Continuing with the topic of reducing legal fees, this article will talk about having the Texas Attorney General help you with getting child support setup.
A couple of things to note regarding using the Texas Attorney General: 1) they do not represent you, they represent the State of Texas and 2) their process usually takes longer than if you are able to hire an attorney.
If you want to contact the Texas Attorney General to setup child support visit the following website first: Child Support
On this page you will see four options at the bottom: 1) Establish Paternity, 2) Child Support Ordered, 3) No Child Support Ordered and 4) Noncustodial parent. I will break out each of these for you.
Establish Paternity
If you were not married at the time the child was born and nothing else has been done to establish paternity, then you should select to fill out this online application so that paternity can be determined. The child must be living with you in order to proceed with this option. Once paternity is determined, then child support obligations will be discussed.
Child Support Ordered
If you already have a child support order in place and you are the parent or other relative with whom the children live then you select this option. This will allow the Texas Attorney General to consider modifications to prior orders for child support.
No Child Support Ordered
If paternity has been established, there are no prior child support orders in place and the child lives with you then you complete this application to start the process.
Noncustodial parent
If you are the mother or father AND the child does not live with you then you complete this application.
What happens next?
After the application has been completed the parties will meet with a child support office negotiator. If the parties are able to reach an agreement, then an order is drafted, the parties sign, the order is filed with the Court and after the Judge signs off child support is put in place with no further notice to the parties. While this may seem like a simple process, often times it is very time consuming forcing you to take an entire day off of work to sit and wait at the child support office. Further, if there is no agreement then you proceed to court which is discussed in the next paragraph.
If no agreement is reached, then the Texas Attorney General’s office files a Petition with the Court to establish child support. The parties are served with notice to appear in Court. Another negotiation session takes place at the courthouse. If the parties reach a resolution then the Order is drafted, signed and submitted to the Court. If the parties do not reach a resolution then the parties return to the courtroom and wait for the Judge to be available to hear their case.
More often than not, the case will be resolved that day in Court. However, my next post will discuss the pitfalls of using the Texas Attorney General’s Office to handle setting up child support.