Payment of Child Support Is Universally Recognized

¶ … payment of child support is universally recognized as a responsibility of parents engaged in the process of divorce. Ordinarily the obligation of paying child support terminates for parents on the eighteenth birthday or graduation from high school of the involved child but this is not the case for children who qualify, legally, as disabled children. Under Texas law, child support for disabled children is treated much differently. Not only is such support calculated differently, it is also terminated differently.

Child support in Texas is ordinarily calculated in accordance with guidelines that are based simply on the number of children and the combined incomes of the divorcing parents. In calculating child support for disabled children, however, consideration is given to the special needs that accompany the care of such children. Texas law has taken such factors into consideration and allows the Family Court to take such special needs into account when calculating support obligations for parents of disabled children. Listing all the potential special needs that the court might consider in determining child support for disabled would be exhausting but suffice it to say that the court is afforded broad discretion. What is important for parents contemplating divorce involving disabled children is to remember to prepare a detailed accounting of the relevant costs and have it available for the court's consideration.

The duration of support for a disabled child is also subject to the discretion of the court. Unlike the typical child support situation where the obligation terminates on a date certain, child support for the disabled child can be granted for an indefinite period subject to two specified statutory guidelines. One is whether the child requires substantial care and supervision and is not capable of self-support; and, two that such disability existed prior to the child's eighteenth (18th) birthday. In situations where both of these conditions exist, the divorcing parents can anticipate that the court will order child support that does not terminate on a specified date.

Determining the amount of support for a disabled child is highly discretionary and is based on a variety of factors. These factors include the existing or future needs of the disabled child, whether or not the child will need additional nursing or personal care, the personal financial resources of both parents, and outside financial resources available for the child such as Social Security. These factors vary widely from family to family and it is the responsibility of each parent involved in a divorce to supply the court with the proper information to allow it to make a determination consistent with the needs, both present and future, of the disabled child.

Individuals contemplating the possibility of divorce have many issues to consider and child support is only one of them. Ordinarily a determination of child support is a straight-forward process and there is little for the parties and the court to consider. In the case of marriages where a disable child is present, however, this determination is far more complicated and likely more contentious. Divorcing parents with a disabled child must face the likelihood that not only will their child support obligation be substantially higher but that it will also be expected for an extended period of time.