"HACKS" FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL CHILD SUPPORT CASES
In child support cases involving the Texas Office of Attorney General (OAG), the OAG usually does the paperwork. However, their standard documents leave child support obligors (payers) with custody/possession orders that may fall short of orders that would be prepared in private custody cases in which the OAG is not the petitioner or a participant.
For example:
- If the obligee (person receiving support) has the exclusive right to make educational decisions, OAG standard documents don't include language requiring the obligee to have a reasonable consultation with the obligor before making a decision. The same is true of the exclusive right to make invasive medical decisions like surgery or consent to psychologicial or psychiatric treatment of a child.
- OAG standard documents have the obligor going to the obligee's house for pickups and dropoffs of the child. Privately drafted documents often have the person assuming possession going to the person relinquishing possession, so mom goes to dad's house half of the time and vice versa.
- In some counties, OAG may not include standard language limiting a child's residence to the nearby area, an overlooked omission that can result in the primary parent moving far away and the other parent having no recourse. However, geographic limitations are now standard in metro counties in Texas and OAG includes them by default, although there are still old orders in effect that lack this language.
OAG will often make these changes to their orders upon request.
This post is not intended as a criticism of OAG, just a statement of fact and experience. Each of their busy offices handle tens of thousands of active cases for people in vastly different situations, and OAG has compelling reasons for doing things the way they do them.
But if you are a parent active in your child's life, hiring an experienced private attorney familiar with both OAG and district court practices can ensure your order is more fair to you as an equal parent under the law.
March 23rd, 2022
