Dallas, TX asked in Family Law, Child Custody and Child Support for Texas

Q: Can my son's dad sue for child support if he owes, if he has custody? I feel like it's a control thing for him.

My son is 13, I've been the custodial parent up until June 2019 when his dad got him for the summer. I've been the only provider. He was put on child support right before my son turned 2. He's never paid. When we finally started going to court in 2014, he ended up going to prison for almost 5 years for an unrelated issue. When he finally got out I agreed to my son moving with him once he got on his feet. I figured this would be good for the both of them, plus it was time his dad see what I go through with his behavior. On the last day of school, in which my son got in trouble and got kicked off the school bus, his dad called later that night yelling and cursing me out about false info my son gave him, then other issues he has with me. He doesn't like that I am married to a women with a baby. So I told him to just keep my son because they were both too much at the time. Haven't seen or spoken to my son since. Now his dad suing me for child support and I don't think that's fair.

1 Lawyer Answer
Sharita Blacknall
Sharita Blacknall
Answered
  • Divorce Lawyer
  • Plano, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: There are several issues involved here.

In general, if a child stops living with one parent and starts living with another parent full time the custody order needs to be changed.

In general, if one party owes another party back child support a child support enforcement action must be filed.

In general, if a child is living with one parent the other parent is legally responsible to provide financial support.

In general, there may be offsetting obligations for child support, which will effect who pays what if anything to whom.

An attorney can help with cleaning these issues up. Good luck.

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