Suits for Child Support – We have discussed a myriad of family law suits over the last few months, most recently suits affecting the parent-child relationship. Today, we’re going to talk about suits for child support.
First things first
Child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other relationship. It is paid from one parent to the other to help care for the child. To determine the structure of these payments, an order is obtained from the court requiring one or both parents to pay for a child’s financial and medical support.
A suit for child support can be filed as an independent suit or together with another suit such as one for dissolution, conservatorship, or parentage.
That’s it. Pretty simple, right? There are four types of child support detailed out below:
Current child support
This is an obligation imposed on a parent to support the child for a period of time following entry of a final judgement.
Medical child support
In a suit for child support, the court may be required to award medical support for a child, which is a lump-sum payment or series of periodic payments made to cover the child’s medical expenses. Those expenses can also include health insurance coverage. Medical child support must be awarded if periodic payments of current child support are ordered.
Retroactive child support
These are child support payments awarded for past care of a child. In other words, it’s monies owed to the supporting parent, as well as funds owed to the supporting parent to discharge the nonsupporting parent’s proportionate duty of financial support to the child.
Temporary child support
The court can award temporary child support for safety and welfare purposes. It can last until the court enters a final judgement in a suit for child support.
For a more detailed discussion on child support, the process of requesting an order from the court, and how child support payments are traditionally calculated, give Nelson Law Group, PC a call. Our staff is always available.
