Can My Ex Keep Me From Seeing My Child If I’m Behind on Child Support in Texas?

Falling behind on child support does create serious legal and financial problems for both the payer and the recipient. However, it does not give the other parent the right to stop you from seeing your child. Like most other states, Texas separates the issues of child support and possession of or access to a child. Child support is not “paying for” access to your child, and in the same way, failing to pay child support doesn’t mean giving up your right to your parenting time. However, this also works in reverse. Being denied access to your child doesn’t justify refusing to pay child support.

Even if your co-parent is not currently following the court order with regard to court-ordered possession or access, it is still generally in your best interest to continue paying child support as ordered. At Hargrave Law, we understand how frustrating this can be—especially when your missed visitation time starts to add up. We’re here to advocate for you and your child. Call us at 817-968-7191 to schedule a consultation now.

Child Support and Visitation Are Separate Issues

While parents may think of child support and visitation as an exchange, that isn’t how Texas law treats these obligations. Although both relate to the child’s best interests, they are not connected. Child support is ordered to provide for the child financially; possession and access orders allow the child to spend meaningful time with both parents.

If you’re ordered to pay child support, you remain responsible for those payments even when the other parent interferes with your parenting time. If you are behind on child support, the other parent is still obligated to make your child available for your scheduled access time. Texas law explicitly states that failure to pay child support does not justify denying court-ordered possession or access.

Imagine this scenario. Parent A is entitled to the second and fourth weekends of each month. They are two months behind on child support, and shortly before the second weekend of the month, Parent B announces that they will not grant access until Parent A is caught up. This conflates two separate legal issues.

What You Should Do If Your Ex Refuses to Let You See Your Child

If your ex refuses to let you see your child on your court-ordered time, you may feel the need to resolve the issue on the spot. However, it’s important to avoid escalating the dispute.

Start by reviewing your order. Your Texas parenting order may contain detailed requirements about when possession begins, where exchanges occur, who is responsible for transportation, and how the schedule may be affected by holidays or days off of school. When you want to enforce the order, knowing the exact terms of your order is crucial.

You should also keep records of denied visits. Keep records showing:

• Date and time you were entitled to possession
• Where the exchange was supposed to occur
• Whether you appeared at the required location
• Messages, emails, and other communications discussing the denial
• Explanation provided by the other parent

Avoid sending threatening or inflammatory messages, even though you may feel very angry at losing your parenting time. You can send a brief, clear message that you plan on exercising your parenting time per the current order. This may protect you down the line by showing that the lack of access was not a mutual decision.

If violations continue, you may seek enforcement through the court. Your child custody attorney can help you pursue enforcement.

What Happens If You Are Behind on Child Support

While your ex can’t unilaterally decide to deny access because of unpaid child support, unpaid child support can negatively affect you in other ways. Texas has several mechanisms in place for enforcing delinquent support. Depending on the circumstances, how much is owed, and how long you have been delinquent, payment may be enforced via contempt proceedings, license suspension, passport denial, and even liens against assets.

If your financial circumstances have changed as a result of involuntary job loss, disability, health problems, reduced pay, or other issues that directly affect your ability to pay, it’s important to address this as soon as possible. Allowing arrears to accrue while hoping that circumstances change may just put you further behind and leave you with fewer resolution options. In some cases, a child support modification may be warranted.

Can a Court Limit Visitation?

Being behind on support is not a reason in and of itself to rewrite your parenting schedule. There are circumstances where the court may modify or restrict possession and access, as parenting arrangements are based on the child’s best interests.

Issues like family violence, abuse, neglect, and serious safety concerns can affect parenting time. If you have other issues or factors that you feel may complicate your current parenting arrangement, it’s important to discuss them with your family law attorney. However, these factors are different from a parent unilaterally deciding that they will not allow court-ordered access because the other parent is behind on child support. Even if the circumstances do warrant a possession order modification, the correct route is generally to seek relief through the court rather than refusing to comply with it.

What If an Ex Will Only Allow Visitation If You Pay?

Save any communication you have where your ex clearly links their refusal to allow access to your child support arrears. This can help prove to the court why a scheduled exchange did not

Separate Property

Separate real estate is handled differently. A home may be considered separate property if one spouse owned it prior to the marriage or received it in a way that kept it their separate property.

In this situation, the surviving spouse receives a life estate equaling one-third of the decedent’s separate land, with the rest passing to the decedent’s children and descendants. A life estate is not ownership; it allows the right to use or possess property during the individual’s lifetime.

What Happens If You Have Children

If you have children but are not married, your children and descendants generally inherit your property. This is fairly straightforward if you have one child, but it gets complicated quickly if you have more than one child. One child may want to live in the house, while the others want to sell it. One child may want to renovate the house and use it as a rental property. Multiple children may want to buy the others out and own it.

These decisions are easy when only one owner is involved. When there are multiple heirs, issues can lead to serious family disputes and even legal action.

The Surviving Spouse and Homestead Protections

As we noted when we brought up life estates, ownership is really only one part of the equation when we’re talking about property that was the decedent’s homestead. Texas gives important homestead rights to surviving family members. These rights exist whether the property was the decedent’s separate or community property.

After a spouse dies, there are limits on the partition of a homestead. While the decedent’s ownership interest is passed along according to Texas law, heirs typically cannot force the sale of the homestead during the surviving spouse’s lifetime so long as they use it as a homestead.

This doesn’t diminish the heirs’ ownership interest in the property; it just solidifies the surviving spouse’s right to continue living there.

How the Mortgage Is Affected

Financial obligations remain intact when a property owner dies, which means someone needs to address the mortgage, property taxes, and other expenses if they plan on keeping the property. The personal representative of the decedent may notify the mortgage company of the decedent’s death and move forward from there. Options depend on the lender, how much is owed, and the new owners’ ability to repay the loan.

How to Decide Who Gets Your House

While a will may be the easiest way to decide who gets your house and how it’s passed down after you die, you may have other options available. Relying on intestacy can put family members in stressful or legally complex positions after your passing, so having a plan is important.

Texas recognizes transfer-on-death deeds. A valid transfer-on-death deed allows a named beneficiary to receive an interest in the property when the owner passes.

Married couples may also use a community property survivorship agreement in certain cases. This allows spouses to agree in writing that some or all of the community property will become the surviving spouse’s sole property when one passes away.

Available and suitable options depend on numerous factors, including the amount owed on the house, the number and distribution of your heirs, your marital status, and what you hope to do with your home.

Discuss Your Estate Planning Goals With Hargrave Law

Whether you want to create a will as part of a full estate plan or just discuss how to pass your home to your chosen beneficiaries when you pass, our team is here to help you. Schedule your consultation now by calling us at 817-968-7191 or contacting us online.