1.  They are not your attorney.  The Attorney General’s office does not represent the custodial parent (primary conservator) but instead represents the State of Texas.  As such they are not looking out for your best interest.  Their main focus seems to be ensuring that the State of Texas is reimbursed for MEDICAID or CHIP costs.

2.  They have too Many Child Support Enforcement Cases.  The Attorney General’s office has a tremendous caseload (probably 1 Million active cases) and they do not have the resources to move your child support case along as fast, nor do they have the time to familiarize themselves with the important facts and evidence in your case that is essential to maximizing the Child Support Judgments and obtaining contempt punishments.

3.  They tend to slow down their efforts after the Judgement is confirmed.  The Attorney General will help confirm Arrearages (probably after the case has been on file for 8 months to a year) but after that, things slow down.  They also don’t appear to push as hard for jail time and other punishments that we find are essential to letting the deadbeat know that you mean business.  The problem with just confirming a judgment is that is that its just a piece of paper that may never be paid or it will be paid out very, very, slowly for years.  Our Child Support Collection and Enforcement attorneys go after all property like cars, bank accounts, and anything else we can find.  We don’t want you getting paid out over years.  We want you paid now.

There are several steps that must be followed before you can start collecting Money.

1.  You must have a Child Support Order already in place.  This is almost always done in a Final Decree of Divorce, or a Final Order established in a Paternity Suit, Conservator Suit, or a Modification Suit.

2.  Child Support includes the Monthly Child Support Payments contained in the Order, but also medical costs.  Normally a final order will state that the parents have to split Uninsured & Unreimbursed medical expenses (50/50) and the parent that is paying child support is also required to either (a) Carry Health Insurance, (b) Reimburse you for the cost of health insurance, or (c) Pay Cash Medical Support to the State of Texas if the Children are on CHIP or MEDICAID.  So its important for you to try and gather up all of these other expenses in order to Maximize your recovery.

3.  After the parent who is ordered to pay child support (which we will call the “Obligor”) fails to pay these expenses, you can file a child support Enforcement Suit against them in the County that issued the most recent Final Child Support Order in Texas.

4.  Our firm requires that the Obligor be behind at least $3,000 in Child Support Payments.

5.  At which point we will file the Child Support Enforcement Suit to confirm the Arrearages Owed in to a Judgment.  A Judgment is simply a court order that states that a Debt is Owed and collectable under Texas Law.

6.  Additionally, we normally always (unless you insist otherwise) on pursuing Jail Time, Penalties and Interests, License Suspensions and any other punishment allowed under Texas Law.

7.  Once the Court Confirms the Judgment, the court will also put the Obligor on a Child Support Arrearage Repayment Plan.  Usually spreading the payments out over 3 years.  However, we are not bound by that repayment schedule.  The Obligor must make those payments each month, but we can still seize property to collect ahead of that 3 year schedule.

8.  Additionally, our firm will freeze assets and pursue the collection efforts such as levying bank accounts, placing liens on real estate (other than a homestead), seizing retirement accounts, and ect.

9.  Once money comes in our firm will distribute the monies to you and we will receive our contingency percentage for collecting the child support.

Remember there are 2 Steps to Getting You Paid:

1.  A Child Support Judgment must be Obtained in Court through the filing of a Motion to Enforce Child Support
2. After Child Support Judgment is obtained, we can begin collecting the money owed through all options under the Texas Family Code and Property Code.

We pursue collection efforts on a contingency fee which means, we don’t get paid anything until you get paid.  First thing we must do though is obtain a Judgment for the child support that is already owed plus accrued interest.

After the judgment is obtained for the child support arrearages, we will then pursue collection efforts on that Child Support Judgment based on a contingency fee agreement in which we will receive 1/3 of all Child Support Judgment Money Collected.  We will get paid only when you get paid.  Remember we will pursue penalties and interests on the child support arrearages in order to maximize your total child support recovery and continue to monitor your case so that if the obligor starts to fail to make payments we will keep bringing them back to court to punish them.  Each time we have to bring the obligor back to court, we will seek all fees and costs associated with our efforts directly from the Obligor and you will not be required to pay anything for our services.

The better question to ask is, what methods are we NOT able to use to pressure the nonpaying parent (conservator) to pay their court ordered child support.  Here are just some of the tools that an aggressive child support collection attorney can use:

1)  Contempt and Jail Time
2)  Placing liens on any property they own except for their home.
3)  Freezing Bank Accounts
4)  Garnishing Wages
5)  Seizing Retirement Accounts
6)  Foreclosing on Property
7)  Suspending any state issued license for the following activities and occupations:  Driving, Hunting, Fishing, Practicing Medicine, Practicing Law, Real Estate, Plumbing, Private Security, Certified Public Accountant, Engineering, Psychologist, Nursing, Barber, Social Worker, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and etc.

Simply put, with our aggressive collection methods, the nonpaying parent will suffer extreme hardship if they refuse to pay you the child support to which you are entitled, plus interest.

The obligation to pay unpaid child support does not end when your child turns 18 or when your child graduates from high school. Many individuals and attorneys have the misconception that if you do not pursue child support owed to you prior to the child reaching 18 or graduating high school that it is too late. This is completely false.

If you did not receive your child support payments when they were due, you are able to collect them now and with interest.

Unlike most civil lawsuits, there is a deadline in which you must exercise your rights or they are barred by the Statute of Limitations. For instance, if you were injured by someone else’s negligence you normally have 2 years to file a case or you lose it forever. However, child support collection has received the highest priority from the Texas Legislature. You never lose your right to collect it, even if the missed child support payments were decades ago.

We don’t care if your child is now 18, 25, 35, 55, or even older. If the nonpaying parent failed to pay all of their child support, we can help you collect it. Contact our experienced child support collection and enforcement lawyers to learn how we can help you.