When my ex and I got divorced there were many things I settled on due to him letting me leave the state of Texas with our children. I especially settled on our child support payments. He pays about half of what he should be paying (agreed upon by me). Also, we split medical, dental, and I meet him halfway on visitation. Since the divorce he has moved from Texas to Arkansas and I have gotten remarried and have a new baby. I want to take him back to court and have child support raised for our two children. Will my new husbands income be considered in the child support? Will the child support laws and percentages be different since he has moved from original state filed?
Thanks for any help.

No your new husbands income will not be considered, only yours. Also, am I'm understanding you correctly, you no longer live in Texas and neither does he? If thats the case, then you have to some kind of way get it transferred or file in the state where you live, not where he lives. And yes, the laws and percentages are different depending on what state you're in. You mighht want to try to work something out with him again, if he's willing, to avoid all the court/Child Support Enforcement drama.

Thanks for your response. You are correct, we no longer live in Texas. I now reside in Tennessee and he lives in Arkansas. I settled on little child support due to Texas laws stating I had to live within a certain mile radius for him to have visitation, he allowed me to move with them as long as he could pay less child support. We have only been divorced a year and a half and he has moved two times and switched jobs. I know he has a higher income than he did. I just assumed child support would be based on where his income is from in Arkansas and not where we are in Tennessee. Also how would I go about getting the original filing transferred?

In NC, your spouses income is "technically" considered. My husband has a daughter by another woman and a son with me.

What he had to do since he "lived" with his son's mother, me, was complete a support worksheet for our son with both our incomes to find what the reasonable child support obligation for him would be. Then he could claim half of that number as "responsibility for other children" on the worksheet for his daughter.

His daughter's mother, on the other hand, did not have to do this for her other 2 children because she does not live with either of their father's.

My husband has a daughter in TN and we live in MI. child support will be based on TN laws. Which is approximately 20% of his income if it is his first child. the courts in TN are easy to deal with and very mother friendly. I say file it there won't be much he can do.

Yes you have to file in TN, and the guidelines meaning how much they will order him to pay will be based on TN guidelines, since that is where you live. However they will cross borders to garnish or deduct the child support amount from his check.
In most states what they do is take your (and only your) monthly or yearly salary and combine it with the fathers monthly or yearly salary and the total amount has a certain child support guideling assocaited with it....thats why you should check to see what it is...He can have that guideline reduced by supplying insurance for the kids and you can have it increased by including child care expenses...so it all depends...you should check the guidlines.

Oh my goodness, if I had only known then what I know now. I can't believe that I have settled for 600 a month when based on the chart for Tennessee I should be receiving 1200 a month. He really got off easy. Ok, next question, upon filing for a modification to get child support rates moved to TN would I need a qualifying reason to do so. I have heard it is really hard to change what once has been written and agreed upon. I would think that by him only paying half of what he should be paying would be reason enough.
I sincerely thank you all for your responses and all your input on my situation. I am not a greedy gold-digger, just trying to do what is right by my boys. Lunch money alone is over 100 a month and not to mention school fees and such, what he pays doesnt even touch half of that per month.

What I would do is contact the TN Child Support enforcement and ask them how to transfer the case or if you cant, how to file in TN and close the case in TX, or just basically what it is you need to do, now that you no longer live in Texas...and you dont need a reason, according to the law you are entitled to whatever the guidelines say. It could take a while for it to take effect depending on how competent the TN Child Support Enforcement is (we've requested a mod in Virginia and it took close to a year to complete...the system is totally ridiculous...and its still not done because we're appealing the decision do to some errors).

I would talk to your ex though just to let him know whats going on if you all are cordial..because hitting him with double what he's been paying can change alot of things for him and it would be good if he were prepared...he cant do anything to change it ...but it would be nice on your part to let him know its coming.

The new husband's income should not be considered, but his information may be requested to get an idea of the support you receive from him. You could have the case transferred to where you live now, but that is up to you. In some instances, the court may apply Texas law unless there is a jurisdictional change and case transfer change

Thank you all for your responses to my questions. I appreciate each of you taking time to read and lend a helping "hand" to my issues.

Uniform Interstate family support act


under this federal act you may file in Tn but the guidelines for support shall be based on where your ex lives in Arkansas\


if you dont file the proper papers he can play hop scotch with the support order until it is done right.

he does not have to answer a demand from Tn he can allege that he has no connection to that state and that you must file in his new home state.

one of the reasons that these laws were enacted was so the parents of children could not look at child support guidelines of a state and move there to manipulate the amounts. IMHO there should be federal guidelines and the states should have one number to use and then adjust to circumstances.



the only rules from tx that still apply are the emancipation age and anything in divorce decree (this can also be modified.

rini