Introduction: Understanding Child Support Enforcement After Divorce
When a Texas divorce decree is signed, both parents understand their child support obligations are binding and enforceable. But what happens when one parent stops paying? A recent Houston Court of Appeals decision provides critical insight into how Texas courts handle the enforcement of unpaid child support and medical support obligations, and the decision reinforces that even substantial arrearages must be confirmed through strict legal procedures.
Per the published opinion, in P. v. H.N. (2025), the appellate court affirmed a trial court’s decision awarding cumulative judgments totaling over $53,000 in unpaid child support and medical support. The case illustrates fundamental principles that any Dallas divorce attorney should emphasize to clients: divorce decrees must be clear, parents remain liable for accrued obligations even when circumstances change, and enforcement mechanisms in Texas Family Code provide specific remedies for arrearages.
For Dallas-area residents considering divorce or navigating post-divorce disputes, this case offers practical lessons about how to structure child support orders that will be enforceable and how the courts handle situations where payment obligations are not met. Whether you’re in Dallas proper, Irving, Richardson, Garland, Mesquite, or surrounding communities, understanding these legal principles matters profoundly.
Case Background: A Decade of Child Support Disputes
P.E. and P.H. were divorced in May 2014 by the 245th District Court in Harris County. The couple had two sons at the time of divorce: J.P.P. and J.A.P. The final divorce decree was not a simple agreement, it included specific provisions addressing one child’s special needs and required detailed child support calculations that deviated from Texas’s standard guidelines.
The core of the divorce decree required P.E. to pay $3,250 per month in child support, split into two installments of $1,625 due on the 1st and 15th of each month. Additionally, P.E. was ordered to contribute $90 monthly toward medical support. These obligations began on May 1, 2014, and were to continue “until further order modifying this child support.”
The decree contained important language stating that one child “requires substantial care and personal supervision at this time, because of a mental or physical disability and at this time will not be capable of self-support.” This finding justified the above-guideline child support amount of 38% of P.E.’s net monthly resources ($8,640). The obligee’s net resources were listed as $0.
For nearly eight years, P.E. complied with these obligations. According to testimony at the enforcement hearing, P.E. paid in full through April 2022. But beginning in May 2022, the payments stopped. Over three consecutive months (May, June, and July 2022), P.E. made no child support or medical support payments whatsoever. Starting in August 2022, P.E. resumed making payments—but only at $700 per month, substantially below the $3,250 monthly obligation.
This reduction in payments prompted P.H. to file a motion for enforcement of the child support order in September 2023. According to the Office of the Attorney General’s financial activity report, P.E. had accumulated arrearages of $51,231.10 in child support and $1,771.20 in medical support between May 2022 and the trial date. P.E. testified that he worked part-time as a supervisor for his wife’s company, earning between $2,600 and $2,800 per month, and claimed he was seeking modification of the original child support order.
Legal Analysis: How Texas Courts Confirm Child Support Arrearages
The Statutory Framework for Confirming Arrearages
When a parent files an enforcement action seeking to confirm child support or medical support arrearages, Texas Family Code § 157.263 establishes a mandatory procedure. The statute provides that when “a motion requests a money judgment for child support [or] medical support … arrearages, the court shall confirm the amount of arrearages and render cumulative money judgments.”
The key word here is “shall”, this is not discretionary. The trial court must confirm arrearages when properly requested. A cumulative money judgment for child support owed includes: (1) unpaid child support not previously confirmed; (2) the balance owed on previously confirmed arrearages or lump sum judgments; (3) interest on the child support arrearages; and (4) a statement that it is a cumulative judgment for the amount of child support owed. The statute contains parallel provisions for medical support arrearages.
Importantly, § 157.263(b-3) provides strict limitations on what courts can do with arrearages: “the court may not reduce or modify the amount of arrearages but, in confirming the amount of arrearages, may allow a counterclaim or offset as provided by this title.” This language is crucial. A Dallas child support lawyer must understand that courts cannot forgive or decrease past support obligations, they can only calculate what is owed and authorize collection mechanisms.
The Court’s Reasoning on Arrearages Calculation
The appellate court emphasized that confirmation of arrearages is fundamentally an “arithmetic procedure.” As the court explained, courts “must be based on the payment evidence presented,” not “the trial court’s assessment of what is fair or reasonable.” The calculation is straightforward: what the obligor owes less what the obligor has paid equals the arrearage.
P.E. raised several defenses to the enforcement action. First, he argued the divorce decree itself was “ambiguous, indefinite, or uncertain” because it set his obligation above the statutory guidelines without clearly identifying which portion was for each child. He also contended the decree lacked a “stepdown provision” as required under Texas Family Code § 154.127 (which requires that when support for more than one child terminates, the remaining child support amount comply with guideline percentages).
The court rejected these arguments. The decree clearly stated that P.E. must pay $3,250 monthly “until further order modifying this child support.” The fact that one of the children was disabled and required extended support, and that P.E. had never moved to modify the order since 2014, meant he could not complain about the decree’s enforceability at the enforcement stage. As the court noted, P.E. had been seeking modification only when confronted with the enforcement motion, a markedly different posture than filing a modification suit years earlier when circumstances changed.
