Child Support for a Minor Child With Disability in Texas
Texas courts may order either or both parents to provide support for a child for an “indefinite period” if the child requires substantial care and personal supervision because of a mental or physical disability, whether institutionalized or not, when that child will not be capable of self-support.
A catch is that the disability must have existed on or before the child’s 18th birthday.
The party bringing the lawsuit to order indefinite support due to disability may do so before or after the child turns 18 years old. The suing party can be a:
- parent,
- another person with court-ordered custody or guardianship,
- or a child who’s 18 years old or older, does not have a mental disability, and is determined by the court to be able to handle to handle their finances.
This is a short review on part of the law involving child support for children with disabilities as found in Texas Family Code chapter 154. Use the “Disabled Child” and “Texas Law Postings” labels to find more updates on this topic.