Q: My daughter’s mom requested a child support modification and is also requesting 4 years of retroactive child support.
My original child support order was created in 2009 and supposedly expired in 2011 from what I am being told. However, I continued to pay from 2009 to current through our registry only account until recently when my daughter’s mom requested a modification. I have since agreed to the new amount but now she is asking for retroactive child support but I have never missed a payment and have always assisted with my daughter’s expenses outside of the order. I have tried researching this online but from what I read, retroactive child support is usually granted with the non custodial parent failed to pay before the modification or was not part of the original suit. I was told by the mediator that I will have to show evidence of what I paid for outside my child support payments but I never kept a log over the last 4 years and find it very challenging to try and locate expenses from that long ago now. We are located in Texas. Thank you!
A:
Thanks for your question! It sounds like it'd be helpful to reach out to a local, family law attorney in the area (New Braunfels) so they can learn more about the facts in this current matter and also review the original child support order from 2009.
How did you agree to a new, modified amount? Was that through a court order? Be careful about doing anything informally. You always want to pay your support to the Texas State Disbursement Unit, otherwise it can be difficult to get "credit" for your payments.
A child support order normally does not require you to pay for the child's expenses as you mentioned.
You should be able to request and obtain a free record of your payments by contacting the Office of the Attorney General and asking for a "Financial Activity Report"
Best of luck!
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