creative ways to enforce & collect child support …harmony hills elementary pta, san antonio,...

CREATIVE WAYS TO ENFORCE & COLLECT CHILD SUPPORT CLAIMS

KAREN L. MARVEL Law Offices of

Sinkin & Marvel 105 West Woodlawn Avenue

San Antonio, TX 78212 (210) 732-6000 Telephone

(210) 736-2777 Fax [email protected]

State Bar of Texas STATE BAR COLLEGE SUMMER SCHOOL

July 22-24, 2010 Galveston Island

CHAPTER 30

Karen L. MarvelLaw Offices of Sinkin & Marvel

105 West Woodlawn AvenueSan Antonio, Texas 78212-3457

(210) 732-6000 M (210) 736-2777 [email protected] http://www.sinkinmarvel.com

LICENSE & MEMBERSHIPS

Attorney and Counselor at Law, Texas, 1987Board Certified - Family Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization 2008State Bar of Texas & Family Law SectionBoard of Directors, Family Law Section of San Antonio Bar Association, 2002 - ; President, 2007-2008Texas Academy of Family Law SpecialistsTexas Family Law Foundation - Legislative Review CommitteeSan Antonio Family Lawyer’s Association

EDUCATION

J.D., Texas Tech University School of Law, 1987B.A. in English (Writing) and Psychology, McMurry University, Abilene, TX 1984

former staff attorney, Bexar County Child Support Enforcement Office, 1994 - 1997

HONORS/RECOGNITIONS

Texas Super Lawyers 2008, 2009 Family LawSan Antonio’s Best Lawyers – Family Law, Scene in SA magazine 2005; 2007; 2008, 2009, 2010President’s Award of Excellence – San Antonio Bar Association Family Law Section 2005

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

Acknowledged contributor, O’Connor’s Family Law Handbook 2009; 2010 (Jones-McClure)Essay featured in Women Attorneys Speak Out! by Judi Craig, Ph.D., MCC, (Thomson-West 2008)

Judicial & Administrative Remedies for Enforcing Child Support, 2010 Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists TrialInstituteCaution! Watch Out for Acronyms on the Interstate Case Highway (with Chris Nickelson), 2010 UT Parent-ChildRelationships: Critical Thinking for Critical IssuesChild Support Workshop (with Frederick Adams, David Farr & Hon. Marilea Lewis), 35th Advanced Family Law Course,2009Creative Ways to Collect & Enforce Child Support Claims, 2010 State Bar College Summer School (selected by State Barfor rebroadcast as part of “Best of 2009” series)Dividing Assets with Fluctuating Values: Slicing the Pie on a SeeSaw Webcast, panelist, 2009, State Bar of TexasCreative Ways to Collect & Defend Child Support Claims, 2009 Marriage Dissolution InstituteObtaining Child Support (with Barry Brooks) 2009 UT Parent Child Relationships: Critical Thinking for Critical IssuesUnique Child Support Remedies Webcast, paper author and panelist, 2009, State Bar of TexasTrial Treasures in Tampa, Trial Brief Author & planning committee, 2009, Texas Academy of Family Law SpecialistsTrial Institute Dealing with Children with Special Needs (with Sally Holt Emerson), 2008 Marriage Dissolution InstituteSetting & Collecting Child Support (with Hon. Conrad Moren), 2007 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting

Course Co-Director (with Charles E. Hardy) - seminars sponsored by SA Bar Assoc. Family Law Section:Extreme Family Law Makeover 2008Extreme Divorce Practice Makeover V! 2007Extreme Divorce Practice Makeover IV! 2006Course Director - seminars sponsored by SA Bar Assoc Family Law Section:

Extreme Divorce Practice Makeover! 2004Techniques & Strategies for Trying Custody Cases on a Budget 2003Course Director, 13th Annual Meeting and Seminar, TADRO 1997

Contributing Editor, How to Do Your Own Divorce in Texas, Nolo Press-Occidental, 1993-2001State Bar Pro Bono Law Project Speaker: 9/2005 Eagle Pass; 6/2007 Kerrville; 9/2007 Big SpringState Bar of Texas Family Law Section Committee Member: Checklists revision 2010

SIGNIFICANT CASES In Re M.C.C., 142 S.W.3d 504 (Tex. 2006) [legislative amendments to statutes apply prospectively; interest rate on childsupport is rate in effect at time obligation accrued until 1/1/2002, thereafter 6% simple interest on all balances not reducedto money judgment]

In the Interest of S.C.S. 48 S.W.3d 831 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2001) pet. denied per curiam, sub. nom. Sprouse v.Sprouse, 92 S.W.3d 502 (Tex. 2002) (with Steven A. Sinkin) [time periods for securing child support judgments arejurisdictional – legislature may extend time for a remedy]

In the Interest of D.T., No. 12-05-00420-CV, 2007 WL 4465250 (Tex. App.– Tyler 2007, no pet.) [child support lienreaches community property retirement of new spouse when lien was perfected before divorce and new spouse does notraise evidence of his/her interest)

In the Interest of A.D., 73 S.W. 3d 244 (Tex. 2002) (co-author, amicus curiae brief) [time periods for securing writs ofwithholding in child support are jurisdictional; the order adjudicating the obligation is the judgment; legislature may extendtime periods for trial courts to enforce their judgments]

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

First Presbyterian Church, San Antonio, Godly Play Teacher 2005-Harmony Hills Elementary PTA, San Antonio, Board Member 2007-Autism Society of Greater San Antonio, Board Member, volunteer General Counsel 2005 - 2008GOLD Youth Leadership Foundation (Giving Opportunities for Leadership Development), Program Chair 2003, Board ofDirectors, 2003- 2006, general counsel to non-profit corporationHugh O’Brian Youth Leadership, West Texas Leadership Seminar, leadership training program for high schoolsophomores: Senior Staff, 1992-2002; Corporate Board 1994-2002; President of Board 1994-1999

http://www.TexasBarCLE.com/CLE/PMCasemaker.asp?table=TX_caselaw&volume=142&edition=S.W.3d&page=504&id=121573_01




Acknowledgments

Thanks to JoAl Cannon Sheridan of Austin for allowing me to adapt the section on contempt from part of her paper,“Nobody’s Doin’ What They’re S’posed To” Enforcing Child Support and Possession Orders, 32nd Annual AdvancedFamily Law Course, State Bar of Texas 2006, Chapter 17.

Also thanks to Rebecca Galvan of San Antonio who suggested someone (me!) write a paper on enforcement by contemptwith steps for everyone to follow.

Andrew Ross, our newest associate at Sinkin & Marvel, provided the 2010 case law updates for this paper and hisexcellent work is much appreciated.

Section X of this article is taken, with very minor tweaks and updates, from Understanding Child Protective Servicesand Child Enforcement Services, by Charles G. Childress and Alicia G. Key, 2006 Advanced Family Law Course,Chapter 30. Thank you to Ms. Key for permission to use this section of her paper. Please remember the rest of this articledoes not necessarily reflect the views of Ms. Key or of the Office of the Attorney General, Child Support Division.

The UIFSA roadmap in the Appendix was developed and written by me and presented as part of a presentation withChris Nickelson of Fort Worth entitled Caution! Watch out for Acronyms on the Interstate Case Highway at theUniversity of Texas CLE program Parent-Child Relationships: Critical Thinking for Critical Issues in January of 2010.

Creative Ways to Enforce & Collect Child Support Chapter 30

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

I. CONTEMPT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1A. Procedure for Contempt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1. Where to file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12. What was violated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13. What the obligor did wrong. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14. Pleadings and Proof–“Dotting every ‘I’...” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

B. Setting Hearing and Securing Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21. Failure to Appear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22. Issuance of Capias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

C. Hearing on Motion for Contempt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21. Criminal Contempt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22. Civil Contempt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23. Right to Counsel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34. Proof at the hearing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35. Two cases worth reading before your hearing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36. Suspension of Sentence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

D. Attorney’s Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

II. CUMULATIVE MONEY JUDGMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A. Time Periods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4B. Procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4C. Calculating Arrearages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

1. Applicable Interest Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42. Comparison of Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

D. Hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5E. First Class Mail Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5F. Automated Monitoring by OAG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5G. Defenses To a Motion for Cumulative Judgment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1. Voluntary Relinquishment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62. Payment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

H. Attorney’s Fees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6I. Legislative Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

III. NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR JUDICIAL WRIT OF WITHHOLDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A. Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7B. Time Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7C. Delivery and Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8D. Administrative Determination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8E. Administrative Writ of Withholding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

IV. CHILD SUPPORT LIENS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9A. Legislative Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9B. Time Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9C. Child Support Liens to Financial Institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9D. Other Places to file Child Support Liens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10E. Effect of Lien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10F. Contest of Lien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10G. Lien on Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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V. LEVIES ON FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11A. How to File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11B. Time Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11C. Contest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11D. Payment of the Levy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11E. Use for Collecting Attorney’s Fees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

VI. SUSPENSION OF LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11A. Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11B. Time to File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11C. What and Where to File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12D. Hearing and Order. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12E. Suspension of Licenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12F. Challenge of the OAG Administrative Order. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

1. Grounds for Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122. Procedure for Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

G. Stay of Suspension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13H. Motion to Revoke Stay of Suspension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13I. Denial of License Renewal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

VII. WRITS OF EXECUTION TO SATISFY CHILD SUPPORT JUDGMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14A. Relevant Statutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14B. Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14C. Securing a Writ of Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15D. Use for Collecting Attorney’s Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

VIII. TURNOVER ORDERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15A. Relevant Statutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15B. Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16C. How to File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16D. Uses for a Turnover Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16E. Attorney’s Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

IX. USE OF QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDERS FOR CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17A. Very brief overview on QDROs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17B. Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

X. RECENT CASES DISCUSSING CHILD SUPPORT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

XI. ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES RESTRICTED IN USE TO THE OAG CHILD SUPPORT DIVISION (CSD). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20A. Information Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20B. Data Matches With Financial Institutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20C. Garnishment of Unemployment Insurance Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21D. Interception of Income Tax Refunds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21E. Passport Sanctions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21F. Credit Bureau Reporting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21G. Administrative Enforcement Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

XII. CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23UIFSA Roadmap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Attorney General Authorization for Release of Information (Form A1004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Attorney General Application for Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Attorney General v. Lee, 92 S.W.3d 526 (Tex. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Attorney General v. Mitchell, 819 S.W.2d 556 (Tex. App. – Dallas 1991, no writ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Beck v. Walker, 154 S.W. 3d 895 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2005, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Burnett-Dunham v. Spurgin, 245 S.W.3d 14 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2007, pet. denied) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Buzbee v. Buzbee, 870 S.W.2d 335 (Tex. App. – Waco 1994, no writ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Copher v. First State Bank of Pittsburg, 852 S.W.2d 738 (Tex. App. – Fort Worth 1993, no writ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Crook v. Crook, No. 05-09-00724-CV (Tex. App. – Dallas 2010, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Curtis v. Curtis, 11 S.W. 3d 466 (Tex. App.– Tyler 2000, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Dryden v. Dryden, 97 S.W.3d 863 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 2003, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 15

Effner v. Moore, No. 04-01-00294-CV, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 1449 (Tex. App. – San Antonio 2002, no pet.) . . . 8

Ellithorp v. Ellithorp, No. 08-06-00249-CV, 2009 TEX. APP. LEXIS 275 (Tex. App. – El Paso 2009, pet. denied). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Ex Parte Acker, 949 S.W.2d 314 (Tex. 1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Ex Parte Coronado, No. 13-09-00149-CV, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 2474, *10-*13 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi2009, pet. denied) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Ex Parte Johnson, 654 S.W.2d 415 (Tex. 1983) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Ex Parte Jordan, 865 S.W.2d 459 (Tex. 1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Ex Parte Werblud, 536 S.W.2d 542 (Tex. 1976) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 3

Fondren v. Fondren, No. 09-08-00187-CV, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 5432, *20 (Tex. App. – Beaumont 2009, nopet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Foster v. Alejandre, No. 13-08-00535-CV, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 5840, *5 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 2009, nopet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Galenski v. Ford Motor Co. 421 F.Supp.2d 1015 (E.D. Mich. 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Glass v. Williamson, 137 S.W.3d 114 (Tex. App. – Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Gonzalez v. Tippit, 167 S.W. 3d 536 (Tex. App. – Austin 2005, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Illif v. Illif, No. 03-08-00382-CV, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 5655, *20-*21 (Tex. App. – Austin 2009, no pet.) . . . . 19

In Re Burcie, No. 2-08-221-CV, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 5859 (Tex. App. – Fort Worth 2008, orig. proc.) . . . . . . . 3

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In Re C.G., 261 S.W.3d 842 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2008, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

In Re Cannon, 993 S.W.2d 354 (Tex. App. – San Antonio 1999, orig. proc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

In re E.C.M., 225 S.W.3d 11 (Tex. App.– El Paso 2005, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

In Re E.D., 102 S.W.3d 859 (Tex. App.– Corpus Christi 2003, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

In re J.M.D., No. 14-03-01196-CV, 2006 WL 1148113 (Tex.App.– Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. denied) . . . . . 7

In re J.M.R., No. 04-03-00284-CV, 2004 WL 1392284 (Tex. App.– San Antonio 2004, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

In re K.K., No. 2-04-269-CV, 2006 WL 133506 (Tex. App.– Fort Worth 2006, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

In re T.L.K., 90 S.W.3d 833 (Tex. App.– San Antonio 2002, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

In Re Zandi, 230 S.W.3d 76 (Tex. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

In the Interest of A.D., 73 S.W.3d 244 (Tex. 2002)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 8

In the Interest of A.D.S., Jr., No. 14-08-00147-CV, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 7517, *9-*10 (Tex. App. – Houston[14th] 2009, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

In the Interest of A.M., 192 S.W.3d 570 (Tex. 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

In the Interest of C.Z.B., 151 S.W.3d 627 (Tex. App. – San Antonio 2004, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

In the Interest of D.T., No. 12-05-00420-CV, 2007 WL 4465250 (Tex. App.–Tyler 2007, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

In the Interest of H.G.L. and A.R.L., No. 14-08-00087-CV, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 8810, *19 (Tex. App. – Houston[14th Dist.] 2009, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

In the Interest of J.S.H., No. 06-09-00101-CV, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 2877 (Tex. App. – Texarkana 2010, no pet.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

In the Interest of Kuykendall, 957 S.W.2d 907 (Tex. App.–Texarkana 1997, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

In the Interest of M.C.C., 187 S.W.3d 383 (Tex. 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

In the Interest of M.E.G., No. 13-01-117-CV, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 1948, *4 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 2002, nopet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

In the Interest of R.F.G. and R.G.G., 282 S.W.3d 722 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2009, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

In the Interest of S.C.S., 48 S.W.3d 831 (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist. 2001]), pet. denied sub. nom. Sprouse v.Sprouse, 92 S.W.3d 502 (Tex. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

In the Interest of T.L., ___ S.W.3d ___, No. 14-09-00179-CV, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 4320 (Tex. App. – Houston[14th Dist., June 10, 2010, no pet. hist.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

In the Interest of W.G.S., 107 S.W.3d 624 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 2002, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Marsh, 119 F.3d 415 (6 th Cir.1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Wheaton , 42 F.3d 1080 (7 th Cir.1994) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

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Norman v. Norman, 683 S.W.2d 548 (Tex. App. – Fort Worth 1985) [en banc], rev’d on other grounds, 692 S.W. 2d655 (Tex. 1985) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

O’Neal v. Ector County Independent School District, 251 S.W.3d 50 (Tex. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Packard v. Davis, No. 02-08-0022-CV, 2008 WL 4925998 (Tex.App.– Fort Worth 2008, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Ross v. 3D Tower Limited, 824 S.W.2d 270 (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist.] 1992, writ denied) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Siddiqui v. Siddiqui, No. 14-07-00235-CV, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 1443, *12-*13 (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist.]2009, pet. denied) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Sivley v. Sivley, 972 S.W.2d 850 (Tex. App. – Tyler 1998, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Taylor v. Speck, 308 S.W.3d 81 (Tex. App. – San Antonio 2010, no pet.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Statutes

