Collaborative Child Support in Texas: How the Process Works and When It Fits

Some parents can agree on child support if they have a structured way to exchange information and work through the numbers with lawyers beside them. Texas has a statute for that: the collaborative family law process in Chapter 15 of the Family Code. Both parents sign a written agreement to try to settle, share their financial information without formal discovery, and negotiate with lawyers who have agreed not to take the case to court if the process fails. A San Antonio child support lawyer can tell you whether this process suits your case or whether mediation, negotiation or a hearing is the better route.

This guide explains what the statute requires, how the process differs from mediation, what the court still has to do, how disclosure and confidentiality work, and when collaborative law is not a good fit.

What Collaborative Law Is Under Texas Law

The collaborative process begins when the parties sign a collaborative family law participation agreement (Family Code Section 15.102). The agreement must be in a record, signed by each party, and must state that the parties intend to resolve the matter through the collaborative process, describe the nature and scope of the matter, identify each party’s collaborative lawyer and include each lawyer’s statement that the lawyer represents the party. It must also suspend court intervention while the process lasts and provide for jointly engaging any neutral professionals, experts or advisors unless the parties agree otherwise in writing (Section 15.101). A support dispute can be the matter described in the agreement, whether it is a first order, a change to an existing order or a related expense dispute.

The lawyers’ limit. A collaborative lawyer is disqualified from appearing before a court to represent a party in a proceeding related to the collaborative matter, and so are the lawyers in the same firm. The exceptions are appearing to ask the court to approve an agreement reached in the process and appearing to seek or defend an emergency order to protect a person’s health, safety, welfare or interest when a successor lawyer is not immediately available (Section 15.106). That is why the rule matters: if the process ends without an agreement, each parent needs a new lawyer for any contested hearing.

What the lawyer must tell you first. Before you sign, a prospective collaborative lawyer must assess whether the process suits you and give you enough information to weigh it against litigation, mediation, arbitration and other options. The lawyer must also tell you that the process ends if a party starts a court proceeding or asks a court to intervene, that participation is voluntary and either party may end it at any time with or without cause, and that the lawyers generally cannot represent a party in court in related matters (Section 15.111). Ask these questions before you sign anything.

How Collaborative Law Differs From Mediation

In mediation, a neutral person helps the parents and their lawyers reach agreement, and a contested hearing remains available if mediation does not work. In collaborative law, the lawyers themselves are bound by the participation agreement, and their commitment not to litigate is part of the structure. Our page on family mediation in San Antonio explains that process. The practical differences are:

• The lawyers’ role. Collaborative lawyers negotiate with the parents in the room and cannot be the lawyers for a later contest. Mediation lawyers may continue to act in court if the case does not settle.
• The commitment. Both parents agree in writing to the process and its rules. A mediation can be attended without that commitment.
• Information. The collaborative statute calls for prompt, complete and informal disclosure without formal discovery. Mediation relies on whatever has been exchanged.
• The cost of leaving. A parent who walks away from mediation keeps the same lawyer. A parent who leaves a collaborative process starts over with new counsel.

What a Collaborative Support Agreement Can Cover

The guidelines still start the analysis. A child support amount that follows the guidelines is presumed to be in the child’s best interest, and our guide to calculating child support in Texas explains the math. Parents who agree can write terms the guidelines do not spell out. Common examples include:

• The monthly amount. Including a figure that differs from the guidelines. If the court finds a written agreement on support is in the child’s best interest, it must render an order in accordance with it (Section 154.124).
• Health and dental coverage and uninsured costs. Who carries the insurance and how reimbursement works. Our page on medical and educational expense agreements covers the rules.
• School, child care and activity costs. The Family Code has no rule requiring a parent to pay for them, so an agreement is where they are addressed.
• Self-employed income. What counts as income and which business expenses are ordinary and necessary, with a neutral accountant if the parents choose one.
• Income above the guideline cap. For net resources above the statutory maximum, the court may order additional support after considering the parties’ incomes and the child’s needs (Section 154.126). Parents can agree on a method instead of leaving it to the judge.
• Future changes. When and how the parents will review support, and what each will provide if income, health coverage or schedules change.

Our post on high-income child support in Texas explains the cap in more detail. If a parent is a servicemember, our page on military child support lists the pay and deployment issues to put on the table.

Disclosure Without Formal Discovery

During the process a party must provide timely, full, candid and informal disclosure of information related to the matter without formal discovery when another party asks, and must promptly update anything that has materially changed. The parties may agree on the scope of disclosure (Section 15.109). For child support, plan to exchange:

• Recent pay stubs and the last two years of tax returns.
• Business records for a self-employed parent: profit and loss statements, bank statements and tax filings.
• Records of health insurance cost and any uninsured medical expenses.
• Child care, school and activity costs.
• Any existing order, decree or parenting plan.

