Collecting Texas Child Support with Interest
77Texas is tough on child support enforcement. When a non-custodial parent doesn't pay what the court orders, a complaint can be filed with the Office of the Attorney General for assistance in enforcing those orders. Although child support usually ends when a child turns 18, the state's authority to enforce collection of any unpaid child support does not.
In addition to collecting all unpaid child support, the non-custodial parent can be ordered to pay interest on money owed. That interest can drastically change the amount due. For instance, if the non-custodial parent owes $20,000 in back child support payments, interest could run the amount owed over $150,000, depending on when the payments became delinquent.
The laws stipulating interest on child support changed through the years, but if child support payments were due after January 1, 2002 the interest is calculated at 6 percent. Before that date, the interest rate was at 12 percent. Regardless, you can see that the interest can turn into quite a large sum.
Filing a Complaint for Unpaid Child Support
Before receiving the state's help in collecting past due child support, the custodial parent must file a written complaint with the Child Support Division of the state's OAG. The complaint form can be downloaded from the attorney general's website, completed and mailed in. You can also file a complaint through the state's interactive website. The enforcement services are provided at no charge.
Once a complaint is filed, the state determines how best to enforce the court orders and you have no control over enforcement actions unless you submit a written request to withdraw the complaint. Actions take can include suspending the non-paying parent's driver's license (if more than three months behind on payments) as well as professional, hunting and fishing licenses. The state can require an employer to withhold payments from the non-custodial parent's paychecks, a lien can be placed on the parent's property and assets, many federal and state issued checks (including income tax returns) can be held, a judgment can be filed against the non-payer, and he or she can be put in jail.
Using a Private Agency to Collect Child Support
Although the state offers child support enforcement services for free, the Child Support Division is overwhelmed with cases. Even if you receive welfare, the processing of your case can take time, and the state acknowledges that private agencies may be able to help you collect back child support much faster.
A private agency will provide individual attention to your case, and aggressively pursue collection. Although a fee is generally charged, many child support collection agencies work on a contingency fee basis. You only pay for the services when they collect. To speed up the process of Texas child support collection, you may want to consider contacting one.
However you go about it, pursuing unpaid child support is in your children's best interests. If it's not needed to support them today, it can be saved for them to use later. Plus, parents who avoid paying child support also avoid seeing the custodial parent, which usually means not spending time with the children. Often when they do start paying, they're more apt to see them. Rarely does a child want to be avoided by their father or mother.
- Child Support Collection Texas
Private agency assists with collecting past due child support in Texas, regardless of the child’s age. They work on a contingency fee basis, so you only pay when collected. - Paternity Testing
Get the legal test acceptable in court to establish paternity. - State Child Support Services
The Texas Office of Attorney General provides services including establishment and enforcement of child support.
Child Support Enforcement After Age 18
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The Texas Attorney General Office of Child Support is a joke. As a single father with custody of two boys, it has been a nightmare to get the ncp to pay. At $5000 behind, any payment and you have to start the process all over again. Twice, they have gotten it mixed up and thought I was supposed to be paying child support. The workers that you talk to on the phone are rude and disrespectful. They won't deliver a message to my case worker. Since I was awarded child support in 2006 my support has been the wrong amount and inconsistant, and the Texas OAG sais they can do nothing about it. Our tax dollars go to pay these people to do nothing. Like I said, what a joke!!
@Darla, you can go around the OAG, they are backed up and don't have time. Mine missed one payment and I put a lien on his bank account. I don't have the resources to let him get that far behind. So the moment he quit his job and missed that first payment, i put a lien on his account immediately. alcoello at gmail dot com and i can show you how to do it.
My case has been in the Ag's office for 22 years,and trust me it has gone by for years without payment,and no one took him to court till my son turned 18 and got a judgement and he still is not paying on that he owes 130,000 dollars.he told me he didnt pay child support for his first 2 he wasnt paying for this one either.He was arrested finally on the 16th of this month for failure to appear and they charged him a 1000$bond that comes back to me what a joke.I hope at this point jail is involved there.
It took Texas an entire year to understand that I am the custodial parent and the support order issued to me was a Texas order. Now that we are all on the same page and almost 3 years into opening my case I am sitting in limbo as the courts continue my kids mother contempt hearing over and over again. I've made a complaint to the CS office and it seems as if the Judges in Texas are the main problem with the system. They are going to continue allowing my ex to come up with one excuse after another to avoid her responsibility. I paid her over $26,000 over the years when she had our kids. Fair is fair. Am I asking for too much?
There needs to be a national media campaign started that will help "shame" this deadbeats into paying their child support. It's so sad how these people can care for their new families, horses, pets, etc but not care enough about their first responsibility - their CHILDREN.