29 U.S.C. §1056 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

42 U.S.C.666 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 21

ERISA §206 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

I.R.C. §414 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE §16.061 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE §31.002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-17

TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE §34.001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

TEX. CIV. STAT. ANN.. Art. 5069-1.05 (Vernon 1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

TEX. FAM. CODE §101.0201 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

TEX. FAM. CODE §105.006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

TEX. FAM. CODE §154.062 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

TEX. FAM. CODE §154.066 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 4

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 4

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 4, 8

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 18-20

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 18

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TEX. FAM. CODE §157.061 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 5

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.062 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 5

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.063 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 5

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.065 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.066 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.102 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.106 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.162 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 3, 6

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.163 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.164 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.165 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.167 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 6, 11, 15

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.211 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.261 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.263 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 19

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.264 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.265 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.268 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7, 15

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.311 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.312 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.312 (Vernon 1998) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.314 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.3145 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.316 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.317 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 10

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.3171 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.318 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 10

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TEX. FAM. CODE §157.323 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 11, 16

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.327 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.328 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.330 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.421 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.423 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.102 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.301 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.301, et. seq. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.302 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.306 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.307 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.309 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.311 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.312 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.317 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.501 et. seq. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.502 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

TEX. FAM. CODE §158.506 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9

TEX. FAM. CODE §231.109 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

TEX. FAM. CODE §231.110 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

TEX. FAM. CODE §231.301 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

TEX. FAM. CODE §231.302 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

TEX. FAM. CODE §232.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 12

TEX. FAM. CODE §232.004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 13

TEX. FAM. CODE §232.005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

TEX. FAM. CODE §232.006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

TEX. FAM. CODE §232.007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

viii


TEX. FAM. CODE §232.008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 13

TEX. FAM. CODE §232.010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

TEX. FAM. CODE §232.012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

TEX. FAM. CODE §232.0135 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

TEX. GOV’T CODE §2001.171, et. seq. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

TEX. GOV’T CODE §2001.176 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

TEX. GOV’T CODE §2001.176 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

TEX. GOV’T. CODE §2001.171 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

TEX. GOV’T. CODE §2001.174 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

TEX. GOV’T. CODE §2001.175 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

TEX. PROP. CODE §42.005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 14

Rules

TEX. R. CIV. P. 21a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

TEX. R. CIV. P. 622 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

TEX. R. CIV. P. 629 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

TEX. R. CIV. P. 630 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

TEX. R. CIV. P. 649 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

TEX. R. CIV. P. 650 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

TEX. R. CIV. P. 95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Other Authorities

Act of May 28, 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., S.B. No. 865 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Conner, Charla Bradshaw, Retirement: QDROs for Qualified Plans Under ERISA (Including Using QDROs forChild Support), 29TH ANNUAL ADVANCED FAMILY LAW COURSE, State Bar of Texas, Ch. 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 18

Eccles, James “Beau”, Down to the Bare Walls, Texas Bar Journal, December 2003, p. 952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 15

ix


CREATIVE WAYS TO ENFORCE &COLLECT CHILD SUPPORT CLAIMS

Introduction. This paper is an update to the 2009paper I presented at this seminar. Over the past year as Ispoke at various seminars, I refined it and addedadditional sections until it grew to the behemoth youhave before you. My goal is that you, the practitioner,whether a seasoned family lawyer or someone new to thefield, can use this paper as the “go to guide” for specificson each of the myriad child support remedies availableunder Texas law – inside and beyond the Family Code.

This paper discusses the following remedies tocollect child support, found in chapters 157, 158 and 232of the Family Code: contempt of court, cumulativemoney judgments, child support liens, Notices ofApplication for Judicial Writs of Income Withholding,child support levies and license suspension. Alsoincluded are qualified domestic relations orders(QDROs) used in child support enforcement and tworemedies from (gasp!) civil law: writs of execution anda turnover order. There are some defensive remedies andways to deal with the administrative processes of theAttorney General’s office as well. Legislative updatesfrom the 2009 session are discussed in the affectedsection. A case law update with interesting cases from2009 - 2010 is at the end of the paper. Finally, in theappendix is a “roadmap” for understanding whetherTexas has jurisdiction in an interstate child support case.

I. CONTEMPT.

Contempt of court is the harshest remedy in the civilcourt system for a violation of a court order to pay childsupport. Contempt is considered a direct defiance of theCourt – in effect, thumbing one’s nose at the system.The Court may employ several methods of “persuasion”to bring the contemnor back in compliance with theunderlying order. Most contempt actions for childsupport are brought in conjunction with a request for acumulative money judgment. For that reason, there willbe similarities between the procedural steps in the nexttwo sections.

A. Procedure for Contempt.

1. Where to file. File the motion in the court ofcontinuing, exclusive jurisdiction. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.001(d). The trial court has jurisdiction to hear amotion for contempt so long as it is filed within twoyears of the date the last current child support paymentis due. TEX. FAM. CODE § 157.005(a).

2. What was violated. The motion must identify the

provision of the original order violated. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.002(a)(1). This step can be done by quoting thelanguage verbatim out of the order in the motion or byattaching the relevant pages of the order as an exhibitand incorporating the pages by reference. The lattermethod is especially useful if you are alleging theobligor failed to comply with the healthcare provisionsof the order, which run numerous pages. I always attachpage 1 of the order, which shows the caption of the caseand the parties’ names and then attach the relevant pagesfrom the decree or order. If there are violations from twoseparate orders, for example, the obligor failed to complywith health insurance requirements from the OrderEstablishing Parentage and failed to pay the childsupport owed from an Order on Motion to Modify fouryears later, attach relevant provisions of both orders.

3. What the obligor did wrong. State how the obligorfailed to comply – i.e., s/he missed payments. TEX. FAM.CODE §157.002(a)(2). State the requested relief. TEX.FAM. CODE §157.002(a)(3). Include the amount of childsupport owed, the amount paid and the amount due TEX.FAM. CODE §157.002(b)(1). The best way to do this is toinclude a spreadsheet of payments prepared through arecognized child support calculator or a spreadsheet. Themotion should also include a copy of the pay historyfrom the Attorney General or local registry office. TEX.FAM. CODE § 157.002(b)(3). Also include a statementlisting the specific dates support is due in the futurewhen additional violations may occur between the datethe motion is filed and the date of the hearing(§157.002(e)). The motion must be signed by the movantor movant’s attorney TEX. FAM. CODE §157.002(a)(4).

Practice Tip: The Attorney General requires a signedauthorization from your client to release information toyou. A sample form is attached in the Appendix. It canbe printed from their website at the following address:http://www.oag.state.tx.us/cs/forms/1a004es.pdf. TheAttorney General will now assign private attorneys auser ID and password that allows the private attorney toprint the pay history from the internet in admissibleform. A copy of the pay history (from the AttorneyGeneral) attached to the motion is evidence of paymentsmade and does not need to be proven up by a businessrecords affidavit or a certified copy. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.162(c).

4. Pleadings and Proof–“Dotting every ‘I’...” Ifthere is any one thing that must be heeded by thepractitioner in order to secure a contempt order, it is thatthe Devil is in the details. The pleadings absolutely mustspecifically set out the provision to be enforced bycontempt; the provision sought to be enforced must haveoriginally been specific enough to be enforced by

1


contempt; and, if contempt is granted, the order must bedetail what is expected of the contemnor. Failing to draftthe initial pleadings correctly could result in a dead-beatparent getting by with a slap on the wrist, and sloppydrafting of the order of contempt could result in thegranting of a habeas corpus releasing the respondent.Extra attention should always be given when draftingpleadings and orders on enforcement and contempt.

B. Setting Hearing and Securing Service. Althoughthe statute states when a motion for contempt is filed, thecourt shall set the hearing and order respondent’spersonal appearance, in reality, this procedure variesdepending on local practice and you may need to securea hearing date from the court and personally present theorder to appear to the court for signature. TEX. FAM.CODE §157.061(a).

For contempt, the obligor must be personally servedand given notice that s/he is required to appear before thecourt (what used to be called a “show cause” hearing). Ifthe obligor receives notice in another way, shows up anddoes not object to the manner of service, the objectionfor personal service is waived. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.063. A hearing can be held as early as the 10th dayafter the obligor is personally served. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.062(c). However, if another motion (such as amodification) is joined with the enforcement action, theearliest the enforcement action can be heard is 10 am onthe first Monday following the 20th day after the obligoris served. TEX. FAM. CODE § 157.062(d)(1).

1. Failure to Appear. If the obligor fails to appearat a contempt hearing, an obligor cannot be held incontempt in absentia. Instead, a capias is issued for thearrest of the obligor. The movant may take a defaultjudgment on any other part of the pleadings, includingthe judgment of arrearages and attorney’s fees. TEX.FAM. CODE §157.066.

2. Issuance of Capias. The attorney prepares anorder for capias which sets a bond for the obligor’srelease. The form can be found at TFLPM # 24-11. Anappearance bond of $1,000 or a cash bond of $250 is thestatutory presumption for the amounts; however, thoseamounts can be rebutted by a showing to the court theobligor was previously found in contempt or thearrearages are over $1,000.00. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.101. A capias for child support is to be treated bylaw enforcement officials like any other arrest warrantand is supposed to be entered in the Texas CrimeInformation Center (TCIC) and National CrimeInformation Center (NCIC) databases. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.102. That being said, be sure to follow up withyour district clerk to make sure the sheriff’s office gets

a certified copy of the capias and that it is properlyentered in the system.

Practice Tip: Always ask the court for a cash bondinstead of an appearance bond. No matter what amountthe court decides on, if the obligor pays it and is releasedfrom custody and arrearages are owed, the cash bond isforfeited to pay towards the child support arrearages.TEX. FAM. CODE §157.106. Include as an exhibit to thecapias identifying information (date of birth, height,weight, hair color, etc) of the obligor so the sheriff’soffice can enter the description in the databases. Theunfortunate reality is that the capias will probably not behonored outside of Texas unless the requesting attorneyagrees to pay to have the obligor transported back forappearance in Texas.

C. Hearing on Motion for Contempt. There aretwo specific types of contempt. In every case you shouldrequest both types and put on evidence of both typesbecause the punishments differ.

1. Criminal Contempt (a.k.a. “....And your little dog,too!”) The main purpose of criminal contempt is topunish the contemnor for violating the terms of the priororder as that order pertains to child support. It differsfrom civil contempt primarily in that the contemnorcannot purge him/herself of the contempt by doingsomething. That is to say, just like in criminal caseswhere the defendant receives a definitive punishment forthe crime committed in the past, so to is the applicationof criminal contempt. The contemnor cannot purgehim/herself of the contempt by performing an affirmativeact, because the act that led to the contempt (i.e. theviolation of the order) has already occurred and cannotbe undone. Ex Parte Werblud, 536 S.W.2d 542, 545(Tex. 1976). Criminal contempt, if granted by the court,should be specified in the contempt order by the use ofa determinate sentence (e.g. “Respondent is sentenced to180 days in jail for violating this court’s prior order byfailing to pay child support on the 5th day of February2005.”)

2. Civil Contempt. The court may also hold arespondent in civil contempt. Civil contempt differs fromcriminal contempt in that its purpose is remedial innature, and is generally imposed for the benefit of themovant and/or child.

The purpose of civil contempt is remedial andcoercive in nature. A judgment of civilcontempt exerts the judicial authority of thecourt to persuade the contemnor to obey someorder of the court where such obedience willbenefit an opposing litigant. Imprisonment is

2



conditional upon obedience and therefore thecivil contemnor 'carries the keys of (his) prisonin (his) own pocket.' Werblud, Id.

An obligor can purge him/herself of the contempt byperforming a certain act, usually the payment of all or aspecified amount of child support. The contempt ordershould specifically set out the terms and conditionsrequired of the obligor/respondent to purge him/herselfof contempt. For example, the court could order thecontemnor “confined until such time as the arrearages,attorney’s fees and costs are paid in full.” Once paid, thecontemnor is released and is no longer subject to thecivil contempt since he/she performed the required act.Most contempt orders involve elements of both civil andcriminal contempt and the orders should set out the reliefgranted for criminal and civil contempt in clear, separateparagraphs.

Also be aware when seeking contempt that theCourt must have an order in hand immediately if theRespondent is incarcerated. The failure to timely providea signed order to the Respondent (which acts to adviseRespondent of how the contempt can be purged) can begrounds for the granting of a habeas corpus. Three daysbetween the hearing and the signed order is too long. ExParte Jordan, 865 S.W.2d 459 (Tex. 1993).

Practice Tip: Bring an order to court with the requestedlanguage you expect to use and leave blanks for the datesand amounts. That way an order can be quickly filled inand signed by the Court so the contemnor cannot useyour failure to get an order signed as his “Get Out of JailFree” card.

3. Right to Counsel. Whether seeking civil orcriminal contempt or both, if jail time is sought, theobligor is entitled to representation by counsel, just as ina criminal case, whether it is an original contemptproceeding or a motion to revoke communitysupervision. If you intend to have jail time in your order,always have the court admonish the obligor of the rightto counsel. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.163 sets forth theprocess for informing a Respondent of his/her right to anattorney. The failure to advise a pro se litigant of theright to counsel when entering into an agreed order, eventhough the sentence was suspended and incarcerationwas not sought immediately, made the underlying ordervoid when incarceration was sought later. Ex ParteAcker, 949 S.W.2d 314, 316 (Tex. 1997). TEX. FAM.CODE §157.164 governs the payment of the court-appointed lawyer and the limits of the lawyer’s duties.

4. Proof at the hearing. In order to prove contempt,part of the proof at trial will include testimony that the

obligor failed to pay child support on specific dates asordered by the court. As stated above, a pay record fromthe OAG or local registry attached to the motion isadmissible as proof of the payments. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.162(c). A table or spreadsheet that lists the dateeach payment was due, the amounts paid, the amount ofinterest due and the totals due prepared by counsel canbe considered by the Court. In the Interest of W.G.S., 107S.W.3d 624, 628 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 2002, nopet.).

5. Two cases worth reading before your hearing.In Re Zandi, 230 S.W.3d 76 (Tex. 2008) sets forth

the requirement that an order suspending a contemptfinding and resetting the case for later review mustapprise the obligor that s/he may be subject to revocationof the suspended sentence. When this case was releasedin May of 2008 it caused an uproar in the AttorneyGeneral and Domestic Relations Office community,because it appeared that the normal practice of resettinga case with an order to appear in a suspended sentencewould no longer be sufficient and new service would berequired for each setting. Luckily, the Supreme Courtissued a supplemental opinion in response to an amicuscuriae brief clarifying that if the initial order sets forththe terms by which obligor can maintain compliance andavoid jail, it is sufficient. The problem with the originalorder in Zandi is that the sentence was suspended for sixmonths for “review and status” which did not put theobligor on notice of possible incarceration. Read thesupplemental opinion (citation listed above) because itclears up a lot of confusion over how to revoke asuspended sentence at a compliance review hearing.

In Re Burcie, No. 2-08-221-CV, 2008 Tex. App.LEXIS 5859 (Tex. App. – Fort Worth 2008, orig. proc.)presented a problem that too much of a good thing gotthe obligor out of jail. The motion for enforcement hadan exhibit that listed all the dates child support was due,payments made and payments missed. When the courtfound the obligor in contempt and ordered the obligorincarcerated, the obligee’s attorney attached the sameexhibit to the order as a detail of the violations. Thecourt of appeals granted the application for writ ofhabeas corpus. An order for contempt must specify howthe obligor criminally and/or civilly disobeyed the orderof the court. In this case, the exhibit not only showedmonths of no payments, it showed months when obligorpaid in full and when he paid more than was due. Theorder did not identify the dates of noncompliance, howmany violations occurred, and whether the sentences ranconcurrently or consecutively. Op. at *3.

