I am going to get some legal advice tommorrow and was wondering if anyone can help. How does CS work in Texas? I wanted to get a legal separation and set up cs and alimony for me and my child and when parternity test for oc comes back and ow gets cs then H's take home income will be less so ow gets less cs and if we decide to stay together then this secures that money. is this a wise idea? I don't know how a legal separation works.

Texas is a common property state. You will not be ablt to get alimony if you divorce in TX. You can get maitenance for the time you are married until you divorce and may be able to get maintenance for a few years to go back to school or do what you need to do to support yourself.
Your best source is JAG, then go to a lawyer. Call around and see if one will talk to you free for 30 minutes to an hour. JAG can't work in civilian court, I was told, but they can advise you. A civilian lawyer will have to actually do what you want done.
Ask around and see if anyone you know can reccommend a lawyer. My brothers told me to find the woman with meanest reputation to fight for me and my rights. I never had to do that, my H came to his senses. But I did see a lawyer to find out my rights etc. I also let my Husband know how much a divorce would cost him financially and emotionally.
What state is your home of residence? If you claim another state and their laws are more beneficial I'd try to get a legal separation and divorce thru that state.
You should get half of what you have accrued in the marriage. Have you been married 10 years? Don't forget you currently can get half of his retirement if he going for 20.
Before you see a JAG lawyer or civilian, take a moment and think about what you have and what you want. Write it down to take to your meetings. There is a page that lists how the child support issue is settled. Check that out. There is also a web page with divorce information for most states. Check them out.

Good luck,
Texasgirl

Sorry it is late and I read your post in a hurry.
The best source for your questions is a Texas lawyer. Are you at Hood? I understand now what you want to do, I don't know if that is easily done in TX. I think you can get a legal separation for 6 mos then you are expected to file for divorce or reconcile.
We are TX residents, but when we went thru this we were at Ft Knox and Ky laws were more favorable to the wife and children. I love TX but their divorce laws are not as generous.

Texasgirl

Read the Texas Child support Thread. Good info there. just bumped it up.

TG

Texas is a common property state. You will not be ablt to get alimony if you divorce in TX. You can get maitenance for the time you are married until you divorce and may be able to get maintenance for a few years to go back to school or do what you need to do to support yourself.

Alimony which is considered maintenance in Texas is awarded for a short time if marriage was over 10 years and other stipulations are met:

§ 8.051. ELIGIBILITY FOR MAINTENANCE; COURT ORDER. In
a suit for dissolution of a marriage or in a proceeding for
maintenance in a court with personal jurisdiction over both former
spouses following the dissolution of their marriage by a court that
lacked personal jurisdiction over an absent spouse, the court may
order maintenance for either spouse only if:
(2) the duration of the marriage was 10 years or
longer, the spouse seeking maintenance lacks sufficient property,
including property distributed to the spouse under this code, to
provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs, as limited by
Section 8.054, and the spouse seeking maintenance:
(A) is unable to support himself or herself
through appropriate employment because of an incapacitating
physical or mental disability;
(B) is the custodian of a child who requires
substantial care and personal supervision because a physical or
mental disability makes it necessary, taking into consideration the
needs of the child, that the spouse not be employed outside the
home; or
(C) clearly lacks earning ability in the labor
market adequate to provide support for the spouse's minimum
reasonable needs, as limited by Section 8.054.


Also Texas doesn't have legal separations. What they do allow is for temporary orders to be put in place while the divorce is pending. However, the orders are just that: temporary. Within a certain time frame, if a divorce isn't granted then the orders will cease and the foothold you wanted to keep above the OW in case she filed will be null and void.

Read: Texas Family Codes: Temporary Injunction and other Temporary Orders

<small>[ December 09, 2004, 02:35 PM: Message edited by: Stormyweather ]</small>

down...
If you are in TX, then the child support is a percentage of what the spouse makes. It doesn't matter what child is from whom.
My son's bio dad had 2 children in his marriage and they used a calculation percentage of his net income. It starts at 17 percent for one child and goes up from there.

ent

If you are in TX, then the child support is a percentage of what the spouse makes. It doesn't matter what child is from whom.

It does matter if it comes down to who filed first! Again, I get more than some of my exs older children because my case was filed years before theres.

So if Down files first, then her child(ren) is owed the percentage(s) for child #1 (and #2) and she would get 25% based on the fact that her kids would only be considered since the OW hadn't filed yet. Below is the chart of CS for kids coming from the same custodial parent. Then if OW files, hers would be #3 and subject to the children of multiple household rules.

THE MONTHLY NET RESOURCES OF THE OBLIGOR

1 child 20% of Obligor's Net Resources

2 children 25% of Obligor's Net Resources

3 children 30% of Obligor's Net Resources

4 children 35% of Obligor's Net Resources

5 children 40% of Obligor's Net Resources

6+ children Not less than the amount for 5 children


But if OW files first, then her percentage for the OC will be higher based on the children of multiple household rules.

§ 154.128. COMPUTING SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN IN MORE THAN
ONE HOUSEHOLD. (a) In applying the child support guidelines for
an obligor who has children in more than one household, the court
shall apply the percentage guidelines in this subchapter by making
the following computation:

Multiple Family Adjusted Guidelines

So it does make a difference in our state on who gets to the "finish line" first.

it does not matter who files first in Texas...The court looks at how many children are involved, PERIOD! If OW files first, she will NOT get more than you! If you look at the Texas Family Code link I provided in the other thread it will explain exactly how the child support is devided...for example 1 child versus 3 children in the other home...2 children, versus 2 children, etc...read it carefully!

it does not matter who files first in Texas...

It did in both of my cases. I filed first and got more than the older children in both cases. Same judge told both of them that if nothing was ON FILE for the other kids, that they weren't going to be considered. (My first ex had 2 older kids and my second ex had one older child from a previous marriage but the women waited to file.)

And remember those are just 2 of the guidelines. For whatever reasons, one could always ask the judge to consider other things so the guidelines aren't always followed.

If you look at the Texas Family Code link I provided in the other thread it will explain exactly how the child support is devided...for example 1 child versus 3 children in the other home...2 children, versus 2 children, etc...read it carefully!

I have read it plus I have been to court some 9 times in the last 10 years. (one child is 10 and the other is 4) Its the actual application of the laws in court that starts to confuse people.

And no, if the OW only has one child versus 3 by the wife, yes the wife will get more based on lumping the 3 together. But the starting percentage can be affected by who files first. So if the wife files first and there is nothing on file for the OW, then the court usually doesn't take any other children into consideration. Otherwide men could go into court and simply state that they are responsible for other kids just to get a lower amount awarded. Usually they ask for some type of paperwork.

In your case, M23B, the OW's baby isn't even born yet so if you file now, they can only take your kids into consideration and your percentage awarded would be higher from this chart than the chart from the multiple household chart. Based on your household alone, you would get 30%.

3 children 30% of Obligor's Net Resources

Based on the multiple household with her child counted, 3 children would only get you 27.38%. Look at the charts. It does make a difference when you file.