Child Support Lawyer Leander, TX
Our Leander, TX child support lawyer at Gray Becker, P.C. has more than 43 years of family law experience across Central Texas. We represent both custodial and noncustodial parents in child support disputes throughout Williamson County, and we handle everything from first-time orders to contested modifications and aggressive enforcement.
Reach out to our firm to discuss your situation.
Why Choose Gray Becker, P.C. for Child Support in Leander, TX?
Deep Roots in Central Texas Litigation
Richard E. Gray III and Douglas M. Becker founded Gray Becker, P.C. in 1983. Before that, Richard oversaw all litigation for the Texas Attorney General’s office, and Douglas briefed and argued four cases before the United States Supreme Court as a litigator in the same office. We prepare every case like it could go to trial, even when we expect to settle.
Richard has practiced law in Texas since 1976. He earned his B.A. cum laude from Washington and Lee University and his J.D. magna cum laude from The University of Texas School of Law. He is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and all federal district courts in Texas. Since 2013, Best Lawyers in America has recognized him in Family Law every single year. Super Lawyers listed him continuously from 2003 through 2023.
Douglas graduated cum laude from Harvard University and earned his J.D. from UT Law in 1975. He has argued well over a hundred cases to the Texas Supreme Court, the state courts of appeals, and the federal appellate courts. He has tried hundreds of cases to courts and juries, often against the best lawyers in the state. Best Lawyers in America has recognized Douglas in Commercial Litigation from 2016 through 2025, and he received Super Lawyer nominations from 2005 through 2024.
The firm’s family lawyer in Leander, TX handles child support, custody, property division, and related matters at every level of complexity. Every attorney at Gray Becker with more than five years of experience has been ranked by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, or both.
Favorable Outcomes in Contested Cases
Gray Becker has helped clients across family law and commercial dispute cases. In child support matters specifically, our attorneys have secured favorable results in cases involving income disputes, hidden earnings, modification petitions, and enforcement actions where the obligor had fallen far behind on payments.
A Settlement-First Approach With Trial Muscle Behind It
Negotiated agreements tend to produce the most durable outcomes in child support cases, particularly when children’s schedules and relationships hang in the balance. But settlement doesn’t mean accepting less than what’s fair. When the other parent is hiding income or refusing to cooperate, we take the case to a Williamson County courtroom.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Trisha Dixon and her paralegal Vincent Vu were the picture of professionalism and care. She handled my matter with so much care and sensitivity, making sure everyone was treated with respect throughout the process. Vincent went above and beyond at every step — always supportive, responsive, and helpful during a really tough time. I felt truly cared for, not just like another case. I highly recommend Gray Becker.” — Eden Minucci
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Types of Child Support Cases We Handle in Leander
We represent parents on both sides of child support disputes in Leander and Williamson County. Some cases are straightforward. Many are not. Here is what we handle:
- Establishing support orders. When parents separate or go through a divorce in Leander, a formal child support order is typically one of the first issues resolved. We work to make sure the order reflects accurate income figures and addresses the child’s real needs.
- Modifications. A layoff, a promotion, a shift in the child’s medical needs, a new custody arrangement — any of these can justify revisiting an existing order. Texas law requires proof that circumstances have materially and substantially changed, and we help clients build that case.
- Enforcement. When a parent stops paying, the financial impact is immediate. We pursue enforcement through income withholding, contempt proceedings, license suspensions, and every other remedy Texas law provides.
- High-income support disputes. When net resources exceed the statutory cap, standard percentages don’t capture the full picture. These cases demand careful financial analysis and persuasive arguments about the child’s actual standard of living.
- Extraordinary expenses. Courts can order additional support for private school tuition, extracurricular costs, special medical care, and other expenses that fall outside the basic guidelines.
- Medical and dental support. Every Texas child support order must address health and dental insurance. Disputes over who provides coverage, what counts as reasonable cost, and how uninsured bills get split are common.
Texas Legal Requirements for Child Support
Chapter 154 of the Texas Family Code governs how child support works in this state. Texas uses an income-percentage model. The noncustodial parent’s monthly net resources are multiplied by a fixed percentage based on how many children need support: 20% for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, and so on up from there.
What counts as net resources? More than most people realize. Under Section 154.062, the list includes salary, overtime, commissions, self-employment income, retirement benefits, rental income, dividends, and other sources. Federal taxes, Social Security, health insurance premiums, and union dues come off the top before the percentage kicks in.
There’s a cap. As of September 1, 2025, net resources above $11,700 per month fall outside the automatic guidelines. For higher-income parents, though, the court can order additional support if the child’s actual needs justify it. That’s where the argument shifts from arithmetic to advocacy, and where having an experienced child support lawyer in Leander, TX makes a real difference.
The Texas Attorney General offers a support calculator for rough estimates. It’s useful as a starting point but can’t account for complex income, multiple obligations, or the discretionary factors a judge weighs when deviating from the standard formula.
Modifications are governed by Chapter 156. A parent can petition to change an existing order by showing a material and substantial change in circumstances, or by demonstrating that three years have passed and the current order differs from the guidelines by at least 20% or $100 a month.
Important Aspects of a Child Support Case in Leander
Getting the Income Right
Everything in a child support case flows from one question: what does each parent actually earn? W-2 wages from a single employer make the math simple. Self-employment, variable bonuses, stock options, income routed through an LLC as those complicate things significantly.
Texas courts can impute income when a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. A judge will look at work history, education, and what the local job market supports. If you suspect the other parent earns more than they’re disclosing, an experienced child support attorney in Leander can help assemble the financial records that tell the real story. We have handled cases where a parent’s claimed income was a fraction of what bank records, tax returns, and business filings actually showed.
Custody’s Effect on Support
The standard possession order under Chapter 153 determines how time is divided between parents. The parent with less possession time generally pays support. When parents share roughly equal time, Texas doesn’t provide an automatic offset formula, which means these situations often require creative negotiation or judicial discretion.
Medical Support Is Separate and Mandatory
Health and dental insurance for the child constitute a separate obligation from the base support amount. One parent must provide coverage if it’s available at reasonable cost through their employer. Uninsured expenses are typically divided between the parents. Disagreements about what qualifies as “reasonable” or who pays for an uncovered procedure arise frequently in these cases.
Enforcement Is Serious
Falling behind on child support in Texas triggers real consequences. Contempt of court can mean up to six months in jail per violation, fines, and an order to pay the other side’s attorney fees. The state can also garnish wages, intercept tax refunds, suspend licenses, and place liens on real property. Arrearages accrue interest at 6% per year. When a parent owes support and won’t pay, we use every legal tool available, including coordination with the Attorney General’s office.
Retroactive Support Claims
Texas permits retroactive child support going back up to four years, dating to the child’s birth or the parents’ separation. The court calculates these payments based on what the obligor should have been paying during that time. Building these claims requires careful reconstruction of the other parent’s income over the relevant period, something we handle with financial documentation and, where necessary, forensic analysis.
The Best Interest Standard
Section 153.002 of the Family Code makes the child’s best interest the primary consideration in any family law determination. That standard shapes child support decisions too. When a parent asks the court to deviate from the guidelines, the judge considers factors like the child’s age, health, schooling, the cost of private tuition, and the lifestyle the family maintained before separation.
Contact Gray Becker, P.C.
If you are facing a child support matter in Leander, TX, our attorneys are ready to help. Whether you need to establish an initial order, modify an existing one, or force a nonpaying parent to comply, we bring the preparation and persistence these cases require.
Contact us to schedule a consultation. We will review your situation, explain how Texas law applies to your circumstances, and help you understand the path forward.