Medical Support and the “Change in Insurance Costs” Argument
P.E.’s argument regarding medical support revealed an interesting attempt at interpretation. The decree required him to pay “$90.00 per month… until there is a change in the actual cost of the health insurance for the children.” P.E. argued that because insurance costs fluctuate naturally over years, “going up and down”, this language meant his obligation had terminated.
The appellate court rejected this interpretation. It held that trial courts have no discretion to forgive or decrease past child support obligations under any circumstances. The enforcement court conducted the required arithmetic: P.E. had made various payments totaling $8,640.00 in medical support over the entire period, while the arrearages totaled $1,771.20. The actual termination language in the decree was not meant as a loophole; it required specific action or changed circumstances, not merely the passage of time with ordinary insurance cost fluctuations.
This reasoning has profound implications for any Dallas family law attorney advising on child support matters. Language in decrees must be precise. General language about “changes” in costs or circumstances can be interpreted narrowly by enforcement courts, which are statutorily required to mechanically calculate what is owed rather than craft equitable exceptions.
Deviation from Guidelines and the Disabled Child Factor
One sophisticated argument P.E. advanced was that the entire order was invalid because it deviated from statutory guidelines without proper compliance with § 154.130. However, the trial court’s 2014 order clearly complied with this statute. It made explicit findings that:
- The application of guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate
- P.E.’s net resources were $8,640 monthly
- The obligee’s net resources were $0
- The percentage applied was 38%
- The specific reason for deviation was: “J.A.P. is a minor disabled child at this time with proven needs exceeding guideline child support, and the Obligee is not working at this time”
Texas courts allow deviation from child support guidelines when evidence demonstrates the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate. The disabled child’s ongoing substantial care needs provided clear justification here. This decision remains valid throughout the child support obligation period unless and until modified through proper legal proceedings.
The court’s affirmance of the arrearages judgment thus rested on a straightforward legal principle: a valid decree, properly entered with appropriate findings, remains enforceable until modified. One parent cannot unilaterally reduce payments and then claim the original order is unenforceable.
Key Takeaways: What Dallas Divorcing Couples Need to Know
Child support orders remain enforceable regardless of changed circumstances. If you believe your situation has materially changed since the divorce decree was entered, you must file a formal modification suit. Unilateral reduction of payments, no matter how justified you believe the reduction to be, creates arrearages that courts will confirm and enforce.
Arrearages calculations are mechanical and non-discretionary. Your Dallas child support lawyer cannot negotiate away past-due amounts. Courts are statutorily required to calculate what is owed based on payment evidence and the original order. Offsets and counterclaims are possible but limited by statute.
Clear, specific decree language prevents future disputes. Provisions about when obligations terminate or change must be unambiguous. Vague language about “changes in circumstances” or “when conditions change” will be interpreted narrowly by enforcement courts, not expansively in the payor’s favor.
Disabled children’s support can extend beyond age 18. Texas law allows indefinite child support for children requiring substantial care due to mental or physical disability. This was properly included in the original decree and remained enforceable throughout the enforcement proceeding.
Strategic Insights: Alternative Approaches in Similar Situations
Different strategies might have included filing a formal modification suit as soon as P.E.’s income circumstances changed in 2022, rather than unilaterally reducing payments. Alternatively, if P.E. genuinely believed the decree was unenforceable, raising these arguments in a modification proceeding, where the court could comprehensively review the order, would have been more effective than raising them during an enforcement hearing when the court’s role is more limited.
A Dallas divorce attorney with 25+ years of experience recognizes that the critical moment for addressing changed circumstances is when the change occurs, not when an enforcement action arrives. Proactive modification requests, supported by evidence of material change in circumstances, give parents far better leverage than reactive defenses to enforcement motions.
Consultation with an Experienced Dallas Divorce Attorney
If you are facing similar issues, whether you’re struggling to make court-ordered child support payments or you’re owed arrearages, the time to act is now. At our Dallas law firm, we understand the stress and complexity of child support enforcement and modification disputes. With 25+ years of experience in Dallas family law, serving clients throughout Dallas, Irving, Richardson, Garland, Mesquite, DeSoto, Grand Prairie, Lakewood, Highland Park, and surrounding areas, we provide honest assessments and transparent communication about realistic outcomes.
We don’t promise false solutions to genuine legal obligations. Instead, we offer strategic, compassionate representation focused on protecting your interests within the framework of Texas family law. Whether you need a Dallas child custody lawyer to address modification of custody arrangements that might support a support modification, an experienced divorce lawyer in Dallas for comprehensive representation, or consultation on your specific situation, our team is ready to help.
Contact us today for a confidential consultation. Let us review your case, explain your options, and develop a strategy tailored to your circumstances. When it comes to child support enforcement or modification in the Dallas area, experienced legal representation makes the difference.