I don't know how they can live with themselves. My ex is out dining on steak when his 3 daughters are eating whatever it is we can get on sale. I don't know how people can be so selfish......
Texas OAG is such a joke! I can't tell you how many times my ex has stopped paying child support. When you contact them they are rude and act like you are bothering them. I don't know where they find the employees but apparently none of them have children and receive child support. Sending my ex a letter is a joke. Meanwhile he's had a warrant for his arrest in another state for non-payment of CS and we are heading that with here in Texas for my child. Texas OAG should be ashamed of themselves. They are certainly not here for the children!!!
I read articles stating that "Texas is tough" on failure to pay court ordered support. My Ex is capable of working but won't so they don't have to pay and are now nearly $20k in arrears. One time arrested but bailed out at $2k not even a dent. Been supporting 2 kids with 25% payments a month for 5 years now. The system is only concerned about the people who harass them but they are so rude you hate to call. Then they drag the WORKING parent out of work all day to sit in a room and try to work it out? What is that about, pay the support that is what I agree to! It's not like my Ex will pay per the agreement anyway, I have even done temp orders to lower it to try to help but that amount doesn't get paid! Someone should help those who are being cooperative too.
Well Texas Child Support is not here for any one (the children, custodial parent, or non-custodial parent) My husband has been paying his child support when ever he can, even though that means taking from his child that he does get to see & be around. Even though he is paying & paying & paying OAG is still tacking on interest. If he is late there is interest, if he is early there is interest no matter what we do to try & get it paid down there is still interest being added to his CS. I am sorry to hear about everyone's ex's being deadbeat but at this point I can kind of understand it do to the fact that even if your ex's did pay. You & the OAG would still not be happy & still screw the good people that are & do have to pay child support.
My son has had custody of his son since he was 3years old. He will be 8 this year. He has not had any luck getting help to make the non-custodial parent pay. He scraps to take care of his family and can't afford to pay a lawyer to try to help him. He has been paid maybe 3 months in all this time and I feel like if the situation was turned around and it was him that was not paying he would be in jail. This person is white trash and doesn't deserve to see her son. When it is her time with him, he is usually with her parents because she has flown off to another state doing her so called job. I am ashamed of Texas for not being more help to my son and others that have the same problem.
Not all fathers are dead beats. My wife ran off on me, and had two kids with another guy. While she was having those kids, she left our kid with the guys mother. By the time I figured out where my new daughter was(my wife was pregnant at the time she ran away), she was a year old, and I was served papers. My wife ended up splitting up from that guy, and he took the 2 kids they had together. The guy's mother took custody of our daughter, and she is a real bitch. I've tried fighting for custody of her in liberty county, TX, but it is a one-horse system there, and they are allowed to file continuous all the time without notifying my lawyer. My lawyer and I showed up several times and it has cost me a total of 45 thousand dollars in legal fees since my lawyer is out of Houston. I refuse to pay child support to a bitch who stole my child through red neck judge conservative religious means. If my wife had our child I would not have an issue paying the child support at all. Even then, I have not been able to find work since 2007 because of the economy, and 2 felonies I got when I was 19 years old. Now, I am almost 32, and those felonies are still used against me. I'm hoping by achieving an education that I can get those felonies over looked.
My wife sent my two children to live with me and refused to advise the authorities and I couldnt afford to go back to court so the meter kept ticking.
I finally started receiving child support from my daughter's father when she was 12! Since I didn't file a complaint with the Texas OAG until I found him, they only went back 4 yrs, so the first 7 yrs he got away with. He paid for a year and a half then stopped. They say they can't find him or where he is working. I have printed and given copies of his facebook profile and his new wife's! Nothing! He is now $18,000+ behind, has a warrant out for his arrest and nothing!
I am a child of a father who refused to pay child support... Throughout my life he was on SSI and would work, he just put all the business's in his new wifes name. It is totaled at over $84,000 in back child support, plus interest.. My mom has filed several times to get the back child support, and I am 22 now... Since my mom hasnt filed in several years and my father thought that no one was going to come after him, he has started working under his name.... So We have filed and were hoping to get it... My mom filed on my 2 brothers father and got back child support on him, and he pays $100 a month out of his disability....
Darla 21 months ago
I just wanted to let you know that enforcement is not a gaurantee in texas. It takes a 90 day process to use alternative methods of enforcement. Once the support is 30 days past due, they send a non compliance letter. The non custodial parent has another 30 days to respond or pay, the process is done over for a total of 90 days before they will set a court date for contempt. If the non custodial parent pays a portion of the amount due in that 90 days, the whole waiting period has to be started all over. So the con custodial parent can pay $5 every 90 days and they are safe!!!!! This I know because I have been going round and round with Texas OAG for some time now. In the meantime, my daughters father has six horses that he makes sure he feeds before he worries about sending money to feed or take care of his own child.