6. Suspension of Sentence. Criminal contempt forfailure to pay child support, just as a sentence in a

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criminal case, can be suspended or probated for a periodof time to allow the Respondent an opportunity to see ifhe/she can comply with the court’s order. TEX. FAM.CODE §157.165. Likewise, just as with communitysupervision (probation) of criminal sentences, the failureto comply with the terms of community supervision canresult in revocation and the obligor going to jail for thepreviously designated time established in the contemptorder. Probation, if allowed, can be either supervised orunsupervised as a term and condition of probation. TEX.FAM. CODE §157.211. In reality, private practitioners donot have access to supervisors for on obligor oncommunity supervision. And, generally speaking, mostobligees do not care if the obligor is required to reportto a probation officer monthly and perform communityservice–they want the child support owed, and possiblya little retribution as well. In those cases, the judge cansentence the obligor to a term certain, suspend/probatethe sentence, and condition the obligor’s freedom uponother specified terms, such as making timely support andarrearage payments, paying attorneys fees and courtcosts by a particular date, etc. Id. The obligor still has thehammer of possible revoked sentence held over his/herhead, but does not have to report to a probation officer inthe original sense, nor does he have to pay supervisionfees to a probation agency. On the other hand, for repeatoffenders or really egregious cases, it may be appropriateto require formal community supervision in the termsand conditions of probation. In either case, the court mayenumerate the terms and conditions of probation as setforth in TEX. FAM. CODE §157.211 et. seq. Subchapter Eof Texas Family Code Ch. 157 governs the imposition ofprobation upon an contemnor.

D. Attorney’s Fees. If the court finds obligor incontempt the court shall award attorney’s fees tomovant’s attorney unless the court also finds the obligoris involuntary unemployed or disabled or lacks financialresources to pay attorney’s fees. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.167(d). See more about attorney’s fees in thesection on judgments, below.

II. CUMULATIVE MONEY JUDGMENT.

The most common method of collecting childsupport aside from contempt is the cumulative moneyjudgment found in Chapter 157. It is usually used inconjunction with contempt (see Section I, above) andprovides the obligee with all the remedies of a judgmentcreditor under the Rules of Civil Procedure, PropertyCode and Civil Practice & Remedies Code in addition tothe Family Code remedies discussed above and in thissection. The biggest advantage of a child supportjudgment is that it is not limited by the personal propertyexemptions of the Property Code. The only property that

cannot be reached by a child support judgment is anindividual’s homestead. TEX. PROP. CODE § 42.005. A“single cumulative judgment” (as it is referred to in Inthe Interest of A.D., 73 S.W.3d 244, 246 (Tex. 2002)) isnot a new cause of action. A single cumulative judgmentis a cumulation of the individual child support paymentswhich are judgments that arise by operation of law underTEX. FAM. CODE §157.261(a) and determine a sumcertain.

A. Time Periods. A cumulative money judgmentcan be filed in conjunction with a motion for contemptunder TEX. FAM. CODE §157.005(a) (if filed on or beforethe second anniversary of the date the child supportobligation terminates) or as a separate remedy. A motionfor cumulative judgment must be filed on or before the10th anniversary of the date the child support obligationterminates. TEX. FAM. CODE § 157.005(b).

B. Procedure. The motion is filed in the court ofcontinuing, exclusive jurisdiction. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.001(d). The motion must: identify the provision ofthe original order violated (§157.002(a)(1)); state howthe obligor failed to comply – i.e., s/he missed payments(§157.002(a)(2)); state the requested relief(§157.002(a)(3)); include the amount of child supportowed, the amount paid and the amount due(§157.002(b)(1)); and be signed by the movant ormovant’s attorney (§157.002(a)(4)). The motion mayinclude: a copy of the pay history (§157.002(b)(3)); astatement that additional violations may occur on datesbetween the date the motion is filed and the date of thehearing (§157.002(e)). Any other claim may be joinedwith a motion for enforcement. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.003. Unless the obligee is also seeking contempt,a motion seeking a cumulative money judgment does notneed to set out every payment owed and every paymentmissed – totals are sufficient.

C. Calculating Arrearages. The statutory schemefor calculating arrearages is clearly set out in TEX. FAM.CODE §157.265. However, in spite of clarification of theamendment and a Supreme Court case, manypractitioners, including the Office of the AttorneyGeneral, do it incorrectly.

1. Applicable Interest Rates. For arrearages thataccrue prior to January 1, 2002, use the interest rate ineffect at the time the arrearages came due. TEX. FAM.CODE §157.265(e)(1). Beginning January 1, 2002, thecumulative total of the outstanding arrearages andinterest are brought forward at 6% simple interest. Id.; Inthe Interest of M.C.C., 187 S.W.3d 383, 385 (Tex. 2006).Therefore, two different schedules (or more) must beused to correctly calculate the arrearages. The interest

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rates on unpaid child support prior to the Family Code’sstatutory interest sections are found in TEX. CIV. STAT.ANN.. Art. 5069-1.05 (Vernon 1996); Attorney Generalv. Lee, 92 S.W.3d 526, 528 (Tex. 2002).

At the time of the original divorce decree, thecontrolling statute provided that “alljudgments of the courts of this state earninterest at the rate published by the consumercredit commissioner in the Texas Register. . .. [U]nder the statute, interest accruesautomatically once a court renders itsjudgment. Accordingly, after the trial courtrendered its judgment, [obligor] had twooptions: (1) pay the judgment and avoidinterest accrual, or (2) defer payment and owestatutorily imposed interest on the judgment. Because [obligor] chose to defer payment, wehold that he is liable for postjudgment interest.

92 S.W.3d at 528.

2. Comparison of Calculations. As an example,let’s look at how interest is calculated using the AttorneyGeneral method and using the statutory method.

! Child Support Obligation of $450/month beginningJanuary 1, 1997

! Assume no payments are made! The balance is calculated as of April 30, 2010 (with

the current child support obligation continuing).

The Attorney General calculation, which reducesthe interest rate from 12% to 6% without bringingforward the accrued interest prior to December 31, 2001as mandated by the statute is $105,100.65 as of April 30,2010, of which $72,000.00 is principal and $33,100.65is interest.

Following TEX. FAM. CODE §157.265, twocalculations will be prepared in a spreadsheet. The firstcalculation covers the time period from January 1, 1997to December 31, 2001 at 12% simple interest. Theprincipal totals $27,000 and the interest is $7,868.96.The second calculation will bring over as its first entrythe cumulative total of $34,868.96 as of January 1, 2002.Thereafter, the second calculation calculates interestfrom that date forward at 6% simple on all unpaidbalances. The total owed as of April 30, 2010 is$107,360.64, which equals $72,000.00 child supportprincipal, $7,868.96 interest from 1997 through 12/31/01and interest of $27,941.68 on all unpaid balances. Thedifference is $2,259.99 in interest owed to the obligee.Using ProDoc’s Delinquent Support Calculator in theFamily Law Power Pack (preparing two separatecalculations as stated above) produced the same result.

D. Hearing. The court sets the hearing on anenforcement action on request of the filing party. TEX.FAM. CODE §157.061 (b). A hearing can be held as earlyas the 10th day after the obligor is personally served.TEX. FAM. CODE §157.062(c). However, if anothermotion (such as a modification) is joined with theenforcement action, the earliest the enforcement actioncan be heard is 10 am on the first Monday following the20th day after the obligor is served. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.062(d)(1).

E. First Class Mail Service. T h e F a m i l y C o d epermits service of the notice of hearing by first class mailin an enforcement action that only seeks a cumulativemoney judgment if the obligor was ordered to updatehis/her contact information with the court and the statecase registry. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.065(a). The firstclass mail service can be executed by the clerk of thecourt or the movant’s attorney. The notice is served tothe last known address of the obligor or the address onfile with the clerk. Practically every divorce decree,parentage order or modification order signed since themid 1980's contains the notification requirement. If theobligor appears at the hearing and does not object to theform of notice, s/he waives any objections to the form ofservice. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.063. Remember, if youare seeking contempt, personal service is required.

F. Automated Monitoring by OAG. In sixteen Texascounties, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG)provides automated monitoring and enforcement ofevery case in which child support is ordered after acertain date, which varies from county to county. Thisprogram applies to divorces, parentage suits,enforcement orders, judgments and modifications, evenif the original court order was signed before the date theprogram started. Every case that had any orderconcerning child support signed after a certain date(depending on the county) automatically becomes a TitleIV-D case and is part of the Attorney General’s systemunless the obligee opts out of the program. This programallows for a faster attack on cases to avoid largeaccumulations of arrearages. If an obligor changes jobs,the OAG is notified by the National New Hire Databaseand can immediately send out a wage withholding order,instead of finding out months later through the grapevinethat the obligor has gainful employment. If payments aremissed, the OAG can start sending out letters and beginenforcement action immediately, without waiting for theobligee to apply for services.

For example, in Bexar County an OAG field officebegins the monitoring process for all new child supportorders under the project. In Bexar County, if a childsupport order was signed after September 1, 1997, the

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OAG is a mandatory party to your client’s childsupport case and must be given Rule 21a notice of allactivity. TEX. R. CIV. P. 21a; TEX. FAM. CODE

§231.109(d) (OAG represents interest of state). If thereis no reimbursement money owed by your client to theState (for TANF, food stamps or Medicaid), the OAGprobably will not participate. Remember the OAG onlyrepresents the State of Texas and not individualsinvolved in the child support matter. TEX. FAM. CODE §231.109(d). The OAG cannot accept service on theobligee or obligor, even if it is advocating his/herinterests in the child support enforcement case. TEX.FAM. CODE §231.110.

The counties participating in this project are Bexar,Cameron, Dallas, Ector, Gregg, Harris, Harrison,Hidalgo, Midland, Panola, Smith, Tarrant, Taylor,Upshur, Webb and Wichita counties. Each county hasdifferent start dates and handles the program differentlyso contact the Attorney General’s office in that county tofind out if your case is subject to the monitoringprogram.

G. Defenses To a Motion for Cumulative Judgment.The obligor must affirmatively plead and prove

defenses by a preponderance of the evidence. TEX. FAM.CODE §157.008.

1. Voluntary Relinquishment. If the obligeevoluntarily relinquishes the child to the obligor for anextended period (beyond the court-ordered possessionand access) and the obligor provides actual support to thechild, it is a defense to a motion for enforcement forfailure to pay support. TEX. FAM. CODE § 157.008(a);(b). An obligor may request reimbursement from theobligee for supporting the child if s/he continued to paychild support while caring for the child. The obligor isallowed an offset, not to exceed the amount of theobligor’s monthly child support obligation, for eachmonth the child is in his/her custody and child support isnot paid for up to the monthly child support obligation.In the Interest of A.M., 192 S.W.3d 570, 574 (Tex.2006). In A.M., the Suprme Court discusses that there isa difference of opinion among the courts of appeals as towhat level of proof is required for the obligor to getreimbursement, but does not resolve the issue. Instead itstates that, in part because the obligee testified she didnot pay any support to obligor when the children livedwith her, that obligor was “entitled to equate his monthlychild support obligation to the actual support he providedeach child.” 192 S.W.3d at 576.

The San Antonio court of appeals has previouslyheld that actual amounts of expenditures should be usedto prove up an offset claim. In the Interest of C.Z.B., 151

S.W.3d 627, 634 (Tex. App. – San Antonio 2004, nopet.). In C.Z.B., the child support was $700 monthly andfather requested credit for that amount but did notprovide evidence of expenditures. Father testified hebought the son a horse and a truck and paid for rodeofees. The parties disagreed on amount of time the sonlived with the father; mother claimed only between oneand five months while the father said ten months. Thetrial court gave credit for $200 monthly for ten monthsand the court of appeals found this amount was not anabuse of discretion. Id. Other cases on offset includeBeck v. Walker, 154 S.W. 3d 895, 905 (Tex. App.-Dallas2005, no pet.); Curtis v. Curtis, 11 S.W. 3d 466, 472-74(Tex. App.– Tyler 2000, no pet.); Buzbee v. Buzbee, 870S.W.2d 335, 339-41 (Tex. App.-Waco 1994, no writ);and Gonzalez v. Tippit, 167 S.W. 3d 536, 543 (Tex.App.-Austin 2005, no pet.).

The term “voluntarily relinquished” in the statutecan be tricky. One case states “a managing conservatorcannot merely tolerate or acquiesce in a child's change ofresidence, she or he must affirmatively agree to it.”Norman v. Norman, 683 S.W.2d 548, 550 (Tex. App. –Fort Worth 1985) [en banc], rev’d on other grounds, 692S.W. 2d 655 (Tex. 1985).

2. Payment. Payment is also a defense to a motionfor cumulative judgment and the other remedies listedabove, but be sure and plead payment in accordance withRule 95 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. TEX. R. CIV. P.95.

H. Attorney’s Fees. As discussed in the contemptsection, in a child support enforcement case seeking acumulative money judgment, the court shall awardattorney’s fees to the obligee’s attorney if the court findsobligor failed to pay all child support. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.167(a). The court can waive the requirement forattorney’s fees only if good cause is shown and the courtstates the reasons supporting the waiver. TEX. FAM.CODE §157.167(c). However, if the court finds more than$20,000 is owed, the court cannot waive the attorney’sfees unless the court also finds the obligor is involuntaryunemployed or disabled or lacks financial resources topay attorney’s fees. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.167(d).

Even if the obligor pays the child support owedbetween the date of the filing of the motion and the dateof the hearing, the court may award attorney’s fees to theobligee for the cost and hassle of bringing the motion,although the court may not hold the obligor in contemptif nothing is owed as of the date of the hearing. TEX.FAM. CODE §157.162(e).

I. Legislative Update. T E X . F A M . C O D E

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§157.268. As of January 1, 2010, child supportarrearages are calculated differently, with all paymentsreceived after January 1, 2010 applied to principal first,then interest. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.268. Be sure thatwhatever arrearage calculation program you are using isupdated to implement this change because it willdramatically lower the interest owed by the obligor.

TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE §34.001. Anamendment to the Civil Practice and Remedies Codefinally settles that child support judgments, whether ajudgment by operation of law (§157.261) or by courtrendition (TEX. FAM. CODE §157.263), are not subject tothe dormancy of judgment provisions of Civil Practice &Remedies Code §34.001. Act of May 28, 2009, 81stLeg., R.S., S.B. No. 865, § 31. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE §34.001(c). The effective date is June 19, 2009and applies to all pending cases. Act of May 28, 2009,81st Leg., R.S., S.B. No. 865, §§50, 51. This amendmentensures that private litigants now have the identicalremedies as cases brought by the Office of the AttorneyGeneral, who were never subject to the dormancyrestriction. In re T.L.K., 90 S.W.3d 833 (Tex. App.– SanAntonio 2002, no pet.) (TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE

§16.061 exempts Office of Attorney General fromdormancy provisions of §34.001; child supportjudgments enforced by Attorney General not dormant ifmore than ten years old even if not timely revived.)