Informal does not mean optional. A parent who holds back information undermines the agreement and risks the process ending.

Confidentiality and the Court Record

Communications made in the collaborative process are confidential and privileged under Sections 15.113 and 15.114. The privilege has limits. It does not cover the terms of a signed agreement, threats or plans to inflict bodily injury or commit a violent crime, plans to commit or conceal a crime, reports of suspected child abuse or neglect, or evidence in certain disputes about fraud, coercion, the enforceability of the settlement or attorney’s fees (Section 15.115). The final order a judge signs is filed with the court, so the process is private but the order is not.

Court Filings, Timing and Enforcing the Agreement

If a case is already pending, the parties must promptly file notice of the participation agreement, and the filing stays the case. If the court receives the notice at least 30 days before a proceeding date, it may not set hearings, impose discovery deadlines, require compliance with scheduling orders or dismiss the case until a party reports that the process did not produce a settlement. The parties must file a status report within 180 days and again by the first anniversary, with a motion to continue that the court must grant if the parties want to keep going, and at the second anniversary the court may set the case for trial or dismiss it without prejudice. When the process ends, each party files a notice that may not state the reason (Section 15.103).

A collaborative settlement agreement can be enforced like a written settlement agreement under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 154.071. A party is entitled to judgment on it if the agreement prominently states, in bold, capitals or underlining, that it is not subject to revocation and is signed by each party and each party’s collaborative lawyer (Section 15.105). An agreement on child support still needs to become a court order, and the existing order stays in force until the court signs a new one. If you want a change to reach back to a certain date, ask a lawyer before you start, because a change in support reaches back only to the earlier of service or the other parent’s appearance (Section 156.401(b)). Our page on modifying child support in Texas explains the grounds and dates.

When the Collaborative Process Is Not a Good Fit

• Family violence. Before you sign, the prospective lawyer must make a reasonable inquiry into whether you have a history of family violence with the other party, and if the lawyer reasonably believes you do, the lawyer may not begin or continue the process unless you ask to proceed and you and the lawyer agree on practical measures to address safety (Section 15.112).
• One parent will not disclose. The process depends on voluntary, honest disclosure.
• You need a fast ruling. The process takes agreement from both parents. If you need temporary orders or a hearing date, a contested filing may be quicker.
• A government agency is a party. Chapter 15 has a section for cases in which a governmental entity is a party (Section 15.108). If the Attorney General’s office is handling the case, ask whether the process is available and what it requires.
• You expect to litigate. If you doubt the other parent will settle, the lawyer-limit rule can cost you a lawyer you have come to rely on.

What This Means for Your Bexar County Case

1. Decide what you want settled: a first order, a change, an expense dispute or all three.
2. Gather your financial records before you talk to the other parent.
3. Ask each lawyer the questions in Section 15.111 before you sign a participation agreement.
4. Read the agreement for the lawyer limit, the scope of the matter and how neutrals are hired.
5. Keep paying and following the current order while you negotiate.
6. When you reach agreement, make sure it is written as a court order and that it covers health and dental coverage.
7. If the process breaks down, ask a lawyer about the next step before the status report dates or a hearing date arrive.

More About Child Support and Related Cases

These guides cover questions that often come up when parents try to settle support.

• Collaborative divorce in Texas: the same process in a divorce.
• Settlement negotiation and facilitation: how a negotiated deal becomes binding.
• Child support enforcement: when an agreed order is not followed.
• What a SAPCR is: the suit that sets support, custody and visitation.
• Texas child support calculator: a starting estimate.
• Fathers’ rights and child support: the issues a paying father faces.

Why San Antonio Clients Choose Barton & Associates for Child Support Cases

Barton & Associates has tried Texas cases since 2001, and the family law team includes Duane Graeff, our managing attorney with more than 26 years in Texas state and federal courts, and trial attorney Désirée Flye. Whether a collaborative process is right depends on both parents, and the lawyer limit in the statute makes the choice costly to get wrong. So we start by explaining the options, including mediation, negotiation and a hearing, and we tell you plainly what each choice risks before you sign anything. We represent paying and receiving parents. A San Antonio divorce lawyer can also address support terms when they are part of a divorce settlement.

We cannot promise a result. What we can do is tell you what the statutes require, what we recommend and what each choice risks. The first consultation is free and confidential. Our San Antonio office is at 115 Camaron Street, San Antonio, Texas 78205. You can get directions to our office before your visit. For the first meeting, bring what you can of the following, and call even if you cannot find everything.

