We helped a former client today who learned that his employer was continuing to withhold child support payments from his check, even though his children were “emancipated” (that is, they are at least 18 years of age, out of high school, and not disabled). It occurs to me that other folks in Texas might find themselves in this position, also; so, I am writing about that situation today.[1]

The first step in addressing this issue is taking a look at the Withholding Order. Does it explain (as it should) that child support is to be withheld for only so long as no child is
“unemancipated?” (“emancipation” is explained, above). If it does, then you should contact your Human Resources Dept. to discuss the withholding with them. For smaller companies, especially those which operate in just Texas, this may be effective. Larger, more geographically diverse organizations, often require that withholding for child support continue until such time as they receive a new court order that expressly terminates that withholding (this is silly, in my opinion, because the withholding order, itself, mandates the termination of the withholding when the kids age-out; nevertheless, bureaucracies might not care, and insist upon their “policies” being followed, which might require a new order). Since suing your employer to enforce the terms of the withholding order seems unlikely to be a good strategy (for obvious reasons), we will need to try to satisfy their policies.

When another order is required by your employer, we consider contacting the parent (who is receiving the wrongly withheld child support), to see whether s/he will agree to  an order terminating the child support withholding.[2] If so, then a motion can be filed, requesting termination of the withholding; and then, an Agreed Order Terminating Withholding for Child Support prepared, signed, and submitted to the court. Next, we contact the Court Coordinator, for your particular court, to see whether the court will require a hearing (usually, no hearing is required, unless another party is involved in the case, such as Child Protective Services). If no hearing is required, then the Judge should sign your order upon our submission of it.

If a hearing is required, then we will set it, working with the Court Coordinator, for available court settings (dates and times for hearings). Once it is set, then all parties (usually, just the other parent) must be formally notified of the setting. Then, at the time of the hearing, we appear with you, present your testimony, and our argument, regarding why termination should end, and then, request the Judge sign the order.

Once we have a signed order, we will contacthe District Clerk’s Office to request that the order be sent to your employer. They will need to have a completed form with various information about your case, your employer, and the order. And, there may be a fee payment required.

Finally, the order should be sent by the District Clerk’s Office to your employer. And, the withholding should terminate.

We hope that this information has been helpful.

Until next time, keep on loving those kiddos!

Best regards,

David

[1] We are licensed to practice law in Texas, and are familiar with the child support withholding process in Texas. Accordingly, our comments apply only to those who have a child support withholding order issued by a Texas state court

[2]  Some parental relationships are toxic ones. When we are dealing with one of those, in which the parents can’t/won’t cooperate about anything, then we skip this step.