The amendment to TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE

§34.001 also rejects the Dallas court of appeals’sdecision in Burnett-Dunham v. Spurgin, 245 S.W.3d 14(Tex. App. – Dallas 2007, pet. denied). In Burnett-Dunham, the Dallas court held any unpaid child supportpayments that accrued ten years prior to the enforcementproceeding were dormant and unenforceable. Sevenother courts of appeals, including San Antonio, ruled theopposite way and are in line with the legislativeamendment. The San Antonio Court of Appeals recentlyconfirmed the amendment to TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE §34.001(c) applies to all child support judgments,regardless of the date entered. Taylor v. Speck, 308S.W.3d 81 (Tex. App. – San Antonio 2010, no pet.). Seealso, In re J.M.R., No. 04-03-00284-CV, 2004 WL1392284 (Tex. App.– San Antonio 2004, no pet.); In reT.L.K.; In the Interest of D.T., No. 12-05-00420-CV,2007 WL 4465250 (Tex. App.–Tyler 2007, no pet.); Inre J.M.D., No. 14-03-01196-CV, 2006 WL 1148113(Tex.App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. denied); In reK.K., No. 2-04-269-CV, 2006 WL 133506 (Tex. App.–Fort Worth 2006, no pet.); In re E.C.M., 225 S.W.3d 11(Tex. App.– El Paso 2005, no pet.); In Re E.D., 102S.W.3d 859 (Tex. App.– Corpus Christi 2003, no pet.);In the Interest of S.C.S., 48 S.W.3d 831 (Tex. App. –Houston [14th Dist. 2001]), pet. denied sub. nom.

Sprouse v. Sprouse, 92 S.W.3d 502 (Tex. 2002); In theInterest of Kuykendall, 957 S.W.2d 907 (Tex.App.–Texarkana 1997, no pet.). Each of these cases,decided before Burnett-Dunham v. Spurgin, held thedormancy provisions of the Civil Practice and RemediesCode only apply to the arrearages once they have beencoalesced into a single, cumulative money judgment.The individual arrearage amounts are not subject todormancy. In any case, Taylor v. Speck clarifies theapplication of the statute to any child support payment,no matter when it came due. 308 S.W.3d at 87.

TEX. FAM. CODE §157.009. A long overdue offsethas finally been codified by the legislature. An obligorwhose children receive a lump sum social securitydisability payment can offset the lump sum against achild support judgment and interest. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.009. This offset will only apply to a child supportjudgment after June 19, 2009. There were several casesthat considered this problem and urged the legislature tocorrect the “double dipping” of a child support obligeewho received social security money and still was entitledto receive money from the (now disabled) child supportobligor.

III. NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR JUDICIALWRIT OF WITHHOLDING.

A. Requirements. The Family Code allows anadministrative remedy to collect child support when anobligor’s child support is at least one month delinquent.TEX. FAM. CODE §158.301, et. seq. The Notice ofApplication for Judicial Writ of Withholding (NOA)may be filed by a private attorney representing theobligee. TEX. FAM. CODE §158.301(b)(5). The NOAmust state that withholding from the obligor’s employerwill occur if the obligor does not object to the NOAwithin 10 days of receipt. The NOA sets out the amountof arrearages owed, including interest and the amountthat will be deducted monthly from the obligor’s wages(in addition to current support and medical supportowed, if any) to repay the arrearages. The NOA must beverified. The requirements for a NOA are set forth inTEX. FAM. CODE §158.302. The form can be found in theTexas Family Law Practice Manual (hereafter TFLPM)published by the State Bar of Texas at # 9-4. The NOAmust also include a suggested form for the motion to stayissuance that an obligor can file to stop the issuance ofthe writ. TEX. FAM. CODE §158.302(8).

B. Time Period. The NOA may be filed so long ascurrent child support and arrearages are owed by theobligor. TEX. FAM. CODE §§158.102, 158.502. “The . .. writ at issue in this case, however, imposes no newsubstantive obligations on [obligor]. The 1974 divorce

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judgment established [obligor]'s obligation to pay, and[obligee]'s right to receive, $160 per month in childsupport. The only issue that remained unresolved after1974 was securing [obligor]'s compliance with thecourt's order . . . [A]llowing the Attorney General toissue the writ administratively merely added a differentprocedural vehicle to secure fulfillment of the existingobligation. In the Interest of A.D., 73 S.W.3d at 248. InPackard v. Davis, No. 02-08-0022-CV, 2008 WL4925998 (Tex.App.– Fort Worth 2008, no pet.), the FortWorth court of appeals held the time periods for writ ofwithholding are totally separate from the time periodsfor a money judgment. This case is important because itwas decided after the 2005 amendment to TEX. FAM.CODE §157.005(b) which restricted the time period forcumulative judgments to ten years after the duty to paychild support terminates.

C. Delivery and Response. The NOA is deliveredto the obligor – usually by mail. TEX. FAM. CODE

§158.306. Service by citation is permitted but notrequired. The obligor has ten days to file a verifiedmotion to stay. TEX. FAM. CODE §§ 158.306(c);158.307(a). The sole grounds to contest a NOA are (1)the arrearages are wrong; or (2) the obligor listed is thewrong party. TEX. FAM. CODE §158.307(b). If theobligor does not file a timely motion to stay (whichrequests a hearing on the applicability of the notice), theobligee has the right to request the district clerk issue ajudicial writ of income withholding to the employer.TEX. FAM. CODE §158.311.

D. Administrative Determination. An“administrative determination” of child supportarrearages occurs when an obligee files a Notice ofApplication for Judicial Writ of Withholding and theobligor does not file a timely motion to stay to invokethe jurisdiction of the trial court. Attorney General v.Mitchell, 819 S.W.2d 556 (Tex. App. – Dallas 1991, nowrit); Effner v. Moore, No. 04-01-00294-CV, 2002 Tex.App. LEXIS 1449 (Tex. App. – San Antonio 2002, nopet.); see also TEX. FAM. CODE §101.0201 (“Notice ofApplication for Judicial Writ of Withholding” means thedocument delivered for the nonjudicial determination ofarrears and initiation of withholding). However, if theobligee fails to go forward to request issuance of thewrit, s/he may waive it. See, Glass v. Williamson, 137S.W.3d 114 (Tex. App. – Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, nopet.). At that point, the obligee may request that theDistrict Clerk issue a the writ of withholding to theobligor’s employer. TEX. FAM. CODE §158.312(a). If theobligor claims s/he did not receive the NOA, the obligorhas 30 days from the date the first payment is deductedfrom wages to file a motion to stay in conformity withthe provisions of §158.307. TEX. FAM. CODE

§158.317(a).

If the obligor timely requests a hearing on a motionto stay, the court shall hear evidence and at the end of thehearing either (1) render an order for incomewithholding that includes a determination of thearrearages or (2) grant the motion to stay. TEX. FAM.CODE §158.309. When a timely contest to the amount ofarrearages stated in Notice of Application for JudicialWrit of Withholding occurs, the Legislature gave thecourt jurisdiction and empowered the court to make adetermination of arrearages. TEX. FAM. CODE

§158.309(c).

Section 158.309 of the Family Code requires that,upon a hearing the trial “court shall: (1) render an orderfor income withholding that includes a determination ofthe amount of the child support arrearages . . . ” TEX.FAM. CODE §158.309(c)(1). This determination ofarrearages is not dependent on, pursuant to or limited inany way by §157.005(b). A.D., 73 S.W.3d at 246; In ReCannon, 993 S.W.2d 354, 356 (Tex. App. – San Antonio1999, orig. proc.).

When an obligor timely contests the amount ofarrearages stated in an Administrative Writ ofWithholding (issued by the Title IV-D agency) under§158.506, the Legislature gave the court jurisdiction andempowered the court to make a determination ofarrearages. TEX. FAM. CODE §158.506. Thisdetermination of arrearages is not dependent on, pursuantto or limited in any way by §157.005(b). The arrearagesin A.D. were determined to be $41,000 even though therewas no jurisdiction to determine arrearages pursuant toa cumulative judgment A.D., 73 S.W.3d at 247.

Practice Tip: This section is extremely easy to usebecause it does not require personal service on anobligor. Consider using a Notice of Application when theobligee’s place of employment is known but his exactwhereabouts are not. Service by both certified mail andfirst class mail provides the best proof the Court of theattempt to notify the obligor. If an order in the caserequires the obligor to provide his/her address to theother party and clerk of the court under TEX. FAM. CODE

§105.006, the last address on file with the clerk can beused if no other address is known.

E. Administrative Writ of Withholding. T h eOffice of the Attorney General can secure anadministrative determination of arrears by filing a Noticeof Administrative Writ of Withholding under TEX. FAM.CODE §158.501 et. seq. This Notice of AdministrativeWrit remedy is not available to private parties. The majordifference between the judicial writ and the

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administrative writ is that the OAG is not required togive the obligor notice of the writ prior to issuance. Theobligor may contest the writ, but it remains in placewhile the contest is pending. TEX. FAM. CODE §158.506.

If the obligor wishes to contest the administrativewrit, the obligor requests review with the OAG, whoconducts an “administrative” review by telephoneconference or in person. TEX. FAM. CODE § 158.506(b). If the obligor is not satisfied with the outcome of thereview, the obligor (1) files a motion to withdraw thewrit of withholding no later than the 30th day afterreceiving notice of the OAG’s determination at the“administrative” review and (2) requests a hearing withthe court. TEX. FAM. CODE §158.506(c). Incomewithholding will not be interrupted while the motion towithdraw the writ is pending. Id. A hearing is held justlike a hearing on a motion to stay a judicial writ ofincome withholding.

Practice Tip: Although there is no case law on this issueand the statute says “may” and not “shall”, a practitionershould be wary of skipping the “administrative” reviewunder §158.506(b). Because these procedures areadministrative in nature, parties are generally required toexhaust their administrative remedies prior to filingactions in court. See, e.g., O’Neal v. Ector CountyIndependent School District, 251 S.W.3d 50, 52 (Tex.2008). If an obligor contacts you about contesting anadministrative writ, request a review in writing under§158.506(b) immediately. If the review is unsuccessful,file a motion to stay following the requirements of§158.307 within 10 days of the review to avoid apossible admission of the amount of the arrearages.

IV. CHILD SUPPORT LIENS.

A child support lien arises by operation of law whenany payment is delinquent. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.312(d). Every child support payment not timelymade is a judgment. TEX. FAM. CODE § 157.261. Thereis no requirement to secure a child support cumulativemoney judgment before filing a child support lien. TheFamily Code provides that a child support lien may issue“regardless of whether the amounts have beenadjudicated or otherwise determined.” TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.312(d). This provision was enacted in 1997 by theLegislature. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.312 (Vernon 1998). A lien attaches to all property owned by the obligorexcept his/her homestead. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.317.The lien is recorded with the county clerk’s office, whichcannot charge the obligee a recording fee for filing thelien. The obligee has 21 days from the date of filing thelien to provide copies of the lien to the obligor by firstclass or certified mail at his/her last known address. TEX.

FAM. CODE §157.314( c). A form for the Notice of ChildSupport Lien is in the Texas Family Law PracticeManual (TFLPM) at #24-22.

A. Legislative Update. Two amendments mademinor changes to the child support lien statutes which donot affect enforceability. The first change is a newsection that permits an obligor to file a release of lien ifs/he believes the notice of child support lien attached tohis/her homestead. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.3171; effectiveJune 19, 2009. In other words, this statute is for all thosetitle companies that cannot comprehend the plainlanguage of TEX. FAM. CODE §157.317(a) (see above)which clearly exempts a homestead from the childsupport lien. The obligor can file the affidavit to notifythe world the child support lien does not attach to his/herhomestead property.

The second section of the same bill requires thechild support obligee to renew a child support on realproperty every ten years. TEX. FAM. CODE § 157.318(d);effective June 19, 2009. For purposes of establishingpriority, a renewed lien relates back to the date of filingof the original lien. Id. This change in the statute appliesonly to child support liens on real property filed afterMay 26, 2009, the effective date of the Act. Act of May26, 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., S.B. No. 1661, §§ 4, 5.

B. Time Periods. “A lien is effective until allcurrent support and child support arrearages, includinginterest, any costs and reasonable attorney’s fees, andany Title IV-D service fees authorized under Section231.103 for which the obligor is responsible, have beenpaid . . . . TEX. FAM. CODE §157.318(a).

C. Child Support Liens to Financial Institutions.A child support lien also may be served on any

financial institution that holds money belonging to theobligor. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.3145. The obvious targetwill be banks, credit unions and savings & loans. Thelien applies to all funds held by the institution in thename of or on behalf of the obligor or in which theobligor has a beneficial interest. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.311(1)(A).

A lien may be delivered to the bank’s registeredagent, main business address or an address designated bythe bank to accept liens. The statute does not requireservice, only delivery. The lien does not have to be filedwith the District Clerk’s office. Many banks will acceptfaxes; others require U.S. mail or certified mail. Mostnational banks have a lien/garnishment departmentwhich handles child support liens for the entire country.The child support lien is applicable regardless of whetherthe bank’s main office is in Texas. TEX. FAM. CODE

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§157.3145(b).

Practice Tip: Contact the financial institution’sgarnishment department and ask how they accept serviceof notices of child support liens to speed up your service.It has been the author’s experience that most banksprefer the liens be delivered directly to the garnishmentdepartment and not to the registered agent for service ofprocess.

D. Other Places to file Child Support Liens. T h echild support lien attaches to retirement plans, lifeinsurance proceeds, cash surrender value in lifeinsurance policies, claims owed to the obligor (forpersonal injury or negligence) and an inheritance givento the obligor. TEX. FAM. CODE §§157.316, 157.317. Achild support lien does not attach to worker’scompensation claims or to a homestead.

A child support lien may also be filed againstmutual funds, 401k accounts and money marketaccounts. There are three mutual fund clearing housesthat process 90% of the bank mutual fund transactions inthe U.S. Filing a lien with these three funds has a goodchance of capturing money the obligor is holding in astock account. The addresses for the mutual fundclearing houses are:

Fidelity InvestmentsEnterprise Processing Services100 Crosby ParkwayCovington, Kentucky 41015Via Fax No. (800) 974-9684

Legal DepartmentPershing, L.L.C.1 Pershing PlazaJersey City, New Jersey 07399(800) 443-4342 Telephone(201) 413-4799 Facsimile

CIT Group/Consumer Finance, Inc.715 S. Metropolitan AvenueOklahoma City OK 73108(800) 621-1437 ext 2-1672 Telephone(405) 553-4790 Facsimile

Brokerage houses like Edward Jones are not part ofthese clearing houses and will require separate liens. Ifyou know where the obligor has accounts, ask the bankif it has a separate department for liens and levies ontheir brokerage accounts. Bank brokerage operations areset up under different corporate identities from thebanks. Service on Bank of America does not alwayscount as service on the Bank of America brokerage

department. Be sure and ask the contact in thegarnishment section how to serve the mutual funds andbrokerage section of the bank.

E. Effect of Lien. A child support lien served ona financial institution freezes the account. The financialinstitution can allow no further transactions. TEX. FAM.CODE §§157.317, 318. A child support lien filed ofrecord is not superior to a purchase-money instrument,but the lien must be satisfied in order to clear title to theproperty. A child support lien remains in effect until allchild support, current and past due, is paid, along withinterest, costs and attorney’s fees. It is difficult to attacha lien to items of personal property, because a bona fidepurchaser may not be aware of the lien. See the sectionbelow for perfecting child support liens on motorvehicles.

Practice Tip: A child support lien costs nothing to file.The banks are used to receiving these notices from theOAG, who has paved the way for you to use this method.If you do not know where the obligor banks, try filingliens on all banks within a five mile radius of hisresidence or place of employment.

F. Contest of Lien. The only adjudication theobligee needs to issue liens is the divorce judgment.When a timely contest to the amount of arrearages statedin a child support lien occurs, the Legislature gave thecourt jurisdiction and empowered the court to make adetermination of arrearages. TEX. FAM. CODE §§157.323(c) and 157.318. Texas Family Code §157.323states “[i]n addition to any other remedy provided bylaw,” in an action to “dispute the amount of arrearagesstated in the child support lien”, “the court shall (1)render judgment against the obligor for the amount due,plus costs and reasonable attorney’s fees” TEX. FAM.CODE §§157.323(a); (c)(1) (emphasis added).Additionally, §157.323 provides that the obligee can filea foreclosure action on a child support lien, which willresult in a levy on any property subject to a child supportlien. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.323( c )(2).

