Forgive my many posts! I just want to be educated!

[ilovesavannah]

Ok, I'm in the state of Texas, and a friend of mine that went to a child suppourt review process said that the attorney general's office takes five percent of each check that I give to the mother of my child.  Now, it's one thing to give her money, but another thing to be giving any money to the dang attorney general.  If this is the case, why can't me and the mother of my child come to a fair legally binding agreement outside of the courts?  We don't need there involvement, I'd give her around the same amount, I don't care, I just would rather them not get mixed in if at all possible.  So, is this even a possibility?

[Ref]

About your last post,

Is this hearing just for Child support or is there also provisions to talk about visitation. Maybe I missed something, but it sounds like it is just for support. If it is silent about custody/visitation, you have to file to have that addressed as a separate issue.

Do you have an attorney yet?

About payments through the court. Don't be too upset about them. DH insisted that he continue to pay through the court rather than directly to BM because it gives him the best proof that he has paid and paid on time. Over the years she has tried to claim otherwise, even infront of the judge and all DH's attoney needed to do is show the printout from the courthouse.

His jurisdiction is Florida and they tack on $5 or $6 to each payment. 5% seems high, but I don't know anything about Texas. You can always think of it as insurance against your ex claiming you didn't pay your support.

I did look it up and it seems it would be 20% of your after tax income that is deducted for CS. Most states look at both parent's income. I guess Texas is a little different.

If you do get 50/50 custody, this will change the amount of support you have to pay. You will definately need a lawyer for that.

This is a link to a standard visitation schedule. It is the boilerplate visitation schedule, so you may want to tweek it for your circumstances. The closer you are to the standard the more likely you will get what you ask. Don't be afraid to ask for more, but know that this is the minimum they will give you barring any abuse or other such issues.

http://www.divorcemyself.com/faqvisitation.html (http://www.divorcemyself.com/faqvisitation.html)


Good luck with everything,

Ref

[ilovesavannah]

Thank you so much!  :-).  This helps alot... just sucks that Texas doesn't look at both incomes, I think that is more than fair, but hey, life ain't fair.  Thank you again!

[Davy]

First of all, as much as possible, avoid any and all government interference with your child(ren).  The Texas Attorney Generals office is a good place to start since their major objective is to criminalize parents especially fathers.  They are not for the betterment of children.  Your best effort for your child is to work out all matters with the other parent and avoid the adversary system and if that is not possible and you are focusing on the well-being of your child then you increase your opportunity to being named the managing conservatory.   

I refused to make payments thru the Attorneys General office or any other collection system except the local court.  I googled "Child Support" "Collin County Texas" and came upon a standing judicial order regarding custody/divorce issues.  You might be wise to consider these issues in any agreements you can negotiate.  The Child Support payment program   (  $ 2.50 per month) in this particular Texas county is as follows :

Child Support: Payment Instructions

<!-- start of content --> CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS

All support payments that are ordered to be sent through the Collin County Child Support office are to be made payable to the person who has custody of the child(ren). Be sure to note the payor's name and case number on all payments. If the final orders for your child support payment were ordered through the State of Texas, click here (http://www.oag.state.tx.us/child/index.shtml) to find payment instructions and contact information. If the final orders for your child support payment were ordered through the Guardian Ad Litem, click here (http://www.texasguardianadlitem.com/) to find payment instructions and contact information.

HANDLING FEE

The service fee is a separate payment of $30.00 per year ($2.50 monthly) to be made payable to Collin County Child Support. Both payments are to be sent to: Collin County Child Support

Rat now, in the flaming liberal state of Florida, there is a payor with wage garnisment (every two weeks) and the CHILDREN HAVE NOT RECEIVE one red cent.  The only proof is the payor's pay stubs.  The state tells the payor and the receiver they have no idea where the money is located.   Hope you're reading between the lines. 

[justiceforall]

I'm assuming you're already divorced and have a TX court order for visitation and child support.  I'm not an attorney, but God knows I have learned enough over the years to consider becoming one:)  I personally have had major issues with the TX OAG.  Child support has always been withheld through my employer and paid through the county clerk's office, but then the ex decided to try and stir up trouble where there was none and open a case with them so I'd have to jump through hoops to prove my innocence.  That's right, guilty until proven innocent, what a nightmare!  I owe nothing, provided them with proof of every payment, but their records show that I am thousands in arrears.  They've even attempted to take more each month to apply to the arrears I don't even owe!  Based on my personal experience, I would try to pay through a county clerk if you have the choice, but if not, at least have a paper trail and keep perfect records of everything.  If you have any other questions, I'd be glad to share what I've learned the hard way.