Things to Know About Enforcing Child Support Order in Texas

In most litigated divorce cases, issues related to the child (or children) of marriage such as conservatorship (child custody), possession and access (visitation), child support (including spousal maintenance or alimony), and medical support are decided by the court and consequently the court enters a final decree of divorce. This final decree of divorce is applicable to all the parties covered by the decree and must be complied with at all times. In an event a parent doesn't comply with this court order and undermines the terms set out in it, then the other parent has the legal right to seek relief from the court by filing a motion with the court to enforce that part of the order which is violated.

If any term set out in the child support order is violated by a parent, then it is seen as contempt of court and thus is punishable by law. Depending on the nature of violation, contempt of court could bring civil or criminal punishment. When it comes to criminal contempt of court, the punishment is incarceration in the county jail for a maximum of 180 days per violation and/or a fine of not more than $500 per violation (Texas Government Code § 21.002). In the case of civil contempt of court, the punishment is jail time for an indefinite period of time which continues till the parent violating the court order stops doing the act that violates the order or start performing an act that will end the incarceration. It is important to note here that the movant (who filed for enforcing the child support order) must prove that the violation of the court order has/had happened.

The court where the original order was entered has continuing jurisdiction over the matter of enforcing the child support order and therefore a motion for enforcement must be filed in the same court as well (Texas Family Code § 157.269). The Texas Family Code § 157.002 (a)(b)) explicitly states the content of this motion for enforcement and thus of rendering cumulative money judgment and contempt punishment. Also, there is a time-limit within which motion for enforcement of child support order must be filed for contempt and arrearages as given in the Texas Family Code § 157.005. Since child support matters are complex in nature, it is always prudent to take legal advise before you take any uninformed decision.

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