G. Lien on Vehicles. A child support lien does notattach to a specific vehicle unless the lien is recorded onthe title of the vehicle. TEX. FAM. CODE § 157.316(b). Inorder for the obligee to record the lien on the title, thecourt order enforcing the obligation (not a child supportlien but an enforcement order or money judgment) mustinclude the VIN number of the automobile and order theobligor to surrender the title to the obligee for recording.Id. Then the obligee may send a certified copy of theorder and the application for title to: Texas Departmentof Transportation, Operations Branch, 4000 JacksonAve., Austin, TX 78731, Telephone (512) 302-2378. A

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new title will be issued for the vehicle that shows the lienon its face.

Practice Tip: Don’t bother with this cumbersomeprocedure. If the obligor won’t pay his child support andhas to be threatened with jail or money judgment, whatmakes TxDOT think he will gladly hand over his vehicletitle so it can be engraved with a child support lien? Awrit of execution can be used to pick up a vehicle aftera judgment if it is worth seizing and auctioning off.

V. LEVIES ON FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

A child support lien to a financial institution freezesthe money so the obligor cannot reach it. A levy isrequired to actually put the money in the obligee’spocket. A judgment or administrative determination ofchild support arrears is required in order to file a childsupport levy. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.327(a). Anadministrative determination of child support arrearagesoccurs when the arrearages are determined under ajudicial or administrative writ of withholding in chapter158 (see above). The Texas Family Law PracticeManual (TFLPM) form is #24-24.

A. How to File. A levy is delivered to a financialinstitution in the same manner as a child support lien.The obligor must be sent a copy of Notice of Levy at thesame time it is delivered to the financial institution. TEX.FAM. CODE §157.328.

B. Time Periods. A levy can be issued anytimethere is a child support judgment or administrativedetermination of arrearages has been rendered. TEX.FAM. CODE § 157.327(a).

C. Contest. The obligor or person with an interest inthe account must file an objection to the Notice of levywithin 10 days from the date of receipt of the levy. TEX.FAM. CODE §157.328(b). The contest is described underthe lien procedure in §157.323. See the contestprocedure under Child Support Liens, above.

D. Payment of the Levy. If the financial institutiondoes not receive notice from the obligor that s/hecontests the levy the financial institution shall remit themonies to the obligee not earlier than the 15th day or laterthan the 21st day after delivery of the levy. TEX. FAM.CODE § 157.327(b)(2). The financial institution is alsorequired to notify any other person who has a beneficialinterest in the accounts of the Notice of Levy so thatperson has an opportunity to file a suit under TEX. FAM.CODE § 157.323 to contest the child support levy. Afinancial institution that does not honor the levy is liablefor the amount equal to the property held by the

institution, not to exceed the total amount of arrearagesowed. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.330.

Practice Tip: Some financial institutions will disclosethe amount of money they are holding prior to disbursingthe levy. The most important part of this procedure ishaving proof of service on the obligor and on thefinancial institution, in case there is ever any question.

E. Use for Collecting Attorney’s Fees. Attorney’sfees are part of a child support obligation and may beenforced as child support. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.167(d).These procedures can be used to collect attorney’s feesassessed against the obligor. The Family Code providesan order of application of any payment received from theobligor: (1) current child support; (2) non-delinquentchild support; (3) accrued interest on a child supportjudgment; (4) past due support not yet reduced tojudgment; (5) child support cumulative money judgment;and (6) attorney’s fees and costs. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.268. This collection mechanism would be usefulwhen the obligor pays off the child support arrears at thetime of the hearing, and is also assessed attorney’s fees.

VI. SUSPENSION OF LICENSE FOR FAILURETO PAY CHILD SUPPORT.

A. Overview. A license suspension is a powerfultool to collect child support. Any license issued by thestate of Texas is subject to suspension as set forth below.How does the obligee find out which licenses the obligorholds? Why, the Internet, of course! Most Texaslicensing agencies list licensees online in a database.Another good source is www.accurint.com, a Lexiscompany, which will run database searches in Texas forabout $6.50 per person and turn up many licenses.Usually, the obligee knows what trades the obligorworks (cosmetologist, mortician, plumber) so it is fairlyeasy to narrow down the places to look. Also, neverforget to do a generic suspension to the TexasDepartment of Public Safety for the driver’s license andthe Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for hunting andfishing licenses, just in case your obligor is astereotypical Texan. There are very few cases thataddress license suspensions so this section of the paperwill examine the relevant statutes.

B. Time to File. A license suspension may be broughtat any time so long as the following criteria are met: (1)The obligor owes overdue support equal to or greaterthan three months of support due under a support order(TEX. FAM. CODE § 232.003(a)(1)); (2) Obligor wasgiven an opportunity to make payments on the overduesupport through a court ordered or agreed repaymentschedule (TEX. FAM. CODE § 232.003(a)(2)); and (3)

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Obligor failed to comply with the schedule (TEX. FAM.CODE §232.003(a)(3)). A license suspension is designedto be brought in addition to other remedies. In theInterest of M.E.G., No. 13-01-117-CV, 2002 Tex. App.LEXIS 1948, *4 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 2002, nopet.).

C. What and Where to File. A private litigant filesa petition to suspend the license or permit in the court ofcontinuing, exclusive jurisdiction, or the court where theorder was registered under Chapter 159 (UniformInterstate Family Support Act). TEX. FAM. CODE

§232.004(b). In a Title IV-D case, the OAG brings thepetition as an administrative action within the IV-Dagency. TEX. FAM. CODE §232.004(b). The case is heardby an administrative law judge designated by the directorof the child support program. TEX. FAM. CODE

§232.004(d).

A private litigant files a petition to suspend thelicenses that must include the following information: thename of the obligor and social security number, ifknown; the type, and if known, the number of the licensealong with the issuing authority; and the amount ofarrearages owed under the order. The petition may alsoinclude a pay history to show the missing payments.TEX. FAM. CODE §232.005. A form can be found atTFLPM #24-28.

Practice Tip: although the statute does not require it,attaching a copy of the court order or agreed paymentplan that obligor violated as an exhibit will certainlymake the proof at trial much easier – as one of theelements of proof is showing that the obligor was in apayment plan and disregarded it. In In Re C.G., 261S.W.3d 842, 850 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2008, no pet.) theobligee tried to argue that § 232.004 which requires athree month delinquency, was a separate andindependent ground sufficient to grant a licensesuspension. The Dallas court of appeals disagreed andreversed the license suspension because no prior courtordered or agreed repayment plan was shown by theevidence.

The clerk issues service by: (1) citation or, (2) if anunderlying order in the case requires the parties toprovide notice of address changes to the clerk of thecourt and the state case registry, by first class mail to thelast mailing address of obligor on file with the clerk andthe state case registry. TEX. FAM. CODE §232.006(b).

Practice Tip: TEX. FAM. CODE §232.006(c) containsmandatory language that must be included in the notice.Because license suspensions are not a normal part of theclerk’s everyday process, type up the language on a

separate sheet of paper and provide it to your clerk toattach to the notice in case the clerk, especially in asmaller jurisdiction, does not have the language readilyavailable.

If the OAG files the license suspension motion, itwill issue the petition itself and perfect service. In a TitleIV-D case, the petition must also include a form for theobligor to request a hearing. TEX. FAM. CODE

§232.006(a).

D. Hearing and Order. The obligor must file amotion to stay suspension and request hearing with thecourt or OAG by the 20th day after date of service of thenotice. TEX. FAM. CODE §232.007(a). Once a hearing isrequested, the license suspension is stayed and the courtor OAG shall promptly schedule a hearing and notify allparties. TEX. FAM. CODE §232.007(b). The form for theanswer and request for hearing is TFLPM #24-30.

At the hearing, a copy of payment record from theOAG or the local registry shall be admitted and isevidence of whether payments were made, althoughcontroverting evidence may also be offered. The partyseeking suspension must also show the other elements of§232.003, i.e., failed to comply with a court ordered oragreed to payment plan in an amount not less than thetotal due for three months under the order.

There are three possible results at a hearing. (1) Thecourt shall suspend the licenses; (2) The court finds theobligor proves all arrearages and the current month’ssupport have been paid, which results in a dismissal ofthe petition; or (3) the court suspends the licenses butthen issues a stay of the suspension (similar to a probatedsentence) with conditions for a reasonable repaymentschedule. TEX. FAM. CODE §232.008. See TFLPM form#24-32.

E. Suspension of Licenses. After the order forlicense suspension is signed, the court forwards the orderto all licensing agencies identified by the movant. Thereis a $5.00 charge for each licensing agency.

F. Challenge of the OAG Administrative Order.

1. Grounds for Review. If the OAG holds anadministrative hearing and suspends the license, it is a“final agency determination” and must be challengedunder chapter 2001 of the Government Code. TEX. FAM.CODE §232.010; TEX. GOV’T CODE § 2001.171, et. seq. All administrative remedies within the OAG must beexhausted prior to seeking judicial review. TEX. GOV’T.CODE §2001.171. The judicial review falls under a“substantial evidence review”. TEX. FAM. CODE §

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232.010. In a substantial evidence review,

the court may not substitute its judgment forthe judgment of the state agency on the weightof the evidence on questions committed toagency discretion but:

(1) may affirm the agency decision in wholeor in part; and

(2) shall reverse or remand the case forfurther proceedings if substantial rights ofthe appellant have been prejudicedbecause the administrative findings,inferences, conclusions, or decisions are:

(A) in violation of a constitutional orstatutory provision;

(B) in excess of the agency's statutoryauthority;

(C) made through unlawful procedure;(D) affected by other error of law;(E) not reasonably supported by

substantial evidence considering thereliable and probative evidence inthe record as a whole; or

(F) arbitrary or capricious orcharacterized by abuse of discretionor clearly unwarranted exercise ofdiscretion. TEX. GOV’T. CODE

§2001.174.

2. Procedure for Review. A petition for review isfiled by the 30th day after the agency’s determination isfinal. TEX. GOV’T CODE §2001.176(a). The obligor mustserve the OAG with a petition seeking review of thelicense suspension filed in the court of continuing,exclusive jurisdiction. TEX. FAM. CODE §232.004(b);TEX. GOV’T. CODE §2001.175(a). The OAG files therecord from the administrative proceeding with the clerkof the court. TEX. GOV’T CODE §2001.175(b). Any partymay apply to the court to present additional evidence.The court may accept the evidence if it finds theevidence is material and there were good reasons theevidence was not presented at the agency hearing. TEX.GOV’T CODE §2001.175(c). The license suspension is notstayed during the pendency of the appeal. TEX. GOV’T

CODE §2001.176(b)(3).

Practice Tip: This section of the Government Code ismandatory reading for an appeal. Many times the obligorwill come to you after a default judgment and ask you totry to undo it. From reading this section, undoing it is notlikely. There are other possible remedies, such asrequesting a stay of the suspension under §232.008(b)(see below), which allows the obligor to keep his/her

license(s) while making payments.

G. Stay of Suspension. The court or the OAG maysuspend the license and concurrently issue a stay of thesuspension, which will be conditioned on the obligorcomplying with a repayment plan. TEX. FAM. CODE

§232.008(b). In the event of a stay, no order isforwarded to the licensing authorities. TEX. FAM. CODE

§ 232.008(c). The stay of suspension can be the best ofboth worlds for all parties because it provides incentiveto make regular payments with a ready to go penalty inthe event of default.

H. Motion to Revoke Stay of Suspension. Ofcourse, some obligors are not going to comply with thereasonable repayment schedule set up with the stay ofsuspension provided in §232.008(b). In that case, thestay of suspension can be revoked. Notice to the obligoris given by personal service or by mail to the addressprovided by the obligor in the order suspending license.The motion to revoke stay must include notice of ahearing and notice must be provided not less than 10days before the hearing. TEX. FAM. CODE §232.012(b).The notice must specify the manner in which the obligorfailed to comply with the repayment plan. TEX. FAM.CODE §232.012(c).

Practice Tip: Although the statute does not require acopy of the pay history for the motion to revoke stay, itwould be very helpful evidence and make the proof atthe hearing very easy.

If the court or OAG finds the obligor is not incompliance with the repayment plan, it shall revoke thestay of suspension. TEX. FAM. CODE §232.012(d).

I. Denial of License Renewal. A s e c t i o n o f t h eFamily Code added in 2007 allows the OAG, a domesticrelations office or any agency working in a cooperativeagreement with the OAG (“child support agency”) torequest that all licensing agencies deny renewal oflicenses to any person who is six months delinquent inchild support. TEX. FAM. CODE §232.0135(a). Theagency cannot renew the individual’s license unless it isnotified by the child support agency that (1) all childsupport arrearages are paid; (2) a satisfactory repaymentschedule has been established; (3) the obligor wasgranted an exemption; or (4) the obligor successfullycontested the denial of the renewal. TEX. FAM. CODE

§232.0135(b). The obligor must receive notice from thechild support agency at the same time the agency notifiesthe licensing authority. TEX. FAM. CODE §232.0135(c).An obligor may challenge the denial by requesting areview under §232.0135(d).

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Practice Tip: Expect to see a lot more of these type ofsuspensions from the OAG and the domestic relationsoffices in large urban counties. They are easier and fasterthan the petition to suspend license and do not require arepayment plan – only that the obligor have a six monthdelinquency instead of a three month delinquency. Readsubsection (d) carefully to follow the proceduralrequirements for challenging the denial of a renewal. Itis an administrative proceeding that must be followedbefore the obligor can invoke a judicial remedy.

VII. WRITS OF EXECUTION TO SATISFYCHILD SUPPORT JUDGMENT.

“. . . [T]he sheriff can seize the clothes outof the closet, the watch off the wrist, andthe macaroni and cheese out of a childsupport obligor’s pantry if the claimant hasa valid child support lien.”

Eccles, James “Beau”, Down to the Bare Walls, TexasBar Journal, December 2003, p. 952.http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=Texas_Bar_Journal1&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=6657

A. Relevant Statutes.

Texas Rules of Civil Procedure

Rule 622. ExecutionAn execution is a process of the court from which it isissued. The clerk of the district or county court or thejustice of the peace, as the case may be, shall tax thecosts in every case in which a final judgment has beenrendered and shall issue execution to enforce suchjudgment and collect such costs. The execution andsubsequent executions shall not be addressed to aparticular county, but shall be addressed to any sheriff orany constable within the State of Texas.

Rule 630. Execution on Judgment for MoneyWhen an execution is issued upon a judgment for a sumof money, or directing the payment simply of a sum ofmoney, it must specify in the body thereof the sumrecovered or directed to be paid and the sum actually duewhen it is issued and the rate of interest upon the sumdue. It must require the officer to satisfy the judgmentand costs out of the property of the judgment debtorsubject to execution by law.

Rule 649. Sale of Personal PropertyPersonal property levied on under execution shall beoffered for sale on the premises where it is taken inexecution, or at the courthouse door of the county, or at

some other place if, owing to the nature of the property,it is more convenient to exhibit it to purchasers at suchplace. Personal property susceptible of being exhibitedshall not be sold unless the same be present and subjectto the view of those attending the sale, except shares ofstock in joint stock or incorporated companies, and incases where the defendant in execution has merely aninterest without right to the exclusive possession inwhich case the interest of defendant may be sold andconveyed without the presence or delivery of theproperty. When a levy is made upon livestock running atlarge on the range, it is not necessary that such stock, orany part thereof, be present at the place of sale, and thepurchaser at such sale is authorized to gather and pensuch stock and select therefrom the number purchased byhim.

Rule 650. Notice of Sale of Personal PropertyPrevious notice of the time and place of the sale of anypersonal property levied on under execution shall begiven by posting notice thereof for ten days successivelyimmediately prior to the day of sale at the courthousedoor of any county and at the place where the sale is tobe made.

TEX. PROP. CODE § 42.005 Child Support Liens.Sections 42.001, 42.002, and 42.0021 of this code do notapply to a child support lien established underSubchapter G, Chapter 157, Family Code. [Family Code,§§ 157.311 et seq.].

