High Earner Child Support

High Earner Child Support

Texas Family Law

Currently, a person who is required to pay child support is considered a high income earner if his or her monthly net income exceeds $7,500, subject to certain adjustments.  Net income can include a number of assets and income sources beyond salaries or wages.  Please see High Asset Divorce and Business Owner Divorce for details about additional resources that could be taken into account.

Texas family law can become complex for high-income earners because the law provides two different methods to determine a child support order.   One method provides a standard percentage-based formula for a judgment, while the other takes the needs of the child or children into account.  Additionally, the child support section of the Texas Family Code characterizes the sections on child support as “guidelines” that are “intended to guide the court in determining an equitable amount of child support”.

Determining High Earner Status

There are some important provisions that courts will follow under Texas family law.  The regular percentage guidelines for child support apply for the first $7,500 of net income, but not to additional income. For example, if one child is involved, an obligated parent would pay $1,500 per month because that is 20% of the parent’s first $7,500 in net income.

If the court determines that there are additional financial needs for the child beyond the percentage of $7,500, the court must decide how to distribute the financial obligations for those additional needs between spouses.  Depending on the needs of a child and the resources available to both parents, a court could rule in favor of additional support.

At that point, a number of considerations will be taken into account.  Although there is no set list of additional needs that a child may have, courts sometimes decide upon a fair and reasonable amount to cover additional expenses.  Texas law contains a list of considerations that a court will make in distributing those additional costs.  If a parent believes that a court has ordered Child Support payments that are unfair based on the circumstances, an experienced family lawyer can help negotiate adjustments.

Enforcement of Court Orders and Child Custody

If a party is negligent in child support payments, please visit our page about Enforcement of Court Orders.

Readers who found this page helpful may also find important information on our Possession and Access (child custody) page.