Special Expenses a Judge may Add to Child Support

While some costs are common to all children, your child may have some unique expenses that could make it difficult for you to keep up if the judge only awards you the standard amount of child support.

Lawmakers anticipated this would be true in some situations, so they added more to the law regarding child support guidelines.

The Texas statutes include Section 154.123 – Additional Factors for Court To Consider – which may affect how the judge applies the child support guidelines in your case.

Health expenses

The standard guidelines cover how you and your co-parent handle which of you will provide your child’s health care insurance.

If your child has greater health care needs or if there are medical expenses that insurance does not cover, the judge will consider evidence of these and adjust the amount as he or she sees fit.

Educational needs

If your child has extraordinary educational expenses, you should consider requesting that your co-parent share these.

For example, you may provide evidence that it is in your child’s best interest to attend a private school if he or she is unable to succeed in a public school environment. Regular tutoring may also be a justifiable expense for the other parent to contribute to.

The statute also mentions education after high school. While this could be college tuition, the statute could also be referring to a trade school or some other educational opportunity.

Because the focus of the law is your child’s best interests, any expense that benefits your child is worth bringing to the attention of the judge.