B. Analysis. Once the judgment is granted, thenwhat do you do? Most practitioners remember from lawschool that Texas is a “debtor’s paradise” because thegenerous homestead exemption and expansive personalproperty exemptions make collection of judgments fromall but the wealthiest of debtors futile. Those exemptionsdo not apply to child support obligations. Property Code§42.005 specifically exempts child support liens fromthe personal property exemptions. In Dryden v. Dryden,97 S.W.3d 863 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 2003, nopet.) the obligor argued that Property Code §42.005violated the Texas Constitution’s protection of a debtor’spersonal property from execution for debt. The CorpusChristi Court of Appeals held “. . .[I]t has long been heldthat the obligation to support one's child is not a debt, buta natural and legal duty.” 97 S.W.3d at 866. Becausechild support is not a “debt”, the Legislature may allowthe collection of child support against the obligor’spersonal property. Id. The trial court allowed executionagainst all personal property of the obligor. The Down tothe Bare Walls article quoted above provides anoutstanding overview of how the Texas Constitutionexemptions do not apply in child support cases. It candownloaded by copying the link listed below the quote

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or read at the State Bar website at www.texasbar.com byclicking on the Texas Bar Journal tab on the home page.Like a child support levy, a judgment or administrativedetermination is required to collect child support usinga writ of execution.

C. Securing a Writ of Execution. The District Clerkprepares and issues the writ of execution based upon thejudgment. A writ of execution is valid for 30, 60, or 90days, upon the request of the creditor. TEX. R. CIV. P.629. If the writ will be executed in the county where it isissued, the District Clerk will forward the writ to theSheriff’s department. Otherwise, the clerk will return thewrit to you for forwarding to the Sheriff of the countywhere the property is located. A private process servercannot serve a writ of execution. After the Sheriff’soffice receives the writ, they will attempt to locate andseize the property belonging to the obligor. After theproperty is seized, it will be held for10 days (to allow theobligor to attempt to reclaim it through payment) beforeit is sold at auction by the Sheriff or a contractauctioneer. After the costs for execution and sale havebeen deducted, the remaining proceeds are paid to theobligee.

Practice Tip: If you know items in the possession of theobligor that qualify, tell the Sheriff about them. Vehiclescan be seized with the proper VIN number or licenseplate number provided to the Sheriff, as well as the year,make and model of the vehicle. [This remedy is mucheasier than putting a child support lien on a vehicle.] Forother items, an exhibit list can be attached stating:“including but not limited to these items of personalproperty: Sony big screen television, personal computer,king size waterbed” etc. Any other information will behelpful. For an obligor who is a creature of habit, state:“2001 Ford F-350double cab truck, license numberDdbeat Dad, VINAL486DKFJ11ELEKJ. Debtor is at the‘I Don’t Know Yet’ Bar on Babcock Road at Hillcrestevery weeknight from 5 pm to 7 pm. Debtor is 5'10",weight200, brown short hair, brown eyes.”Be sure andcontact the Sheriff’s office and ask if they have anyquestions or problems with the writ of execution. Sendthem a copy of the Dryden case and the Down to theBare Walls article when they receive the writ. Theseauthorities will clear up confusion the Sheriff’sdepartment may have based on their previous experiencewith the Property Code exemptions. After the propertyis seized, be sure and contact the person conducting thesale to make sure they understand this sale is collectchild support. The auctioneer will generally be moresympathetic and try to get the best price possible.Although in some cases, the property may not seem to beworth the cost of the writ and its attendant fees, thesatisfaction of making the obligor wince is very healing

for your client. A good candidate for a writ of executionis the self-employed obligor who claims to have littleincome but always drives a nice truck, lives in a nicehouse and has lots of big toys.

D. Use for Collecting Attorney’s Fees. Attorney’sfees are part of a child support obligation and may beenforced as child support. TEX. FAM. CODE §157.167(d).These procedures can be used to collect attorney’s feesassessed against the obligor. The Family Code providesan order of application of any payment received from theobligor: (1) current child support; (2)non-delinquentchild support; (3) accrued interest on a child supportjudgment; (4) past due support not yet reduced tojudgment; (5) child support cumulative money judgment;and (6) attorney’s fees and costs. TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.268. This collection mechanism would be usefulwhen the obligor pays off the child support arrears at thetime of the hearing, and is also assessed attorney’s fees.

VIII. TURNOVER ORDERS.

A. Relevant Statutes.

TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE §31.002. Collection ofJudgment Through Court Proceeding

(a) A judgment creditor is entitled to aid from acourt of appropriate jurisdiction throughinjunction or other means in order to reachproperty to obtain satisfaction on the judgmentif the judgment debtor owns property, includingpresent or future rights to property, that:

(1) cannot readily be attached or levied on byordinary legal process; and

(2) is not exempt from attachment, execution,or seizure for the satisfaction ofliabilities.

(b) The court may:

(1) order the judgment debtor to turn overnonexempt property that is in the debtor'spossession or is subject to the debtor'scontrol, together with all documents orrecords related to the property, to adesignated sheriff or constable forexecution;

(2) otherwise apply the property to thesatisfaction of the judgment; or

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(3) appoint a receiver with the authority totake possession of the nonexemptproperty, sell it, and pay the proceeds tothe judgment creditor to the extentrequired to satisfy the judgment.

(c) The court may enforce the order by contemptproceedings or by other appropriate means in theevent of refusal or disobedience.

(d) The judgment creditor may move for the court'sassistance under this section in the same proceedingin which the judgment is rendered or in anindependent proceeding.

(e) The judgment creditor is entitled to recoverreasonable costs, including attorney's fees.

(f) A court may not enter or enforce an order under thissection that requires the turnover of the proceeds of,or the disbursement of, property exempt under anystatute, including Section 42.0021, Property Code.

This subsection does not apply to the enforcement of achild support obligation or a judgment for past due childsupport. (emphasis added)

(g) With respect to turnover of property held by afinancial institution in the name of or on behalf ofthe judgment debtor as customer of the financialinstitution, the rights of a receiver appointed underSubsection (b)(3) do not attach until the financialinstitution receives service of a certified copy of theorder of receivership in the manner specified bySection 59.008, Finance Code.

B. Requirements. In order to use the turnoverstatute, a party must have an ordinary debt remedy ofjudgment under §157.264, a judgment determinationthrough a child support lien determination under§157.323 or an administrative determination via thejudicial or administrative writ of withholding in Chapter158.

C. How to File. An application for turnover order andthe granting of it is an ex parte proceeding that does notrequire notice to the obligor. Ross v. 3D Tower Limited,824 S.W.2d 270, 272 (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist.]1992, writ denied); Sivley v. Sivley, 972 S.W.2d 850, 861(Tex. App. – Tyler 1998, no pet.), citing Ex ParteJohnson, 654 S.W.2d 415, 418 (Tex. 1983). A form foran application and order for turnover relief can be foundin the ProDoc Litigation module form ## 24-1413 and24-1414 or in the Texas Collections Manual (State Barof Texas) ## 14-13 and 14-14. The application must be

filed and the application and an order must be presentedto the court. In order to grant an order for turnover reliefthe court must find that there are nonexempt assets (inchild support includes everything except the homestead)that cannot be reached by ordinary means. TEX. CIV.PRAC. & REM. CODE §31.002(a). Be prepared to showthe court information on the assets that will be subject tothe turnover order.

After the order is signed, a copy of the applicationand order must be mailed to the obligor.

D. Uses for a Turnover Order. The followingitems may be reached by a turnover order:

• Rental income. Copher v. First State Bank ofPittsburg, 852 S.W.2d 738, 740 (Tex. App. –Fort Worth 1993, no writ)

• Obligor’s right to litigate. The turnover orderallows the obligee to “step into the shoes” of theobligor in a contract dispute to litigate hisinterest and recover any monies for the benefitof the obligee. This right would apply if obligorand his current spouse are divorcing (whichfrequently happens after a child support lien isfiled, regardless of whether obligor and his/herspouse continue to cohabitate) to secure anyassets awarded to obligor and apply the assets tothe child support arrearages.

• “Earnings” not recoverable through a lien or awrit of withholding. Although both the lienstatute and the writ of withholding statute arevery broad, there may be situations where aturnover order is the easiest way to capturemoney due to the obligor.

• An inheritance right owed to the obligor. If theobligor is executor and chooses not to distributethe estate, a turnover order would give theobligee the right to act as executor and distributethe inheritance (which the prudent attorney hadalready protected for the obligee by filing anotice of child support lien).

• Accounts receivable owed to the obligor. Ross,824 S.W.2d at 272.

• Receiver. A receiver can be appointed to receiverents or other monies, to hold a partnershipinterest or other interest in a business or to takecharge of the property turned over by theturnover order.

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E. Attorney’s Fees. The trial court can awardattorney’s fees for the preparation and securing of anapplication for turnover relief. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE §31.002(e). A turnover order can also be used tocollect attorney’s fees awarded for any of the otherenforcement remedies discussed in this paper. Theattorney’s fees awarded to collect child support in aturnover proceeding are just like attorney’s fees awardedfor the collection of child support generally and thereforeare collectible as child support generally.

IX. USE OF QUALIFIED DOMESTICRELATIONS ORDERS FOR CHILDSUPPORT ENFORCEMENT.

A. Very brief overview on QDROs. A “qualifieddomestic relations order” is an order issued by a statecourt to a pension plan subject to the federal EmployeeRetirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).Conner, Charla Bradshaw, Retirement: QDROs forQualified Plans Under ERISA (Including Using QDROsfor Child Support), 29TH ANNUAL ADVANCED FAMILY

LAW COURSE, State Bar of Texas, Ch. 18, p. 1.

The use of a QDRO in child support is similar to theuse of a QDRO in the division of property in a divorce.Like a QDRO in a divorce, the QDRO must be“qualified”, that is, accepted by the plan administrator inorder for the plan to comply with the domestic orderexception of ERISA that allows the division of a benefitplan.

B. Requirements. The basic requirements of anyQDRO is that it must: be directed to the BenefitsAdministrator; identify the plan to which it applies; contain the name, mailing address and social securitynumber of the Participant; identify the amount of currentchild support and/or child support arrearages; contain thename and address of the child support recipient(“Alternate Payee”); and the amount of the child supportrecipient's interest in the benefits plan. 29 U.S.C.§1056(d)(3)(C)(I), (ii). Those requirements are all the“magic language” that is required in a QDRO underfederal statute. Instead of listing a percentage or dollarvalue of property, a QDRO for child support will includethe current periodic child support obligation (if any), thetotal amount of the arrearages and the terms of therepayment obligation (example: $500.00 monthly or thetotal arrearage of $10,000.00). The definition of“alternate payee” includes a child or other dependentwho the QDRO recognizes is entitled to a share of theparticipant’s benefits. 29 U.S.C. §1056(d)(3)(K);Conner, Retirement at p. 21.

It ought to be simple enough to get a QDRO to holdthe money. 42 U.S.C. §666(b) mandates that all statesshall require orders or writs withholding child supportand arrears from income of obligors. “[T]he term‘income’ means any periodic form of payment due to anindividual, regardless of source, including wages,salaries, commissions, bonuses, worker's compensation,disability, payments pursuant to a pension or retirementprogram, and interest.” 42 U.S.C. §666(b)(8) (emphasisadded).

This part seems simple enough. If the federalgovernment has mandated that income withholdingorders apply to all income and the term income includesretirement and pensions, shouldn’t an order or writ towithhold income from earnings for child support sufficefor the plan administrator?

In many jurisdictions, withholding orders and childsupport liens have been accepted. A notice of childsupport lien was a domestic relations order pursuant toGalenski v. Ford Motor Co. 421 F.Supp.2d 1015, 1020(E.D. Mich. 2006) and Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v.Marsh, 119 F.3d 415, 422 (6 th Cir.1997). Despite thefact the order did not include all the magic languagerequired by the plan administrator, the 7th Circuit Courtof Appeals in Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Wheaton , 42F.3d 1080, 1085 (7 th Cir.1994) held:

To require more specificity would defeat thepurpose of the provision creating an exceptionto inalienability for qualified domesticrelations orders . . . It is asking too much ofdomestic relations lawyers and judges toexpect them to dot every I and cross every t informulating divorce decrees that have ERISAimplications.

However, in this author’s experience, plan administratorsignore the case law and have consistently refused tohonor child support liens. A withholding order signed bya judge that has all the “magic language” required by 29U.S.C. §1056(d)(3)(C)(I), (ii) should at least require theplan administrator to hold the funds pending receipt of aQDRO in the form the plan administrator likes best. Ihave not given up and will continue my quest to draft achild support order sufficient to comply with federal lawand ERISA. If you have any luck on this front, pleasesend me the name of the plan administrator so I can sendhim/her flowers and get them to speak to all the rest ofthe administrators!

Every family law practitioner has nightmare stories(or nightmares) about dealing with plan administratorsand the requirements to get an order that satisfies the

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http://www.TexasBarCLE.com/CLE/PMCasemaker.asp?table=US_distctopinions&volume=421&edition=F.Supp.2d&page=1015&id=121573_01





ERISA requirements of the plan administrator andachieves the directives of the state court’s decree. Themost important issues in using QDROs for child supportinclude: (1) determining the type of plan and howbenefits are payable under the plan; (2) determining therequirements of the plan to qualify the order; and (3)preparing an order that meets the demands of the planadministrator.

Remember that the terms of the pension plan willdictate how your client will receive his/her money. If theplan is a defined benefit plan that pays a monthly benefitwhen the plan participant reaches retirement age, thealternate payee may be restricted to the same terms. Ifthe plan is a defined contribution plan, an immediatelump sum distribution may be available.

In considering using a QDRO for child supportor spousal support, the threshold questionshould be to ascertain when the payment to thealternate payee can be made according to theplan’s rules. The QDRO cannot change theform of benefit payable by a qualified plan.I . R . C . § 4 1 4 ( p ) ( 3 ) ( A ) ; E R I S A§206(d)(3)(D)(I). The important thing toremember is to make sure that the payment(s)ordered do not violate the terms of the plan.And, that the form of the payments are apayment option available under the plan.

Conner, Retirement, at 22.

X. RECENT CASES DISCUSSING CHILDSUPPORT.

In the Interest of J.S.H., No. 06-09-00101-CV, 2010Tex. App. LEXIS 2877 (Tex. App. – Texarkana 2010, nopet.). Trial court confirmed arrearages for child supportand medical support, then reduced arrearages, giving anoffset to obligor that wiped out his child supportarrearages from the time period he had been declaredtotally disabled by the Social Security Administrationthrough the date of the hearing. The Attorney Generalappealed, claiming abuse of discretion. The trial courtfound the affirmative defenses to a contempt of courtcharged contained in TEX. FAM. CODE §157.008(c) donot apply to reduce arrearages in a judgment. “Byreducing a proven arrearage as part of its order, the trialcourt attempted to apply relief not outlined in the TexasFamily Code.” The new statute on crediting SocialSecurity disability payments to unpaid child support didnot apply because the child did not receive a lump sumpayment for obligor’s retroactive disability. TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. §157.009 (effective June 19, 2009).“Because this provision does not address the retroactive

release of child support arrearages in the absence of alump sum payment, it does not serve to validate theaction of the trial court in releasing the subjectarrearages.”

Crook v. Crook, No. 05-09-00724-CV (Tex. App. –Dallas 2010, no pet.) (not a child support case but a goodillustration on how the obligee’s testimony needs to beprecise.) “Appellant complains he did not receive certainitems awarded to him. Specifically, he contends he didnot receive the following items: ‘jars of coins (item 18),a wooden duck decoy (item 17), Carnival glass plate(item 25), all remaining Cocina [sic] dolls (item 30), andthe turquoise squash blossom necklace listed as anexclusion on item 12 of wife's list.” After a three yearabsence from the marital residence Husband complainedhe did not receive these items. “Appellant did nottestify, however, that he attempted to retrieve the itemsin question or that appellee prevented him from takingpossession of those items or the residence. Instead,appellant testified ‘she must have’ taken the items andthen said ‘[s]omebody have.’ Later, he admitted, ‘[W]hoknows who got them. I don't know who.’” No abuse ofdiscretion found.

