug the new numbers into their child support guidelines and see what number spits out. There’s nothing your Texas child support attorney can do to change this fact.
You Can Trust That Your Child Support Lawyer in Tomball Will Fight on Your Behalf
If you are looking to get your child support increased, we suggest you contact our office right away. You can schedule an appointment with one of our child support lawyers in Tomball right over the phone or through our website.
Make sure you have all the pertinent information with you when you come to the office. For example, make sure you bring a copy of your current child support order as well as any documentation that shows that your spouse is making more now than they were when the order was signed.
If our Texas child support attorneys believe that you have a good chance of having your motion granted, they will be willing to help you. However, just beware that getting your child support increased is not as easy as you may think it is. Of course, your attorneys will work very hard to get the best possible outcome on your behalf.
