Dorothy Lawrence on Effective Child Support

We all know that relationships are vulnerable to breaking, even the ones that have lasted decades. When a marriage breaks, it affects not only the partners but also the children they may have. The law protects children in situations where their parents might break up. Legally, it is the duty of parents to support and raise their children. That’s why child support is typically not optional.

Dorothy Lawrence, the CEO of the Dorothy Butler Law Firm, believes that all partners and parents should be aware of child support and child support laws. We often assume that we won’t end up in a bad situation, and then we do. She says:

“Parents should not only know what child support is but also how the support should be spent.”

To put it simply, child support is the legal requirement of one parent paying money to another parent in order to raise their children after they divorce. Child support is not taxable to the parent that receives it, nor is it tax-deductible to the parent that pays it. The law takes into account all the important factors, such as the income of the parent who is supposed to pay child support, the number of children, the percentage of parenting time, and so on. Dorothy Lawrence says:

“The purpose of child support is not to burden the parent but to benefit and support the children. It is not a way for the parent who receives child support to get rich!”

Dorothy Lawrence believes a parent should file for child support immediately after separation in cases where divorce is imminent and inevitable. She mostly practices in Texas, where the law allows a parent to file temporary orders after the divorce petition is filed. This, she says, makes sure that child support starts as soon as possible so that the child does not suffer the negative consequences of the separation.

Many people believe that child support is a financial burden on one parent. Dorothy strongly disagrees with that. She believes that child support is in the best interest of the children. Taking care of a child is a huge responsibility. That’s why the law lets the parent who is close with the children, i.e., spends on average more than 51% of his or her time with the children, keep the children, and take care of them. The other parent is required to contribute to parenting by paying child support to the parent with more custody. She says:

“Child support laws don’t put the burden on one parent but rather split the responsibility of parenting between the two.”

In Texas, where Dorothy runs her firm, child support ends when the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever comes later. When ending child support, the law doesn’t decide solely on the basis of the parent wanting to end child support. Since the primary purpose of child support is effective parenting, she says, the law will first make sure whether ending child support is in the best interest of the child or not.

If you are a parent in Texas who needs legal help with child support, the Dorothy Butler Law Firm will help you in every way possible. Dorothy’s firm is devoted to helping people with all types of family law matters– divorces, custody matters, support issues, modifications of support or custody, prenuptial agreements, and postnuptial agreements.