In the Interest of T.L., ___ S.W.3d ___, No.14-09-00179-CV, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 4320 (Tex.App. – Houston [14th Dist., June 10, 2010, no pet. hist.).Parties divorced in 1992 in Texas. Father lived inLouisiana so a UIFSA proceeding was initiated. Whenmother cancelled her services with Texas AttorneyGeneral, Louisiana issued an order cancelling allarrearages accrued under Texas order and future support.Attorney General filed a subsequent motion to enforce inTexas and father asserted Louisiana order wiped out hisarrearages. Trial issues were whether “(1) Louisiana hadauthority to amend the 1992 Texas support order bysuspending support and canceling the arrears owed; or(2) Texas retained jurisdiction to enforce the 1992 Texassupport order.” Trial court upheld Louisiana order but Ctof Appeals reversed and remanded. “Once a court havingjurisdiction enters a support decree, that tribunal is theonly one entitled to modify the decree so long as thattribunal retains continuing, exclusive jurisdiction underthe UIFSA.” Because mother and at least one childremained in Texas, Louisiana had no jurisdiction tomodify the Texas support order – it could only enforceit.

Ellithorp v. Ellithorp, No. 08-06-00249-CV, 2009 TEX.APP. LEXIS 275 (Tex. App. – El Paso 2009, pet.denied). Parties live in West Virginia when Husbandjoins military and is stationed in Texas while wife andchildren stay in WVa. On 7/21/1994 wife files fordivorce in WVa. On 7/26/1994, husband files for divorce

18


in TX. Both states grant divorces and make orders oncustody, child support and divide property. Partiescontinue to fight about which state has jurisdiction but in1997, husband agrees (briefly, apparently) to enter anagreed order in WVa which ratified and confirmed theWVa order as the controlling divorce decree anddropped the TX divorce decree.

Wife decides to register and enforce her new 2004 WVaorder in TX, granted after an enforcement proceeding inWVa where Husband claimed the TX order controlled,was denied by the WVa Supreme Court. Husbandclaims, once again, that 1995 TX divorce decree, not1997 and 2004 WVa orders, should be recognized byTexas court and trial court agrees.

On appeal, El Paso court reverses and remands. Courtfinds: §159.207 controls how to determine which orderis controlling, also using §159.206, which definescontinuing exclusive jurisdiction for enforcement oforders. First, both TX and WVa have jurisdiction overHusband: TX by virtue of his residency and WVathrough the agreed order affirmed by the WVa SupremeCourt. Second, because WVa is the home state of thechild subject to the order, §159.207 says WVa order, notTX order, controls.

Ex Parte Coronado, No. 13-09-00149-CV, 2009 Tex.App. LEXIS 2474, *10-*13 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi2009, pet. denied)(mem. op.). Obligor found guilty ofcivil and criminal contempt. While criminal contemptcharge is being carried out, Obligor cannot challenge thevalidity of the civil contempt because it is conditional.For civil contempt, proof of inability to pay at hearing isexamined; for criminal contempt, proof of inability topay at time each payment accrued is examined. Obligordid not present any evidence on his inability to pay.Under TEX. FAM. CODE §157.008, Inability to pay is anaffirmative defense requiring proof.

Fondren v. Fondren, No. 09-08-00187-CV, 2009 Tex.App. LEXIS 5432, *20 (Tex. App. – Beaumont 2009, nopet.). Wife awarded disproportionate share of estate.Husband found to have been intentionallyunderemployed. Court of Appeals held that trial courtdid not abuse its discretion and said that the Family Codedoes not require unemployment or underemployment tobe pleaded as an affirmative defense.

Foster v. Alejandre, No. 13-08-00535-CV, 2009 Tex.App. LEXIS 5840, *5 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 2009,no pet.)(mem. op.). In determining Obligor’s childsupport obligation, the trial court deducted income taxes,social security taxes, and Medicaid taxes, even thoughObligor did not pay them. Court of Appeals strictly

construes Family Code §154.062(d)(1)-(2) and allowsthe deduction from gross income to determine disposableearnings.

** Important Case ** Illif v. Illif, No. 03-08-00382-CV,2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 5655, *20-*21 (Tex. App. –Austin 2009, no pet.)(mem. op.). Austin Court ofAppeals declined to follow Houston Court of Appeals 1st

District and the Fort Worth Court of Appeals and heldthat under TEX. FAM. CODE §154.066, the primarypurpose of voluntary underemployment does not have tobe avoiding child support.

In the Interest of H.G.L. and A.R.L., No. 14-08-00087-CV, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 8810, *19 (Tex. App. –Houston [14th Dist.] 2009, no pet.)(mem. op.). Obligorsigned an affidavit relinquishing his parental rights to hischildren. Obligor was never notified the kids were notadopted, as the affidavit stated would occur. After beingserved with monster child support lien, Obligor filed a“Motion to Confirm Child Support Arrearage and forDeclaratory Judgment” saying that the child supportobligation terminated on the date of the affidavit and thatthe child support obligation was zero. The trial courtdenied Obligor’s motion. On appeal, the Court ofAppeals affirmed, stating that TEX. FAM. CODE

§157.263(a) does not give the court discretion to reduceor modify arrears without evidence. Here, Obligor didnot file the correct motion under §157.263 (did not filea “Motion for Enforcement” or a “Request for MoneyJudgment”); therefore, the trial court did not have to doanything. The Houston Court hints at, but does notanswer, whether both obligor and obligee can bring a§157.263 motion to enforce or just the obligee.

Siddiqui v. Siddiqui, No. 14-07-00235-CV, 2009 Tex.App. LEXIS 1443, *12-*13 (Tex. App. – Houston [14th

Dist.] 2009, pet. denied) (mem. op.) Pro Se litigantappeals divorce judgment that set his child support basedon income from a job he held 4 years before divorce.Court of appeals affirmed, agreeing with trial court’sfinding that obligor was intentionally unemployed. Thefact that child support exceeded 50% of his currentearnings was not an issue. The most that can be withheldfrom his paycheck is 50% of disposable earnings but thechild support was set at 20% of what he had previouslyearned.

In the Interest of R.F.G. and R.G.G., 282 S.W.3d 722,727 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2009, no pet.). Mother appealedtrial court’s clarification of divorce decree which gavefather credit for all payments made during pendency ofdivorce towards child support obligation incurred postdivorce. The Dallas court applied TEX. FAM. CODE

§§157.421 and .423 and held that the trial court

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improperly clarified the unambiguous divorce decree.

In the Interest of A.D.S., Jr., No. 14-08-00147-CV, 2009Tex. App. LEXIS 7517, *9-*10 (Tex. App. – Houston[14th] 2009, no pet.)(mem. op.). OAG appeals trialcourt’s child support credit to Obligor wiping out allchild support accrued during his incarceration. CofAoverturned, stating the affirmative defense of inability topay under §157.008(c) does not apply to incarceration.

XI. E N F O R C E M E N T R E S O U R C E SRESTRICTED IN USE TO THE OAG CHILDSUPPORT DIVISION (CSD).

To the extent federal law permits, the TexasLegislature has made federally mandated enforcementremedies (e.g., child support lien and levy and licensesuspension) available to the private bar. There are,however, certain enforcement resources and tools thatare limited by federal law to the use of the Title IV-Dprogram. Texas Family Code Chapter 231, lays out thepowers and duties of the CSD and the resourcesavailable to it as the Texas Title IV-D agency.

A. Information Resources. The CSD has access toa significant range of information through both federaland state sources. On the federal level, in addition to theinformation available through the Federal Parent LocatorService (FPLS) to any other “authorized person,”including a private attorney representing a custodialparent, it has access to FPLS information derived fromthe Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the SocialSecurity Administration (SSA). TEX. FAM. CODE

§231.301. More important, perhaps, are the data matchesmade within the various components of the FPLS,particularly the National Directory of New Hires and theFederal Case Registry. The information in the NationalDirectory of New Hires alone already houses anenormous quantity of data from the states, including statenew hire directories and state employment securityagencies, and from the federal government (e.g., federalemployees, including active and retired members of theuniform services). Currently, the National Directory ofNew Hires houses over 600 million employment recordsincorporating information provided by state directories,as well as quarterly wage reports and data onunemployment insurance benefits provided byresponsible state agencies. The Federal Case Registrybegan receiving case data from states in 1998 and wasconstructed to accommodate an extensive database, withan enormous computer and network capacity,interconnected with state automated systems, in order toreceive a constant flow of case information from statecase registries and related sources. In addition to thesefederal resources, the CSD has the authority to obtain

locate information from interstate networks relating tolaw enforcement and motor vehicles. It may also use itsadministrative authority to secure extensive informationon support obligors and obligees and their property fromvirtually any private or public entity in the state. SeeTEX. FAM. CODE §231.302.

Private attorneys may apply for information fromthe Federal Parent Locator Service. A copy of the mostrecent application for locate services is attached to thispaper as an appendix. Here is the link to the pdf formonline which can be found in Child Support Interactiveat the OAG website:http://www.oag.state.tx.us/AG_Publications/pdfs/1a010e.pdf. Private litigants can also apply for services with theOAG to take advantage of the services available onlythrough the IV-D system by having their client apply forservices with the OAG and working side by side with theOAG to collect the child support. The website to applyfor services is: http://www.oag.state.tx.us/cs/index.shtml.

B. Data Matches With Financial Institutions.UnderThe Personal Responsibility and Work OpportunityReconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), also known asthe Welfare Reform Act, states are required to have lawsenabling the state Title IV-D agency to conduct quarterlydata matches with financial institutions for the purposeof identifying financial assets of delinquent obligors.State Title IV-D agencies must enter into agreementswith financial institutions doing business in their states(not just banks, but any kind of entity that offers “anaccount,” including brokerage firms, insurancecompanies, credit unions, etc), to coordinate with thefinancial institutions (and with the FPLS in the case ofmulti-state financial institutions) in the development andoperation of a data match system under which thefinancial institutions will provide information to the stateTitle IV-D agency regarding the assets held by theinstitutions on behalf of delinquent non-custodialparents. The state agency may pay a reasonable fee to thefinancial institution for conducting the match. Uponreceiving a child support lien notice or notice of levy, afinancial institution must encumber or surrender, as thecase may be, the assets of an identified obligor. Financialinstitutions are protected from liability for disclosures,seizures, and any other action taken in good faith tocomply with federal and state law requirements. Inaddition to identifying financial assets of a delinquentobligor that may be levied upon and seized, the datamatches provide the state agency with important locateinformation.

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C. Garnishment of Unemployment InsuranceBenefits. The state Title IV-D agency is authorizedto garnish unemployment insurance benefits for thecollection of child support from the state’s employmentsecurity agency (in Texas, the Texas WorkforceCommission). This is accomplished through automatedinterface between the two agencies and periodictransmission of information on support obligors in TitleIV-D cases.

D. Interception of Income Tax Refunds. A stateTitle IV-D agency may intercept state and federalincome tax refunds for payment of past-due childsupport. 42 U.S.C. §666(c)(1)(G) This is a veryimportant enforcement mechanism, and accounts forabout 7 percent of support collections nationally and, inTexas, a little over 10 percent. Effective in 2009, the“IRS intercept” no longer ends when the child turns 18but will continue so long as child support remainsunpaid. The “IRS intercept” is augmented by the federalAdministrative Offset Program, created under the DebtImprovement Act of 1996 and reinforced by ExecutiveOrder, which allows the collection of past-due childsupport from certain federal payments, such as federalretirement benefits and payments made to privatevendors.

E. Passport Sanctions. In Title IV-D cases,delinquent obligors owing past due support in amountsexceeding $2,500 may be subject to passport sanctions.The state Title IV-D agency certifies the names of suchnon-custodial parents to the federal Office of ChildSupport Enforcement (OCSE) for communication to theSecretary of State. While the provision under PRWORAauthorizing this enforcement mechanism speaks broadlyof the denial of issuance or renewal of passports and theimposition of restrictions or revocation on existingpassports, the current program actually operates withrespect to denial of an application for a passport whenthere is a match between data provided by OCSE and theinformation on the identities of passport applicants heldby the Secretary of State. Once a passport is issued, ofcourse, it continues in effect for a 10-year period, whichmeans that many delinquent obligors will not be affectedby this enforcement mechanism.

F. Credit Bureau Reporting. The state Title IV-Dprogram is authorized to report the names of delinquentsupport obligors and the amounts of the delinquencies toconsumer credit bureaus, subject to appropriate dueprocess protections under which the obligor may contestthe amount of the arrearage being reported.

G. Administrative Enforcement Actions. PRWORArequired states to have laws providing state Title IV-D

agencies with broad administrative powers. Theseinclude the ability, through administrative process, tosecure assets by intercepting or seizing periodic or lump-sum payments, attaching and seizing assets of the obligorheld in financial institutions, attaching public and privateretirement funds, imposing liens and forcing the sale ofproperty and distribution of proceeds. State law mustalso enable a state Title IV-D agency to change the payeeunder a support order in appropriate cases (e.g., so thatsupport payments are made to the State DisbursementUnit), to subpoena financial information, order genetictesting in contested paternity actions, and to require allentities in the state (including for-profit, nonprofit, andgovernmental employers) promptly to provide, inresponse to a request by the Title IV-D agency of that orany other state, information on the employment,compensation, and benefits of any individual employedas an employee or contractor, subject to sanctions forfailure to respond to such a request. Moreover, state TitleIV-D agencies must be able to obtain access - subject tosafeguards on privacy and information security, andsubject to the non-liability of entities that afford suchaccess - to information contained in the records of otherstate and local government agencies, including: vitalstatistics (including records of marriage, birth, anddivorce); state and local tax and revenue records(including information on residence address, employer,income and assets); records concerning real and titledpersonal property; records of occupational andprofessional licenses, and records concerning theownership and control of corporations, partnerships, andother business entities; employment security records;records of agencies administering public assistanceprograms; records of the motor vehicle department; andcorrections records.

XII. CONCLUSION.

The Texas Family Code provides practitionerswith many creative opportunities to collect unpaid childsupport. The remedies and time periods available shouldensure that every obligee and child receives all childsupport owed under the court order. Thanks to the hardwork of Texas legislators and family law advocates, noobligor should be rewarded for failing to live up to hislegal and moral responsibilities to support his childrenand no child should be forced to do without. I hope thispaper can be a reference tool that makes your lawpractice a little easier and perhaps, a little moreprofitable!

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Karen Marvel=s UIFSA Roadmap for Private Litigants1

1With thanks to Charles E. Hardy, Higdon, Hardy & Zuflacht, LLP, San Antonio, for his help in

tweaking this chart.

Establishment of Parentage & Support Establishment B Can TX exercise long arm jurisdiction over individual? TFC '159.201. If the individual: i is personally served with citation in TX; or i submitted to the jurisdiction of TX by consent, by entering a

general appearance, or by filing a responsive document having the effect of waiving any contest to personal jurisdiction; or

i resided with the child in TX; or i resided in TX and provided prenatal expenses or support for

the child; or i engaged in sexual intercourse in TX and the child could have

been conceived by that act of intercourse; or i asserted parentage in the TX paternity registry; OR i Does the child resides in TX as a result of the acts or

directives of the individual; or i Is there any other basis consistent with the constitutions of

TX and the United States for the exercise of personal jurisdiction?

