By: Goodman H.B. No. 1434
73R4008 JMM-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the establishment or modification of a child support
1-3 order, including guidelines for the support of children of multiple
1-4 families.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 14.053, Family Code, is amended by
1-7 amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsections (l) and (m)
1-8 to read as follows:
1-9 (b) Net Resources Defined. "Net resources," for the purpose
1-10 of determining child support liability, are 100 percent of all wage
1-11 and salary income and other compensation for personal services
1-12 (including commissions, overtime pay, tips, and bonuses), interest,
1-13 dividends, royalty income, self-employment income (as described in
1-14 Subsection (c) of this section), net rental income (defined as rent
1-15 after deducting operating expenses and mortgage payments, but not
1-16 including noncash items such as depreciation), and all other income
1-17 actually being received, including but not limited to severance
1-18 pay, retirement benefits, pensions, trust income, annuities,
1-19 capital gains, social security benefits, unemployment benefits,
1-20 disability and workers' compensation benefits, interest income from
1-21 notes but not including return of principal or capital, <and/or>
1-22 accounts receivable regardless of the source, gifts and prizes,
1-23 spousal maintenance, and alimony, less (subtracting) 100 percent of
1-24 social security taxes, federal income tax withholding for a single
2-1 person claiming one personal exemption and the standard deduction,
2-2 union dues, and expenses for health insurance coverage for the
2-3 obligor's child. Benefits paid pursuant to aid for families with
2-4 dependent children and any other child support received from any
2-5 source shall be disregarded in calculating net resources.
2-6 (d) Health Insurance. The guidelines for a court order for
2-7 the support of a child in this chapter assume that the court will
2-8 order the obligor to provide health insurance coverage for the
2-9 child subject of the suit in addition to the amount of child
2-10 support calculated pursuant to these guidelines. If the court
2-11 finds and sets forth in the order setting child support that the
2-12 obligee will maintain health insurance coverage at the obligee's
2-13 expense for the child, the court may increase the amount of child
2-14 support to be paid by the obligor in an amount not exceeding the
2-15 total expense to the obligee for maintaining health insurance
2-16 coverage. The court shall order the obligor to pay as additional
2-17 child support not less than 50 percent of the reasonable and
2-18 necessary health care expenses of a child that are not reimbursed
2-19 by a third party.
2-20 (l) Use of Guidelines for Children of Multiple Families. In
2-21 applying the child support guidelines, the number of children of an
2-22 obligor includes all children of whom the obligor is a parent in
2-23 each of the following categories:
2-24 (1) children who are before the court for
2-25 establishment of a support order; and
2-26 (2) children who are not before the court but:
2-27 (A) who reside in the same household with the
3-1 obligor; and
3-2 (B) for whom the obligor is obligated by a court
3-3 order to pay support, without regard to whether the obligor is
3-4 delinquent in child support payments, and who are not counted in
3-5 Paragraph (A) of this subdivision.
3-6 (m) Retroactive Support. The guidelines for the support of
3-7 a child in this chapter are intended to guide the court in
3-8 determining the amount of retroactive child support that may be
3-9 ordered under this chapter or Chapter 13 of this code. In ordering
3-10 retroactive child support, the court shall consider the net
3-11 resources of the obligor during the relevant time period.
3-12 SECTION 2. Section 14.055, Family Code, is amended by
3-13 amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsections (f),
3-14 (g), and (h) to read as follows:
3-15 (a) Rebuttable Presumption. The guidelines for the support
3-16 of a child in this chapter are specifically designed to apply to
3-17 situations in which the obligor's monthly net resources are $6,000
3-18 <$4,000> or less. In any suit affecting the parent-child
3-19 relationship, there is a rebuttable presumption that an order
3-20 containing the amount of periodic child support payments
3-21 established by the schedule provided in this section is reasonable
3-22 and that the order is in the best interest of the child. A court
3-23 may determine that the application of the guidelines would be
3-24 unjust or inappropriate under the circumstances.
3-25 (b) Schedule: $6,000 <$4,000> or Less Monthly Net
3-26 Resources. In rendering an order of child support under
3-27 circumstances in which the obligor's monthly net resources are
4-1 $6,000 <$4,000> or less, the court shall presumptively apply the
4-2 following schedule:
4-3 CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES
4-4 BASED ON THE MONTHLY NET RESOURCES OF THE OBLIGOR
4-5 1 child 20% of Obligor's Net Resources
4-6 2 children 25% of Obligor's Net Resources
4-7 3 children 30% of Obligor's Net Resources
4-8 4 children 35% of Obligor's Net Resources
4-9 5<+> children 40% of Obligor's Net Resources <Not less than
4-10 the amount for 4 children>
4-11 6+ children Not less than the amount for 5 children
4-12 (c) More Than $6,000 <$4,000> Monthly Net Resources. In
4-13 situations in which the obligor's net resources exceed $6,000
4-14 <$4,000> per month, the court shall presumptively apply the
4-15 percentage guidelines in Subsection (b) of this section to the
4-16 first $6,000 <$4,000> of the obligor's net resources. Without
4-17 further reference to the percentage recommended by these
4-18 guidelines, the court may order additional amounts of child support
4-19 as proven, depending on the needs of the child at the time of the
4-20 order.
