How far back can child support be collected

What is the Statute of Limitations on Child Support in Texas?

Texas parents have a general duty to provide financial support for their children.

If child support is not paid on time, custodial parents have a number of different enforcement tools at their disposal.

What happens if you don’t pay child support in Texas?

As explained by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, the failure to pay child support could potentially lead to the interception of an income tax return, wage garnishment, or even a bank levy.

However, parents do not always have an unlimited amount of time to make a claim to recover overdue child support. A parent will lose their right to bring a legal claim if action is not taken before the statute of limitations expires.

Here, our experienced Waco, TX child custody attorneys explain the most important things that you need to know about the Texas child support arrears statute of limitations.

Texas Child Support Statute of Limitations

What is the Statute of Limitations With an Existing Court Order?

If there is already a court order in place, then parents in Texas have considerable — but not unlimited — time to file for back child support.

Under Texas law, the statute of limitations for seeking back child support when a court order is already in place is ten years from the child’s 18th birthday. If a claim isn’t filed by the deadline, then any recovery for back child support in Texas may be denied.

What is the Statute of Limitations Without an Existing Court Order?

If there isn’t an existing child support order in place, that does not mean that a non-custodial parent can simply avoid making payments. Child support is still owed, even without an official court order to mandate it.

However, in this circumstance, parents have far less time to seek financial relief for unpaid, overdue child support. Under Texas law (Texas Family Code – FAM § 154.131), the custodial parent has four years after the date of the child’s 18th birthday to file a claim. This is a far more strict back child support Texas statute of limitations.

Notably, this type of case is known as a retroactive child support claim — since financial recovery is being sought without any existing court order. With retroactive child support, Texas courts presume that the total amount of child support that will be awarded will not exceed the amount that would have been due over the previous four years had a child support order been in place.

This is a rebuttable presumption. If evidence can be presented that the non-custodial parent intentionally sought to avoid paying child support, a Texas court may allow retroactive child support in an amount beyond the general four-year limit.

Contact Our Waco, TX Child Support Lawyer Today

At the Law Office of Simer and Tetens, our Texas family attorneys have extensive experience handling the full range of child support cases.

If you have any questions about back child support in Texas, we are here to help. To set up a free, no obligation initial consultation, please do not hesitate to contact us today.

With an office in Waco, we also serve communities in McLennan County and throughout Central Texas.

Does California Allow Retroactive Child Support?

Hossein Berenji, Jul 03, 2020

California courts expect parents to provide for the financial needs of their children. This duty applies even if the parents are divorced or they never were married.

According to California Family Code §3900, parents have an equal duty to support their children. This duty is subject to the child support guidelines and other laws.

In most cases, child support results from a divorce action. However, a parent may petition for support payments even though the parents have never lived together. The status of the parents’ relationship does not impact the duty to support the couple’s child.

Seeking Retroactive Child Support in California

The court may order retroactive child support in some cases. However, a parent cannot seek retroactive child support back to the birth of the child. Retroactive child support payments are limited to the past three years.

Courts order retroactive child support when a final order for support was delayed. Retroactive support may also be ordered if a temporary child support order was not issued at the beginning of the action.

However, the retroactive payments only cover the period between the filing of the petition and the present date. The payments cannot exceed three years.

Service of the petition seeking retroactive support is crucial. If the parent was not served within 90 days after the petition was filed, the retroactive period extends back to the date the parent was served. If the parent deliberately tried to avoid service, the judge may adjust the retroactive period.

Is Retroactive Child Support Based on Current Child Support Guidelines?

Yes, the court uses the child support guidelines to calculate retroactive child support. However, several differences could modify the amount of retroactive child support payments.

The income of both parents during the retroactive period is used to calculate retroactive support payments instead of their current income. Thus, the amount of retroactive support payments may be different from ongoing support payments.

The judge may also consider voluntary payments made by the noncustodial parent toward the child’s support during the retroactive period. For instance, did the noncustodial parent pay daycare expenses for the child or school tuition? Did the parent give the custodial parent money to help pay for the child’s expenses?

Can a Parent Receive Retroactive Child Support Payments for a Modification?

