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Child support rights of grandparents with custody of a grandchild

Child support is something that many custodial parents in Texas rely on to help ensure that a child’s basic needs are met. While many people think about a mother or father being the one to receive child support payments, there is also the possibility of a grandparent seeking child support if the grandparent has custody of the child.

When a grandparent is legally appointed as the guardian over a child, they can go through the court to get a child support order. The grandparent can also seek modification orders for child support and seek help enforcing existing child support orders. Even if the grandparents haven’t gone to court to get custody of the child, they might be able to obtain a child support order if they can prove that the child has been living with the grandparents and the grandparents have been supporting the child.

In some cases, a grandparent might need to seek assistance through Medicaid or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to support the child. In those cases, the grandparent will be asked to cooperate with seeking support from the biological parents.

When a child support case is opened, each parent will have a different case, regardless of the living arrangements of the parents. That means that even if noncustodial parents reside in the same home, they will each have a different case.

Grandparents who have taken on the responsibility of raising grandchildren shouldn’t think that they have to do without child support. Seeking child support from the child’s biological parents might help the grandparents to provide more of the child’s basic needs without having to deal with severe financial stress.

Source: The Attorney General of Texas, “Frequently Asked Questions” accessed Feb. 19, 2015

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