Home > Research Legal Advice > Child Custody > I live in Texas and am the Custodial Parent. My ex wife has remaried and...
Asked almost 2 years ago - New Braunfels, TX
FlagThis busniness is a DBA filed by her husband after they were maried. Although he had the main responsibility she recieves many perks...vehicle, insurance, etc etc and does some menial tasks. I understand this is a community property situation, but does she also share the income the Home Based business produces.
I would go for it, if you're trying to get your child support raised. The Texas Family Code provides a number of factors for the court to consider in awarding child support above the guidelines. Imputed income from her husband's business probably would not affect the computation of guideline support, but could certainly be the basis of an argument that she should pay above guidelines. It's a nuanced argument, but hopefully it would get you there.
Good luck!!
There is an argument there, but I would think that unless the business income is reflected somehow as hers in her tax filings, you are going to have some trouble. It really will fall to how clean they keep their business records and how they assign that income. If it all goes into a joint account that they both pull from, okay, you might get there. If the new hubby is taking all the income and simply paying for things, it will be much much tougher.
More facts are needed, but I agree with the answer above - if the business can be traced to just the husband, well then, your chances of increasing the amount of child support your ex pays are not that good. However, as with all family law issues, it depends on the facts. So, you need to get an attorney to go over all the details with and then make an informed decision on what you are going to do. Best of luck.
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