In general, the court does not grant retroactive child support payments when the court modifies current support obligations. If the court changes the amount of child support payments, the new amount for support payments applies to future payments.

The custodial parent does not receive a lump sum payment for the difference between the modified child support payment and past payments. Likewise, the parent paying child support does not receive a credit if the modified support payments are lower than the original child support payments.

How Does the Court Calculate Ongoing Child Support Payments in California?

The court calculates ongoing child support payments after deciding about retroactive support payments. Child support in California is based on uniform statewide guidelines. A specific formula is used to calculate child support in California.

The mandatory statewide formula uses each parent’s income and how much time the parent spends with the child to calculate child support obligations. The formula is designed to ensure that each parent shoulders their fair share of the support. Custody is an important part of the equation. The custodial parent typically receives child support payments from the noncustodial parent.

A judge may also consider several other factors when determining the amount of child support payments. Other factors that could impact the amount of child support include:

the number of children the parents share;
the number of children the parents have with other individuals;
any expenses related to special needs;
health insurance premiums and health care costs for the child;
daycare or childcare expenses; and,
the earning capacity of each parent.

If the ongoing child support payments deviate from the child support guidelines, the judge must include an explanation of how he calculated the payments and the reasons for deviating from the guidelines.

Can the Parents Agree on Another Amount for Support Payments?

Parents may agree to pay child support payments that are not based on the California child support guidelines. Some parents may agree to a higher amount of child support because their child has a special interest that results in additional expenses, such as participating in a sport or hobby. Parents may also agree to higher child support payments to help with private school tuition or other needs of the child.

However, child support agreements are subject to review by the court. If the court finds that the agreement is not in the child’s best interest, the court may order a different amount of child support payments.

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Recovery of alimony for the past period

A selection of the most important documents upon request Collection of alimony for the past period (legal acts, forms, articles, expert advice and much more).

Alimony:
Maintenance obligations of children to support their parents
Alimony obligations of spouses
Alimony in 6-NDFL
Alimony in a solid amount of
Alimony of individual entrepreneur
more ...

Judicial practice : Alimony for the last period

Open the document in your system ConsultantPlus:
Selection of court decisions for 2020: Article 113 "Determination of alimony debt" of the RF IC
(R.B. Kasenov) The court refused to satisfy the claims of the plaintiff - the recoverer of alimony for a minor child in enforcement proceedings to recognize as illegal the inaction of the bailiff, expressed in the refusal to calculate the debt on alimony; on the obligation of the bailiff-performer to calculate the debt. At the same time, the court recognized the conclusions of the trial court that the provisions of paragraph 2 of Art. 113 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation are of a general nature in relation to paragraph 1, since the fault of the alimony non-payer is presumed, therefore it is necessary to calculate the debt for the entire period from the moment the alimony is collected. As the court pointed out, as a general rule, the recovery of alimony for the past period is carried out within the three-year period preceding the presentation of the writ of execution for recovery. Alimony for the past period may be recovered within a three-year period from the date of applying to the court, if the court establishes that prior to applying to the court, measures were taken to obtain funds for maintenance, but the alimony was not received due to the evasion of the person obliged to pay alimony from their payment . In the case under consideration, there is no evidence in the case file confirming that the debtor evaded the payment of alimony. These circumstances indicate that there are no grounds for recognizing as illegal the inaction of the bailiff in terms of calculating the debt. nine0015