If yes to any of the above, Texas may exercise long arm jurisdiction over the individual to establish parentage and support obligation. Establishment B TX may establish support order under TFC ' 159.401 if an out of state resident requests it. Establishment B Temporary child support orders TFC ' 159.401(b) Can TX order temporary child support? If appropriate & individual ordered to pay is:

i a man petitioning to have his paternity adjudicated; or i a man identified as the father of the child through genetic

testing; or i an alleged father who has declined to submit to genetic

testing; or i a man shown by clear and convincing evidence to be the

father of the child; or i an acknowledged father under TX law; or i the mother of the child; or i an individual who has been ordered to pay child support in a

previous proceeding and the order has not been reversed or vacated; or

i a presumed father of the child then TX may order temporary child support. Establishment B Can TX exercise jurisdiction if proceedings were already filed in another state? TFC ' 159.204 Only if: i the TX pleading is filed before the expiration of the time

allowed in the other state for filing a responsive pleading challenging the exercise of jurisdiction by the other state; or

i the contesting party timely challenges the exercise of

jurisdiction in the other state; and i if relevant, TX is the home state of the child. then TX may exercise jurisdiction to establish a support order if a TX petition is filed after a petition or similar pleading in another state. Enforcement of Support Order from another state by registration. TFC ''159.601, 602. Enforcement B Can TX exercise long arm jurisdiction over individual? TFC '159.201. If the individual: i is personally served with citation in TX; or i submitted to the jurisdiction of TX by consent, by entering a

general appearance, or by filing a responsive document having the effect of waiving any contest to personal jurisdiction; or

i resided with the child in TX; or i resided in TX and provided prenatal expenses or support for

the child; or

i engaged in sexual intercourse in TX and the child could have


23

been conceived by that act of intercourse; or i asserted parentage in the TX paternity registry; OR i Does the child resides in TX as a result of the acts or

directives of the individual; or i Is there any other basis consistent with the constitutions of

TX and the United States for the exercise of personal jurisdiction?

If yes to any of the above, Texas may exercise long arm jurisdiction over the individual to enforce the support obligation from another state. [same jurisdictional requirements as establishment of support] Enforcement B Orders from more than one state? Which order controls? TFC ' 159.207 If there are child support orders from two or more states brought for enforcement, if TX has personal jurisdiction of Obligor and Obligee, the following rules apply in this order: i if only one of the courts would have continuing, exclusive

jurisdiction, the order of that state controls; i if more than one court would have continuing, exclusive

jurisdiction under this chapter, then

an order issued by a court in the current home state of the child controls if an order is issued in the current home state of the child; or

the order most recently issued controls if an order has

not been issued in the current home state of the child; and

if none of the courts would have continuing, exclusive

jurisdiction under UIFSA, the TX court shall issue a child support order that controls.

Enforcement B Which state=s laws applies? TFC ' 159.604 i the nature, extent, amount, and duration of current payments

under a support order registered in TX from another state (Asupport order@):

i the computation and payment of arrearages and accrual of

interest on the arrearages under the Asupport order@ i the existence and satisfaction of other obligations under the

support order. i After it is determined which order is the controlling order (if

necessary) and issues an order consolidating arrearages, if any,

Use the law of the state that issued the original order. i Enforcing arrearages under a Asupport order@:

the statute of limitation of TX or of the issuing state, whichever is longer, applies. i Once Asupport order@ is registered in TX: Use any TX procedures or remedies available to enforce current support and collect arrearages and interest Modification of Support Order from Another State Modification B Can TX modify support order from another state when all parties moved from issuing state? TFC ' 159.613 i If Obligor and Obligee reside in TX; AND

child does not reside in the issuing state TX has jurisdiction to enforce and to modify the issuing state's child support order Modification B Can TX modify support order from another state when at least one party moved to TX? TFC ' 159.611 Only if: i Parties do not fall under TFC ' 159.613 AND

child, Obligee, and Obligor do not reside in the issuing state; AND

petitioner who is a nonresident of TX seeks modification; AND

respondent is subject to personal jurisdiction TX;

OR

i TX is state of residence of child and child or a party is

subject to personal jurisdiction of TX AND

all parties consent in writing for TX to modify the support order and assume continuing, exclusive jurisdiction

then TX has jurisdiction to modify support order from another state.


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Vea Español al Otro Lado

MC: ME Bar Code Area FS#: Central File MaintenanceP.O. BOX 12048AUSTIN, TX 78711-2048

GREG ABBOTT

Attorney General

Date: Attorney General Case #:

IMPORTANT!

Dear :

Please read this page. It describes your responsibilities if you choose to authorize another partyto receive case information on your behalf or obtain assistance from a private collection agencyor private attorney. Below are some of the conditions that must be met for us to properly workthe child support case. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in our taking appropriateaction as permitted by federal regulations.

• All case information provided to a third party must be used for child support purposesonly.

• All requests for information must be answered within the time frame specified.

• All payments must go through the Texas Child Support Disbursement Unit before beingdistributed to a private collection agency or private attorney.

• Any changes in arrears must be approved by our office.

• Non-cash child support must be approved by our office.

• We must be provided with timely notice of each order, writ or lien entered in the case byyour representative.

To authorize the release of information and/or child support payments to another party, completethe enclosed form.

Please return the completed form to your local child support office. If you have any questions,please call 1-800-252-8014.

May 2009 Form 1A004e


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MC: ME Bar Code Area FS#: Central File MaintenanceP.O. BOX 12048AUSTIN, TX 78711-2048

GREG ABBOTT Attorney General

Fecha:

No. de Caso de la Procuraduría General:

¡IMPORTANTE!

Estimado/a :

Por favor lea esta página. Aquí se describen las responsabilidades que recaen en usted si decide autorizar que otra

persona reciba en su nombre información sobre su caso, u obtener ayuda de alguna agencia para el recaudo de pagos

privada o si contrata un abogado privado. Las siguientes son algunas de las condiciones que se deben cumplir para

debidamente manejar su caso de manutención de niños. El no cumplir con una de estas normas podría resultar en que

la Procuraduría General tome las medidas correspondientes, conforme a lo permitido por las normas federales.

* Toda la información acerca de su caso que se proporcione a terceros debe ser usada solamente para

cumplir con los fines de recaudo de pagos para la manutención de niños.

* Toda petición para recibir información debe ser contestada dentro del plazo de tiempo indicado.

* Todos los pagos deben ser procesados por nuestra oficina antes de ser distribuidos a una agencia para el

recaudo de pagos privada o a un abogado privado.

* Cualquier ajuste a los pagos atrasados debe ser aprobado por nuestra oficina.

* Esta oficina debe aprobar cualquier pago de manutención para niños que no se haga en efectivo.

* Es necesario que recibamos, de manera puntual, aviso sobre cualquier orden, dictamen de una corte o

embargo preventivo (lien) que sea antepuesto por su representante como parte de este caso.

Para autorizar la entrega de información relacionada a su caso y/o la entrega de sus pagos de manutención a otra

persona, llene el formulario anexo a la presente.

Por favor envíe el formulario llenado por usted a su oficina local de manutención de niños. Si tiene alguna pregunta,

por favor, llame al 1-800-252-8014.

May 2009 Form 1A004s


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May 2009 Form 1A004e

AUTHO RIZATION FOR RELEASE OF INFORM ATION OR PAYM ENTS

Print your current name: _________________________________________________________________________________

Other names you have used: ______________________________________________________________________________

Name of the other party in the case: ________________________________________________________________________

Names of all children on this case: _________________________________________________________________________

OAG Case Number (10 digit number included in OAG correspondence about this case): ______________________________

Phone number where you can be contacted: ( ____ ) _________________ G home G work G cell G relative or friend

You do not have to redirect your payments in order to release information or records. The two choices provided below are

independent of each other.

By submitting this completed, signed, and dated form, I authorize and request the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to do

the following: (You must place your initials before each item that applies.)

(initials)

Release information or records on my case (OAG num ber given above) to the person identified below. This

person is (check one) G my attorney G a private collection agency G a representative that I am designating.

_____________________________________________________________ _________________________Name Phone number

____________________________________________________________________________________________Address City State ZIP Code

(initials)Send any payments on my case (OAG num ber given above) to the person I am naming below. I understand that

this may delay my receiving my payment. I also understand that this revokes any direct deposit authorization that I

have already given to the Office of the Attorney General. This person is (check one) G my attorney

G a private collection agency G a representative that I am designating.

_____________________________________________________________ _________________________Name Phone number

____________________________________________________________________________________________Address City State ZIP Code

I understand that this authorization automatically expires if the case is closed. I may choose to revoke this authorization at any

time by submitting a completed, signed, and dated Revocation of Authorization for Release of Information or Payments.

I understand that the Office of the Attorney General of Texas is not responsible for disputes between the listed party and me as

a result of this arrangement. (Please note the date of your signa ture is required.)

________________________________________________ ______________________________Signature Date (required)

________________________________________________Address

________________________________________________City, State, ZIP


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May 2009 Form 1A004s

AUTORIZACIÓN PARA DIVULGAR INFORMACIÓN O ENVIAR PAGOS Escriba su nombre actual: _______________________________________________________________________________

Otros nombres que ha usado: _____________________________________________________________________________

Nombre de la otra parte en el caso: _________________________________________________________________________

Nombres de todos los niños en el caso: ______________________________________________________________________

Número de caso de la Procuraduría (son 10 dígitos y aparece en todas las cartas del caso): __________________________

Teléfono al que podemos llamarle: (____) _________________ G casa G trabajo G celular G familiar o amigo

No tiene que enviar sus pagos a otra parte para divulgar su información o archivos. Las dos opciones a continuación son independientes la una de la otra. Al presentar este formulario llenado, firmado y fechado, autorizo y solicito a la Procuraduría General hacer lo siguiente: (Escriba sus iniciales junto a cada opción que aplica.)

(iniciales)

Divulgar información o archivos de mi caso (el número que escribió arriba) a la persona que se nombra abajo. Esta persona es (marque uno) G mi abogado G una agencia de cobros privada G un representante que estoy nombrando. _____________________________________________________________ _________________________ Nombre Teléfono ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Dirección Ciudad Estado Código postal

(iniciales)

Enviar todos los pagos de mi caso (el número que escribió arriba) a la persona que se nombra abajo. Entiendo que esto puede retrasar mi pago. También entiendo que esto revoca cualquier autorización para depósito directo que haya entregado a la Procuraduría General. Esta persona es (marque uno) G mi abogado G una agencia de cobros privada G un representante que estoy nombrando. _____________________________________________________________ _________________________ Nombre Teléfono ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Dirección Ciudad Estado Código postal

Entiendo que esta autorización caducará automáticamente si se cierra el caso. Puedo revocar esta autorización en cualquier momento presentando llenado, firmado y fechado el formulario Revocación de autorización para divulgar información o enviar pagos. Entiendo que la Procuraduría General de Texas no es responsable de los desacuerdos que surjan entre la parte nombrada y yo como resultado de este arreglo. (Se requiere la fecha de su firma.) ________________________________________________ ______________________________ Firma Fecha (requerida) ________________________________________________ Dirección ________________________________________________ Ciudad, Estado, Código postal


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MC: 0040SBar Code AreaFS#:Central File MaintenanceP.O. BOX 12048AUSTIN, TX 78711-2048

GREG ABBOTT Attorney General

Date:

APPLICATION FOR STATE PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE

The Office of the Attorney General provides this service to locate the missing parent (non-custodial parent or alleged father) of a childwho is not currently receiving Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF).

This service may be requested only for the purpose of: • establishing a court order for paternity, child support, or medical support, or • collecting court-ordered support

The State Parent Locator Service provides only information about the missing parent’s possible location(s). The State Parent LocatorService obtains the most recent address and employment information about the missing parent from state and federal records, andforwards that information to the applicant. The State Parent Locator Service is not permitted to verify or investigate the informationobtained, and cannot guarantee that the missing parent will be found.

WHO MAY USE THIS SERVICEYou may apply for State Parent Locator Service if you are:

• the custodial parent with physical possession • a person (other than a parent) who, for at least the past six months, has had physical possession • the legal guardian or managing conservator with legal custody • a judge or agent of a court with jurisdiction over the paternity and/or support case or • the attorney

of the child for whom paternity and/or support is sought.

If you are a parent (or other person) with qualifying custody of a child, you may obtain the full services of the Office of the AttorneyGeneral to establish paternity, child support and medical support , or to enforce an existing support order, at no charge. Contact thenearest office of our Child Support Division for an application or more information.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE APPLICATION FOR STATE PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE

GENERAL: Please type or print all information requested except “Signature.” Provide all information requested (if known) andanswer all questions asked. A clear and complete application will help us to provide you our best service. Submit a separate applicationfor each missing parent.

A. INFORMATION ABOUT THE APPLICANT Enter all of the information requested.

B. INFORMATION ABOUT THE CUSTODIAL PARENTIf the custodial parent is not the applicant, enter the name andsocial security number of the custodial parent.

C. INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHILDREN Enter the information requested about the child(ren) of thecustodial parent with this missing parent only.

D. INFORMATION ABOUT THE MISSING PARENTEnter all known information requested. To effectivelylocate the missing parent, we must have either a social securitynumber or the missing parent’s date of birth, place of birth, andparent’s names.

SUBMITTING THE APPLICATION - Sign and date the application, and mail to:Office of the Attorney General - MC 0040S

State Parent Locator ServiceP.O. Box 12017

Austin, Texas 78711-2017(512) 460-6000

September 2005 Form 1A010e


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Privacy Act of 1974 Notice. Disclosure of your social security number, and the social security numbers of your child(ren), is required by federallaw (42 USC 666). The Child Support Division will use these social security numbers only for the purpose of establishing and enforcing support foryou and your family.

APPLICATION FOR STATE PARENT LOCATOR SERVICEApplication Sequence #:

(Please read the information and instructions on the reverse before completing this form.)

A. INFORMATION ABOUT THE APPLICANT (Please Print All Information)

NAME (LAST, FIRST, MI) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER DAYTIME TELEPHONE NUMBER

STREET ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP CODE

APPLICANTS RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHILD(REN) FOR WHOM PATERNITY OR SUPPORT IS SOUGHT (check one):

� Cus todial Pare nt with ph ysical po sses sion of the c hild(ren) � Person (other than a parent) with physical possession of the child (ren) for

at least the past six months

Relationship to the child(ren) (specify): __________________________

� Gua rdian or m anaging c onse rvator w ith legal custod y of the child(ren ) (Attach a cop y of court o rder gran ting custod y.)

� Attorney or G uardian ad litem representing the child(ren)

� Judge or A gent of a Court w ith jurisdiction to order Pa ternity and/or Child Support for the child(ren)

B. INFORMATION ABOUT THE CUSTODIAL PARENT (Complete if the applicant is not the custodial parent)

NAME (Last, First, MI) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

C. INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHILDREN

NAME (Last, First, MI) DATE OF BIRTH SEX SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

D. INFORMATION ABOUT THE MISSING PARENT

NAME (Last, First, MI) ALIAS (Last Name Only) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER*

LAST KNOWN STREET ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP CODE

DATE OF BIRTH Was the missing parent ever married to the custodial parent? � YES � NO

Did the missing parent ever serve in any of the U.S. military services? � YES � NO � DON’T KNOW

* COMPLETE ITEMS BELOW IF THE MISSING PARENT’S SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER IS NOT KNOWN

NAME OF MISSING PARENT’S FATHER (Last, First, MI) MAIDEN NAME OF MISSING PARENT’S MOTHER (Last, First, MI)

MISSING PARENT’S PLACE OF BIRTH (City, State, or Foreign Country)

In applying to the Office of the Attorney General for State Parent Locator Service, I certify that all of the information: • provided in this application is true, correct and complete to the best of my knowledge • received from the State Parent Locator Service will be used to establish the paternity of, or to secure child support, for the child(ren) for whose care I am responsible

I further certify that Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) is not being received for the child(ren) listed.

___________________________________________________________________ _______________________________ (Signature) (Date)

Texas government Code §559 gives you the right to review and request correction of information on this form.

September 2005 Form 1A010e


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