4-21 (f) Children in Multiple Families. In applying the child
4-22 support guidelines for an obligor who has children in multiple
4-23 families as provided by Section 14.053(l) of this code, the court
4-24 shall apply the percentage guidelines in this section by making the
4-25 following computation:
4-26 (1) determine the amount of child support that would
4-27 be ordered if all children, both before the court and not before
5-1 the court, whom the obligor is obligated to support lived in one
5-2 household by applying the schedule in Subsection (b) of this
5-3 section;
5-4 (2) compute a child support credit for the obligor's
5-5 children who are not before the court by dividing the amount
5-6 determined under Subdivision (1) of this subsection by the total
5-7 number of children whom the obligor is obligated to support and
5-8 multiplying that number by the number of the obligor's children who
5-9 are not before the court;
5-10 (3) determine the adjusted net resources of the
5-11 obligor by subtracting the child support credit computed under
5-12 Subdivision (2) of this subsection from the net resources of the
5-13 obligor; and
5-14 (4) determine the child support amount for the
5-15 children before the court by applying the percentage guideline from
5-16 Subsection (b) of this section for the number of children of the
5-17 obligor before the court to the obligor's adjusted net resources.
5-18 (g) Child Support Paid to Obligor. Child support received
5-19 by an obligor shall be added to the net resources of the obligor to
5-20 compute the net resources of an obligor who is obligated to support
5-21 children in more than one household.
5-22 (h) Alternative Method of Computing Support for Children in
5-23 Multiple Families. In lieu of performing the computation under
5-24 Subsection (f) of this section, the court may determine the child
5-25 support amount for the children before the court by applying the
5-26 percentages in the table below to the obligor's net resources.
5-27 Multiple Family
6-1 adjusted Number of children before the court
6-2 guidelines (%
6-3 of net 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6-4 resources)
6-5 Number of 0 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00 40.00 40.00 40.00
6-6 other 1 17.50 22.50 27.38 32.20 37.33 37.71 38.00
6-7 children for 2 16.00 20.63 25.20 30.33 35.43 36.00 36.44
6-8 whom the 3 14.75 19.00 24.00 29.00 34.00 34.67 35.20
6-9 obligor has 4 13.60 18.33 23.14 28.00 32.89 33.60 34.18
6-10 a duty of 5 13.33 17.86 22.50 27.22 32.00 32.73 33.33
6-11 support: 6 13.14 17.50 22.00 26.60 31.27 32.00 32.62
6-12 7 13.00 17.22 21.60 26.09 30.67 31.38 32.00
6-13 SECTION 3. Section 14.056, Family Code, is amended by
6-14 amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
6-15 follows:
6-16 (b) Additional Factors. In addition to the factors listed
6-17 in these guidelines, a court may consider other relevant factors.
6-18 <The support obligation owed to a subsequently born or adopted
6-19 child does not constitute cause to decrease the amount of an
6-20 existing child support order.> The history of support voluntarily
6-21 provided in excess of the court order does not constitute cause to
6-22 increase the amount of an existing child support order.
6-23 (d) Use of Guidelines for Children of Multiple Families. In
6-24 applying the child support guidelines under this section, the
6-25 number of children of an obligor includes all children of whom the
6-26 obligor is a parent in each of the following categories:
6-27 (1) children who are before the court for
7-1 establishment or modification of a support order; and
7-2 (2) children who are not before the court but:
7-3 (A) who reside in the same household with the
7-4 obligor; and
7-5 (B) for whom the obligor is obligated by a court
7-6 order to pay support, without regard to whether the obligor is
7-7 delinquent in child support payments, and who are not counted in
7-8 Paragraph (A) of this subdivision.
7-9 SECTION 4. Section 14.057, Family Code, is amended by adding
7-10 Subsection (c) to read as follows:
7-11 (c) In an order that child support be paid by an obligor who
7-12 is obligated to support children as provided by Section 14.055(f)
7-13 of this code, the court shall make the findings required by
7-14 Subsection (b) of this section and shall specify under finding five
7-15 of that subsection:
7-16 (1) the number of children before the court;
7-17 (2) the number of children not before the court:
7-18 (A) who reside in the same household with the
7-19 obligor; and
7-20 (B) for whom the obligor is obligated by a court
7-21 order to pay support, without regard to whether the obligor is
7-22 delinquent in child support payments, and who are not counted in
7-23 Paragraph (A) of this subdivision.
7-24 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
7-25 SECTION 6. (a) This Act applies only to a child support
7-26 order entered or modified on or after the effective date of this
7-27 Act.
8-1 (b) The enactment of this Act is sufficient by itself to
8-2 constitute a material and substantial change in the circumstances
8-3 of a child for whose benefit a child support order has been entered
8-4 to warrant modification of the order under Section 14.08, Family
8-5 Code.
8-6 SECTION 7. The importance of this legislation and the
8-7 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-8 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-9 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-10 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.