Open the document in your consultantPlus system:
Selection of court decisions for 2019: Article 113 "Determination of arrears of alimony" of the IC of the Russian Federation
(p .B. Kasenov) The court partially satisfied the plaintiff's claims against the Federal Bailiff Service of Russia for a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, the MOSP of the Federal Bailiff Service of Russia for a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, bailiffs to challenge the decision to calculate the debt for alimony, the decision to initiate enforcement proceedings, and to recognize the actions of the bailiff as illegal on the calculation of the debt, imposing the obligation to determine the settlement period of the debt for alimony, imposing on the bailiff the obligation to calculate the debt for alimony, inclusive, taking into account the amount of the plaintiff's income. The court pointed out that, in accordance with Art. 113 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, the collection of alimony for the past period on the basis of an agreement on the payment of alimony or on the basis of a writ of execution is carried out within a three-year period preceding the presentation of a writ of execution or a notarized agreement on the payment of alimony for collection. Meanwhile, in this case, when determining the period of formation of debt, an official of the bailiff service should proceed not only from the provisions of the above rule of law, but also from the following circumstances: whether the period of formation of debt was previously the subject of a dispute resolved by a justice of the peace, whether the plaintiff is guilty of non-payment alimony, for what period there was an arrears in the payment of alimony at the time of termination of enforcement proceedings, as well as the fact that the child, for whose maintenance alimony was collected, has reached the age of majority. Meanwhile, these requirements of the law were not complied with by the bailiff when issuing a decision on the calculation of arrears of alimony. nine0015

Articles, comments, answers to questions : recovery of alimony for the past period

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Article: Disputes on the recovery of alimony for minor children (based on the judicial practice of the Moscow City Court)
("Electronic magazine "Advocate Assistant", 2022) As a general rule, alimony is awarded from the moment you apply to the court (clause 2, article 107 of the RF IC). However, the law provides for the possibility of recovering alimony for the past period within a three-year period from the date of applying to the court.For the court to make an appropriate decision, the plaintiff must prove that before applying to the court he took measures to obtain funds for the maintenance of the child, but did not receive them due to the defendant's evasion from their payment (for example, Appellate rulings of the Moscow City Court dated 10. 06.2021 in case N 33-23383/2021, dated 06/24/2021 in case N 33-16479/2021, dated 06/16/2021 in case N 33-19802/2021, dated 04/16/2019 in case N 33-15990/2019).

Regulations : Collection of alimony for the past period within a three-year period from the date of applying to the court, if during the trial it is established that before applying to the court measures were taken to obtain alimony, but they were not received due to the evasion of the person obliged to pay alimony from paying them (paragraph two of paragraph 2 article 107 of the RF IC). nine0015

From when child support is calculated and paid

By the way: We can collect maximum child support More

Divorce in the presence of joint children most often ends with the recovery of alimony from the parent leaving the family. This, as follows from the most common cases, may be the father or, more rarely, the mother of the child who does not live with the minor. Alimony can be paid both voluntarily and collected in court in the form of a share of all types of earnings or in the form of a fixed amount fixed by the court. nine0015

The right to receive alimony does not arise from the moment of divorce and not even from the moment the parent leaves the family, no. The child's right to alimony is fixed with him from birth, theoretically, even in marriage and in cohabitation, the mother has the right to demand minor maintenance from the father.

The question of from what moment alimony is accrued from the moment of divorce worries every person who is faced with the need to collect alimony from the second parent. Consider the most popular questions and try to give them comprehensive answers. nine0015

From what moment are alimony paid when they are received by agreement?

When agreeing on the payment of alimony on a voluntary basis, parents have the right to independently determine the date for the start of payments of monetary maintenance, including by linking the obligation to the past tense. The law does not impose any restrictions on this.

Read on our blog: Support agreement

From what date are alimony accrued when they are collected in court? nine0092

As a general rule, the court awards maintenance in favor of the plaintiff and his child from the date of filing the claim. Not from the date of the issuance of a judicial act or its entry into force, but precisely from the moment the court office received a claim for the forced collection of funds for the maintenance of children.

If at the court session the plaintiff can prove the fact that the defendant evaded the maintenance of children and confirm his attempts to obtain alimony in the period preceding the appeal to the court, then he has the right to raise the issue of collecting alimony for the previous three years. In a share or in the form of a fixed amount - it does not matter. nine0015

To determine the moment from which alimony is awarded, the date of divorce does not matter - the plaintiff has the right to apply both after three and five years from the date of divorce or actual separation, but funds will be collected only for the past three years.

From what date is alimony accrued by a court decision if it has not been presented for execution?

From what date is alimony calculated?

When a court decision on the recovery of maintenance from the defendant was issued, but for some reason he did not pay alimony, the debt is recoverable for the entire period of non-payment of the debt, excluding the three-year period.