• The child support order, the decree and any modification
• Pay stubs and tax returns for both parents, if you have them
• Business records, if either parent is self-employed
• Insurance cards and records of medical, child care and school costs
• Any proposed participation agreement or settlement terms
• Any custody order or parenting plan
• Messages with the other parent about money and the schedule
• A calendar of your key dates and deadlines

Frequently Asked Questions

What is collaborative child support?

It is a settlement process under Chapter 15 of the Family Code. The parents sign a participation agreement, share their financial information without formal discovery and negotiate with lawyers who agree not to represent them in court if the process fails (Sections 15.101, 15.106 and 15.109). The result still has to be written as a court order.

How is collaborative law different from mediation?

In collaborative law, the lawyers are bound by the participation agreement and are disqualified from representing a party in a related court proceeding if the process ends (Section 15.106). In mediation, a neutral mediator helps the parties settle, and the lawyers can continue to act if the case does not settle.

What happens to my lawyer if the process fails?

Your collaborative lawyer and the lawyers in the same firm generally cannot represent you in a court proceeding related to the matter. They may appear to ask the court to approve an agreement, or to seek or defend an emergency order if a successor lawyer is not immediately available (Section 15.106). You would need a new lawyer for a contested hearing.

Is a collaborative agreement binding?

It can be enforced like a written settlement agreement under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 154.071, and a party is entitled to judgment on it if it prominently states that it is not subject to revocation and is signed by each party and each party’s collaborative lawyer (Section 15.105). For child support, it should also become a court order.

Does a judge still have to approve the agreement?

Yes. Support is set by a court order. If the court finds that a written agreement on support is in the child’s best interest, it must render an order in accordance with the agreement (Family Code Section 154.124). Until the court signs a new order, the old one stays in force.

Can we agree on an amount different from the guidelines?

Parents may agree to terms that differ from the guideline amount, but the court must find the agreement is in the child’s best interest before it renders an order (Section 154.124). Guideline support is presumed to be in the child’s best interest, so the agreement should explain the reason for any difference. A lawyer should review it.

Can we use the process to change an existing order?

Often, if the participation agreement describes that as the matter. A change still has to be ordered by the court, and a modification reaches back only to the earlier of service or the other parent’s appearance (Section 156.401(b)). Ask a lawyer whether to file first so the date works for you.

What information do we have to share?

Each party must provide timely, full, candid and informal disclosure of information related to the matter when asked, without formal discovery, and must promptly update anything that has materially changed. The parties may agree on the scope (Section 15.109). For support, that usually means income, tax, insurance and expense records.

Is the process confidential?

Communications in the process are confidential and privileged, with limits. The privilege does not cover the terms of a signed agreement, threats of violence, plans to commit or conceal a crime, or reports of suspected child abuse or neglect, among other exceptions (Sections 15.113 through 15.115). The final order is filed with the court.

Is collaborative law safe if there has been family violence?

The prospective lawyer must make a reasonable inquiry into any family violence history before you sign. If the lawyer reasonably believes there is one, the lawyer may not begin or continue the process unless you ask to proceed and you and the lawyer agree on practical measures to address safety (Section 15.112). Tell the lawyer at the first meeting.

Can either parent leave the process?

Yes. Participation is voluntary, and a party may end the process at any time, with or without cause. Starting a court proceeding or asking a court to intervene also ends it (Section 15.111). When it ends, each party files a notice that may not state the reason (Section 15.103).

What if the Attorney General’s office is involved in my case?

Chapter 15 has a section for cases in which a governmental entity is a party (Section 15.108). Whether the collaborative process is available in a case the Attorney General is handling depends on the case, so ask a lawyer before you sign a participation agreement.

What should I bring to the first meeting about collaborative child support?

Bring the support order and any modification, recent pay records and tax returns, business records if you are self-employed, insurance and expense records, and any proposed agreement. Call even if some records are missing.

Talk With a San Antonio Child Support Attorney

A collaborative process works only when both parents are ready for it, and the lawyer-limit rule means the choice is hard to undo. Speak with a San Antonio child support attorney at Barton & Associates before you sign a participation agreement, share records or agree on a number.

Call our San Antonio office at 210-500-0000 or complete the online Free Consultation form to schedule a confidential meeting with a family law attorney in San Antonio. The office is at 115 Camaron Street, San Antonio, Texas 78205.

Main Category: Family Law
Practice Area Category: Child Support
Barton & Associates, Attorneys at Law
115 Camaron St, San Antonio, TX 78205
Office: 210-500-0000