Time Limit on Modification of Child Support

[lennar_girl]

My question, is there a time limit on filing for Modification of Child Support on the grounds of Mental Disability of an Adult Child in the state of Texas.  The "adult" child in question will be 21 soon.  There has not been anything modified since the original order.  Now Mom is wanting CS claiming son is disabled.  I understand the "cause known to exist before the 18th birthday" thing, he was diagnosed with Tourett's at age 9.  Someone said they have 6 months to file such a claim.  Do you know anything about that?

Thanks so much.

[socrateaser]

I seriously doubt that there is any specific time limit on this issue.

The more general question is: Is child support terminated pursuant to the original order? That is, for example, if the order states that support shall continue until the child is 18 or graduated high school or 19, whichever comes first and then support shall terminate, then at the instant of the child satisfying the above stated conditions, the court would lose jurisdiction over support, and the support obligor would be relieved of any further obligation re the original child support order.

Be aware that in some jurisdictions, a support order does not terminate on its own terms, that is, a party must file a motion for an order terminating support and the court must so order, before the courts authority over the support question terminates forever.

Also, most states, have laws that obligate parents to support their children (and visa versa) if either cannot support themselves. I don't know about TX, specifically, but assuming that this is the case, the adult child could file a new petition for support, or a parent could file a petition to declare the adult child incompetent and then file for support against the other parent on behalf of the incompetent adult child.

This is a particularly complex question and there are some constitutional issues, as well as jurisdictional issues, so, for example, if you no longer reside in TX, you could argue that the State of TX no longer has jurisdiction to impose a support order, because the child, as an adult, is residing in TX of his own free will, and not through the direction or acts of the parent. Thus, there is no jurisdiction to serve a new petition against you, as long as you have no minumum contact with TX.

You're gonna need an attorney, and frankly, a very good attorney, to really get a handle on the issues involved here.