How is child support determined when the obligor's income fluctuates?
Family courts, in determining a the obligor parent’s child support, look to specific data including the obligor’s most recent pay stubs and two previous year’s tax returns. This data usually provides an accurate indicator of the obligor’s net monthly resources. After the net monthly resources are determined, a multiplier is applied based on the number of children before the court, and if applicable, the number of the obligor’s children who are not before the court (i.e., children from previous marriage).
While some obligors have a fixed salary, their income may have significant fluctuation, and may be less predictable. Examples include sales reps who work on commission, real estate agents, persons who regularly work overtime, and the self-employed. In those circumstances merely looking at a 2-3 recent pay stubs or recent tax returns (especially if the obligor hasn’t filed a tax return for several years) may not provide an accurate picture of the obligor’s net monthly resources. Under such circumstances, there is case law supporting averaging the obligor’s income for calculation of child support. A recent opinion pending publication by the Texas 14th Court of Appeals supports this approach. 2008 WL 1838023; Swaab v. Swaab, -- S.W.3d -- (Tex. App. – Hou. (14th Dist.), no pet history). There is authority which supports averaging a parent’s income for as long as a ten year period to determine retroactive child support. See In re Sanders, 159 S.W.3d 797, 801 (Tex. App. – Amarillo 2005, no pet.).