Happy New Year! The Decker Law Firm wishes you a new year full of love,
happiness, and prosperity.
2013 was a wonderful year for The Decker Law Firm – We met
some incredible people, made some new friends, and were able to help many
families through some of the most difficult times in their lives. We are so very thankful to have had that
opportunity.
We hope to continue serving our clients in a new
location. The weekend before the New
Year, we moved our office. The Decker
Law Firm happily announces our new location and phone numbers:
5201 West Freeway, Ste. 102
Fort Worth, TX 76107
(817) 735-0005 Phone
(817) 735-8959 Fax
We will continue to provide our clients with honest, strong
representation – only from a different locale.
If you need to visit us and are not sure where
to find our new office, just give us a call.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Ami J. Decker
www.famlawtex.com
Lawyers are expensive. When you hire a lawyer, you often pay more than you can afford. Given what you pay for that person’s expertise, it is helpful to your case to listen to your attorney and take his/her advice.
Why do lawyers cost so much? There are many reasons lawyers are so expensive. First they spend several years in law school. I know my years in law school were some of the toughest with the majority of my time spent studying. And if I wasn’t studying, I was sleeping. There wasn’t much time for anything other than going to class, researching, writing, reading, and studying. Everything else in your life is on hold to become a lawyer.
When a lawyer gives you a piece of advice, it is backed by knowledge of the law, years of experience, knowledge of the courts, and how the courts handle situations similar to yours. Two of the hardest things to learn when studying the law is that there is nothing black and white and the law isn’t always fair or logical.
Another reason lawyers aren’t cheap is that the law is ever-changing. In Texas, the Legislature meets every two years. And with that comes new laws and revisions of existing laws. Further, every law is subject to interpretation by the courts. As a result, appeals courts and the Supreme Court of the State of Texas spend their time hearing cases that have been appealed and interpreting the law based on the facts of each case. Because every case is different, the application of a statute in one case will produce one result while applying that same law in another case will produce yet a different result. It is the responsibility of your lawyer to recognize the subtle difference(s) from one case to another to determine what he or she believes will happen in your case or how the law should be applied in your situation. Law school teaches you to “think like a lawyer” and it is that thought process that guides your lawyer in counseling you about your case.
When a lawyer practices law in front of the same judges every day, he/she learns how those judges react and rule in certain situations. Although a lawyer can never predict what will happen in your case with absolute certainty, that lawyer can get pretty close in some instances based on experience in your court.
Using her knowledge of the law, knowledge of the courts, and experience, a lawyer will give you advise that will best help your case and structure your case to give you the best possible outcome. That advice is rooted in a great deal of knowledge.
Because you spend so much on your lawyer, it is crucial you trust that person. Your lawyer may very well give you advice you either do not agree with or do not understand. If you do not understand what your attorney asks of you then by all means ask for her reasoning behind it. I am certain there is a specific reason for that advice that will be of benefit to your case. If you choose not to follow your lawyer’s advice, you have to expect legal consequences that will harm your situation.
If for whatever reason you do not trust your attorney, find one you do trust.
There are a multitude of factors that lead to an attorneys advice: statutes, case law, the court’s tendency given the facts of your case, and/or mitigation of facts that may harm your case. Every single situation or case is different. Your situation may seem identical to your friend’s situation and in your friend’s situation she did not have to do what your lawyer is asking you to do. But you may be in a different court or there may be some difference in your situations that may seem subtle or meaningless to you but has great significance. Your lawyer is going to spot that.
I recommend making sure you understand exactly what your attorney is asking of you so you understand the meaning or reasoning behind it. If after hearing your attorney’s purpose of his/her request, you do not trust your lawyer, then find a lawyer you do trust. A good lawyer is not going to tell you everything you want to hear. A good lawyer is going to tell you everything you need to hear.
Ami J. Decker
www.famlawtex.com
Every state calculates child support differently. This article addresses determining child support in Texas according to the Texas Family Code as of 2012.
In Tarrant County, Texas, if you are the parent who does not have primary conservatorship of your children, you will be required to pay child support. It doesn’t matter if you and your former or soon-to-be former spouse agree that neither of you will pay child support. Tarrant County has six family law district courts and none of them will allow parents to agree to no child support if a parent has a greater amount of time with the children than the other parent.
Please consult your attorney to determine what you should pay for child support. There are many ins and outs to child support so you need confer with an attorney to validate your net resources and identify if your situation qualifies to deviate from guideline child support. This is meant to give you a general idea of what to expect.
To determine the amount of child support a parent will pay every month the court must:
- Determine the net resources of the person paying child support;
- Apply the guidelines for child support to the net resources of the person paying child support; and
- Consider any factors that might allow for deviating from the guidelines.
Determine the net resources of the person paying child support
Child support is based on the net resources of the person paying child support. The Texas Family Code identifies what is included in net resources. Net resources include the following:
- Wage and salary income (If there is no evidence of a salary, the court presumes a salary of the federal minimum wage at 40 hours a week.);
- Self-employment income;
- Severance pay;
- Retirement pay;
- Social Security benefits;
- Unemployment benefits;
- Disability and workers’ compensation benefits;
- Alimony;
- Child support (received for other children);
- Net rental income;
- Interest income;
- Capital gains;
- Trust distributions;
- Annuity income;
- Gifts and prizes;
- Deemed income; and
- Other income (examples: cash inheritance, athletic scholarship).
The Texas Family Code also identifies items not included as net resources:
- Return of capital or principal;
- Accounts receivable;
- Welfare benefits;
- Foster-care payments; and
- Spouse’s income.
When you calculate net resources, you must subtract the following items from all net resources before calculating child support:
- Federal income taxes;
- State income taxes;
- Social Security Taxes;
- Nondiscretionary retirement-plan contributions;
- Union dues; and
- Child’s health insurance or cash medical support.
Apply the guidelines for child support to the net resources of the person paying child support
Child support is calculated based on a person’s monthly net resources. Once you have determined the monthly net resources of the person paying child support, you have to apply the child-support guidelines in the Texas Family Code. If the child support payer’s net monthly resources are $7,500 or less, child support is calculated as a percentage of the net resources.
When all the children requiring support by the person paying child support live in one household, the amount of monthly child support is calculated based on the following percentages:
Number of Children Amount of Child Support
1 20% of monthly net resources
2 25% of monthly net resources
3 30% of monthly net resources
4 35% of monthly net resources
5 40% of monthly net resources
6+ Not less than 40%
These percentages are adjusted if you have other children you are required to support. For example, if this is your second divorce and you are already paying child support for 2 other children, your child support for the children of your second marriage will be reduced accordingly. You should consult a family law lawyer to determine how the other children affect what you child support should be in your current case.
Consider any factors that might allow for deviating from the guidelines
The amount of child support a person pays can be adjusted up or down from the guidelines based on specific factors identified in the Texas Family Code. Some of those factors include the age and need of the child, the child’s education expenses beyond secondary school, uninsured medical expenses of the child, travel cost for exercising possession of and access to the child, child-care expenses that allow either party to maintain gainful employment, and spousal maintenance paid or received by a party. This list is not all-inclusive. If you feel you have circumstances allowing for a deviation from guideline child support, it is a good idea to discuss those with your attorney to determine if a deviation is possible for your situation.
Child support is usually just a math problem but because of the many exceptions and oddities, it is always a good idea to consult an attorney to make sure you are paying or receiving the right amount.
Ami J. Decker
www.famlawtex.com
