custody change, child support and more

[dadindallas]

What is the name of your state? Texas

Hello all,
I have 2 daughters with my ex wife that will be 13 and 15 in November of this year. I have paid child support the entire time (12 years). My oldest daughter has decided that she would like to move in with my wife and me. I currently pay about $900 a month in CS and pay for their insurance. I believe that my ex wife makes about 2/3 of what I make.
Also, she claims both of them as dependants on her taxes every year (which makes now since to me).

Question one, what must I do to get legal custody?
Question two, when I get legal custody, will a new CS order be made? Would I sill be required to pay her child support since we will both have custody of a child? Would I we able to get it changes where I could get to claim the on my taxes for the next several years. Please know that I am not looking to screw my ex, I just want it to be fair.

Any answers or advice regarding this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Silverplum]

What is the name of your state? Texas

Hello all,
I have 2 daughters with my ex wife that will be 13 and 15 in November of this year. I have paid child support the entire time (12 years). My oldest daughter has decided that she would like to move in with my wife and me. I currently pay about $900 a month in CS and pay for their insurance. I believe that my ex wife makes about 2/3 of what I make.
Also, she claims both of them as dependants on her taxes every year (which makes now since to me).

Question one, what must I do to get legal custody?
Question two, when I get legal custody, will a new CS order be made? Would I sill be required to pay her child support since we will both have custody of a child? Would I we able to get it changes where I could get to claim the on my taxes for the next several years. Please know that I am not looking to screw my ex, I just want it to be fair.

Any answers or advice regarding this would be greatly appreciated.

You must have a change in circumstances to change custody. Your kid deciding where she wants to live is not, generally, a change in circumstances. Kids decide at 18 where they wish to live, though a judge may or may not give some weight to a child's wishes.

And yes, IF custody was changed, the CS order should be changed as well.

 

[tigger22472]

What is the name of your state? Texas

Hello all,
I have 2 daughters with my ex wife that will be 13 and 15 in November of this year. I have paid child support the entire time (12 years). My oldest daughter has decided that she would like to move in with my wife and me. I currently pay about $900 a month in CS and pay for their insurance. I believe that my ex wife makes about 2/3 of what I make.
Also, she claims both of them as dependants on her taxes every year (which makes now since to me).

This is because the IRS sees the CP as caring for the child more than 50% of the time where there is no other mention in the court order.

Question one, what must I do to get legal custody?

File for it in the courts where the degree was granted. If neither parent live in that jurisdiction then it would likely be moved to where the child lives.

Question two, when I get legal custody, will a new CS order be made?
Yes, more than likely

Would I sill be required to pay her child support since we will both have custody of a child?
In most cases support is solely based on the income of the parents. Since you make more money then yes it's likely that you will still be required to give her some sort of support for the child. The only alternative to this is that you and she come to some sort of agreement and that be incorporated into the court order.

Would I we able to get it changes where I could get to claim the on my taxes for the next several years. Please know that I am not looking to screw my ex, I just want it to be fair.

If it is changed and you have custody of the oldest child then you will be considered to be the CP of that child and unless specified in the CO will be granted the right to claim te child.

Any answers or advice regarding this would be greatly appreciated.

Please note that although the childs wishes could be considered by the judge the fact that the child 'wants' to live with you will not be the determining matter. Many things will be considered, including the separation of siblings, the fact she has lived with her mother all these years etc...

 

[dadindallas]

another question

thanks you for the responces.
The thing is I would really like for my daughter to live with us. over the years we havent spent a lot of time together. if she did indeed move in with us I would need some of the money that is currently going to my ex to support my daughter. Would there need to be a custody change for the CS order to be changed? My ex would allow her to move in with me.

 

[tigger22472]

thanks you for the responces.
The thing is I would really like for my daughter to live with us. over the years we havent spent a lot of time together. if she did indeed move in with us I would need some of the money that is currently going to my ex to support my daughter. Would there need to be a custody change for the CS order to be changed? My ex would allow her to move in with me.

It depends. If you are making less money or your ex is making more then a modification could be made now but no one here has anyway of being able to tell you that. You could google to find a child support calculator for your state.

 

[ceara19]

It depends. If you are making less money or your ex is making more then a modification could be made now but no one here has anyway of being able to tell you that. You could google to find a child support calculator for your state.

Texas only uses the income of the NCP to figure support. If the custody were changed and each parent had one child, support would be figured for BOTH parents as NCP's paying for one child and if the amount is not equal, the higher paid parent only pays the difference. But, without a change in circumstance, it is unlikely that the court order would be changed unless mom agrees. Mom may not agree once she realizes that the child support will go down drastically.

Edit to add: Child Support in Texas for one child is 20% of the income after mandatory deductions. 25% for 2. For each minor child you have that is NOT subject to the order, there is a 2.5% credit. So if they each had one of the girls, CS would be 17.5% of each parents income after deductions.

 

[stealth2]

Although both girls are old enough to file Affadavits of Preference in TX.

 

[ceara19]

Although both girls are old enough to file Affadavits of Preference in TX.

Yes they are. I don't know where in Texas the OP is, but the odds of a judge giving the child's wishes much consideration over the parents objections vary greatly from one county to the next. A few judges (usually the younger, more progressive thinkers) will almost ALWAYS go along with what the child wants if both parents are equally fit. Unfortunately, most judges here are still "old school" and give mom an automatic advantage and fell that children should not be split up.

A consultation with an attorney in the proper jurisdiction would give the OP a much better idea of what his actual chances are.

 

[texastepmom]

which counties are more progressive? by his handle i would assume he is in dallas county, though it could be one of the surroundig counties. would you go to the county that the divorce was filed in, or the county the child resides in if they have moved?

 

[ceara19]

which counties are more progressive? by his handle i would assume he is in dallas county, though it could be one of the surroundig counties. would you go to the county that the divorce was filed in, or the county the child resides in if they have moved?

There is not really a list that I know of. You can try a google search, but your best bet would be a local attorney. In large counties, there will be more then one family court judge, so the decisions could vary greatly between judges in the same county. It is impossible to guarantee that your case would draw a particular judge, but again, some attorneys are better at "predicting" which judge you will draw than others.

Most attorneys have low or no cost consultations. You should talk to several before making a decision. You can get referrals from the Texas Bar Association website.

 

[dadindallas]

one more question please

Neither my ex nor I live in the county of the AG_s office that is currently handling our CS case. Can I have it moved to an office that handles the county that she or I reside in now? Or does it matter? We are in TX.

Thanks

 

[ceara19]

Neither my ex nor I live in the county of the AG_s office that is currently handling our CS case. Can I have it moved to an office that handles the county that she or I reside in now? Or does it matter? We are in TX.

Thanks

Since the case is with the OAG, the child support case can be easily transferred to the nearest office. If for any reason the case would need to be heard by a judge, it would still have to be through the originating county, but the OAG can also take care of that transfer if they feel it is necessary.

You can either call the office your case is being handled in directly or you can call the main number at (800) 252-8014 and request that the case be moved to the closest office.

How far apart do you live? The standard would be to have the OAG office closest to the CP handle the case. But if you both agree, it could be transferred to an office somewhere in the middle.

The child support guidelines are the same all across the state. As long as the person figuring the support is doing it correctly, the amount will be the same no matter what OAG office handles it. Many small counties in Texas don't even have a full time attorney. It is not unusual for one attorney to work out of several different offices.

My county doesn't have an attorney and the caseworkers are idiots. When they tried to start screwing around with my case, it ended up being transferred to a Dallas area office where they had actual lawyers. I just gave all of the case workers here too much grief because they only knew what they were told and had no knowledge of the actual laws.