Based on each parent's income and the cost of caring for their children, child support is periodic financial support paid from one parent to the other. Depending on the state, the exact amount of child support will be determined by taking into account such things as:

• The number of children before the court
• The number of children for whom the obligor has the duty to support who are not before the court
• Statutory guidelines
• Health, education, and childcare expenses
• Each parent's income
• Extraordinary and specialized care expenses

Failure to pay child support may result in enforcement proceedings. If a contempt proceeding is successful, the party prosecuting the case may be awarded legal fees and sanctions. If the failure to support the child has been of sufficient duration, the nonpayment of support may provide a ground for termination of parental rights. On the Texas Attorney General's website, the following appears:

Children do best when they receive the emotional and financial support of both parents. When children do not receive consistent support, it can affect their quality of life. When child support payments aren't made, the Office of the Attorney General can take many actions to enforce the court order. These can include court action, license suspension, credit reporting, passport denial and more.

Might failure to pay child support be construed as a form of child neglect? Child neglect can take a number of forms (See Fam. Code § 261.001):