How Can The Agustin Hernandez Law Firm Help with Child Custody Matters?
The Agustin Hernandez Law Firm located in Edinburg, TX off of Dove and McColl in the Stoneridge Business Plaza offers these Child Custody legal services.
Child Custody is the area of law where the laws governing possession and access to children of separated parents is found. Some common sub-areas of Child Custody are:
Joint vs. Sole Custody
Possession and Access
Geographic Restrictions
Child Support
These are generally the areas where separated couples have disputes that require court orders to protect and maintain parent rights over children. Still, child custody disputes are so specific and unique to each client that there is no way we could list all the possible issues and disputes that fall under this area of practice here.
Why hire the Agustin Hernandez Law Firm?
Child custody is a difficult area of law to navigate, especially when it comes to the very unique requests that clients have concerning parental rights, specific time frames of visitation, child support amounts, medical and geographic restrictions, etc.
The emotion and stress that results from these situations is compounded by the very real and legal consequences of every decision a person makes. These are exactly the reasons why people seeking legal services for child custody should absolutely hire an attorney.
Mr. Agustin Hernandez has experience helping clients navigate child custody disputes. Clients have access to our office via text and cell phone and can count on responses to their needs. Mr. Hernandez makes himself available for any questions our clients have throughout the entire process and even after matters are finalized and closed.
Other issues we help our Child Custody clients address and resolve:
Out-of-State Parent Rights
Termination of Parental Rights
Private Adoption (Grand-parents, step-parents, and aunts or uncles)
Extraordinary Relief (TROs, Protective Orders, and Writs)
Commonly Asked Questions about Child Support
Do I have to pay Child Support?
If the child is biologically yours, or you signed a birth certificate and a paternity test came out positive, and without any other facts, yes.
Can any past payments be taken into consideration?
Yes, the Attorney General’s office will take the past payments into consideration, and will deduct them from the overall balance. Your arrears, or your balance from years past, will be rolled into a new payment plan that is created by the Attorney General’s office, or the Attorney General in concert with an attorney, if you choose to hire one.
From what point in time do I have to pay Child Support?
Child Support begins from the time an order for child support is placed into record and signed by the judge.
If at some point before the order was signed, say for example at a medication, the issue of WHEN the child support would begin came up and was addressed, then it would start whenever the two parties come to an agreement as to when it would start. So, if you are facing Child Support as a result of a divorce, some couples may agree to start the child support from the date of separation, or the date the divorce was initiated.
But outside of that, if you’re being taken to Child Support court and your ex and yourself are representing yourselves pro se (on your own), then it is likely that the Child Support will begin once the order is signed.
Child support stops when the child turns 18, right?
Not necessarily.
YES in most instances, but:
- It does not clear you from paying out the balance from before they were 18. In other words, if you never made a payment before they turned 18, or you missed payments, the balance (or your arrears) will continue on past the age of 18 AND accrue interest.
- If the child is deemed special needs or is in need of medical support for their entire lives, then Child Support can continue on past the age of 18, and for the rest of the child’s life.
If my ex agrees, can the Attorney General clear my arrears?
It’s not likely, especially if the child accesses state benefits, but you may be able to get some of the balance cleared out if your ex agrees. But the Attorney General will make sure that you pay your fair share of any balance that accrued because of your child’s use of state benefits (Medicaid, WIC, etc.).
If I don’t pay my Child Support, can my ex stop me from seeing my child?
No. Child Support and Child Custody are seen as two separate issues. Just because a person is not paying does not mean the other parent can prevent the child from seeing the other parent.
Often Child Support is a singular issue, and the Attorney General’s office will set up a Standard Visitation child custody order that is very basic and straightforward in order to get some semblance of order in your lives.