Can a Mother Cancel Child Support in Texas: TANF, Arrears, and Filing

A mother in Texas cannot cancel child support on her own. Child support money legally belongs to the child, not to the parent who receives it, so only a judge can end or change the obligation, and only when a specific legal ground exists. Even a signed, notarized agreement between both parents has no force until a court approves it.¹

Why Your Agreement With the Father Isn’t Enough

Texas Family Code Section 154.124 lets parents negotiate written agreements about child support, including amounts that differ from the state guidelines. The agreement is not binding, though, until a judge reviews it and finds it serves the child’s best interest. If the judge concludes the deal leaves the child worse off, the judge can reject it or send the parents back to redraft it.¹

Once approved and folded into a court order, the agreement is enforced like any other judgment. It is not enforceable as a private contract. So telling the father to stop paying by text message, email, or even a notarized letter does not change the court order. He still legally owes every payment until a judge says otherwise, and you cannot waive those payments informally.¹

If You Receive TANF or Medicaid, the State Controls the Case

When a family receives Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or certain types of Medicaid, the mother assigns her rights to child support collections to the state the moment she signs the benefits application. The state keeps those payments to reimburse itself for the cost of the benefits. Under TANF, the family receives only the first $75 in any month a payment is made; the rest goes to the state and federal governments.²

Because the state is a party to the case, you lose individual authority to waive or stop support. The Texas Office of the Attorney General must approve any motion to terminate or modify payments while benefits are active. Federal law also requires parents receiving TANF or Medicaid to cooperate with the Attorney General’s efforts to identify the noncustodial parent, establish paternity, and enforce support. Refusing to cooperate can jeopardize the family’s benefits.³

And even after the family stops receiving public assistance, the state’s claim for reimbursement of past benefits does not vanish. A later agreement between the parents to forgive past-due support does not reduce or eliminate what the Title IV-D agency can seek.

The Legal Events That Actually End Texas Child Support

Texas Family Code Section 154.006 lists the specific events that terminate a child support order. Unless the order or a written agreement says otherwise, support ends when:

The child marries.
The child is emancipated by a court order removing the disabilities of minority.
The child dies.
The child turns 18 and stops attending high school as required under Section 154.002(a). If the child is still enrolled and attending, support continues until graduation.
Genetic testing excludes the obligor as the biological father and a court terminates the parent-child relationship based on those results.
The child enlists in the armed forces and begins active duty.
The parents remarry each other, unless a nonparent or agency has been appointed conservator of the child.⁴

A change in custody can also trigger termination. If the child moves in permanently with the parent who has been paying support, that parent can file to end the obligation, and the other parent may become the new obligor. If a stepparent legally adopts the child and the paying parent’s rights are terminated, the original support order is typically extinguished because the legal parent-child relationship no longer exists.

Support for a Disabled Child Can Continue Past 18

One important exception runs the other direction. A court can order child support to continue past age 18 with no end date if the child has a mental or physical disability that requires substantial care and prevents self-support. The disability must exist, or its cause must be known to exist, on or before the child’s 18th birthday. The court can direct payments to a parent, a guardian, the adult child directly, or a special needs trust.⁴

If You Want to Reduce the Amount Instead of End It

Sometimes the real goal is to lower support, not stop it. Texas Family Code Section 156.401 allows either parent to ask for a modification if circumstances have changed materially and substantially since the last order was signed. Courts look at factors like job loss, a significant income change, or a shift in the child’s needs.

Incarceration of the paying parent for more than 180 days automatically qualifies as a material and substantial change, as does that parent’s release from prison if support was reduced or suspended during the sentence.⁵ A joint conservatorship arrangement, by itself, is not grounds for modification. The parent requesting the change carries the burden of proving the circumstances warrant it.

Past-Due Support Does Not Disappear

This is where many parents get tripped up. Even after the obligation formally ends, any unpaid balance remains legally owed. Federal regulation under 45 CFR 303.106 requires every state to treat each missed child support payment as a judgment the moment it comes due. That judgment cannot be retroactively reduced or forgiven, except for amounts that would have accrued while a modification petition was already pending and the other parent had notice.⁶

A private agreement between the parents to forgive arrears does not bind the state. If the Attorney General’s office is involved, any deal that purports to settle past support has no effect on what the agency can collect. Telling the father “don’t worry about what you owe” does not erase the debt when the state has a claim on it.

Why Informal Deals to Stop Paying Hurt the Father

If the father stops sending payments because you asked him to, and no court order has terminated the obligation, he is the one who absorbs the consequences. The state has a long list of collection tools that follow him regardless of your wishes:

A judge can hold him in contempt of court, which can carry fines and jail time.
Texas can suspend his driver’s license, professional license, hunting or fishing permit, or any other state-issued license when arrears equal three or more months of ordered support.⁷
The federal government can intercept his tax refund once arrears reach $150 (if the custodial parent receives TANF) or $500 (if not).⁸
Arrears of $2,500 or more make him ineligible for a U.S. passport.⁹
The state can place liens on his real property and garnish wages directly from his employer.

None of these consequences care whether you still want the money. The court order stays in effect until a judge changes it, and the state enforces what the order says.

How to File to End or Change the Order

If a valid legal ground exists, start by pulling the existing court order. You need the cause number, the name of the court with jurisdiction over the case, and the full legal names of both parents and all children covered. These appear on the first page of the most recent Order in Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship.

Next, get the correct court form. Texas Law Help provides standardized forms, including a Petition to Terminate Withholding for Child Support and related guided interviews.¹⁰ The local District Clerk’s office can also point you to the right paperwork. The motion must state the specific legal ground, such as the child’s graduation from high school, a custody change, or another event listed in Section 154.006.

Filing Fee and Fee Waivers

File the motion with the District Clerk in the county where the original order was issued. Under Texas Family Code Section 110.002, the filing fee for a modification or termination motion in a family law case is $80.¹¹ If you cannot afford the fee, file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs to ask the judge to waive it.¹²

Service, Hearing, and Notifying the Employer

After filing, the other parent must be formally served, usually through a sheriff, constable, or private process server. If he agrees to the motion, he can sign a waiver of service to skip that step. If your fee waiver is granted, service costs are also covered.¹²

The court then schedules a hearing where you present evidence supporting the request. If the judge approves it, the judge signs an order terminating or modifying child support. Get several certified copies from the clerk. One copy must go to the paying parent’s employer so automatic paycheck deductions stop. If the employer does not receive a termination order or official notice, the employer is required to keep withholding.¹³

1
Texas Public Law. Texas Family Code Section 154.124 – Agreement Concerning Support
2
Office of the Attorney General. Child Support and Public Assistance
3
Texas Health and Human Services. A-1120 Child Support Program Requirements and Procedures
4
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 154 – Child Support
5
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 156.401
6
eCFR. 45 CFR 303.106 – Procedures to Prohibit Retroactive Modification of Child Support Arrearages
7
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 232.003 – Suspension of License
8
Administration for Children & Families. When Is a Child Support Case Eligible for the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program
9
U.S. Department of State. Pay Child Support Before Applying for a Passport
10
Texas Law Help. Terminating Income Withholding for Child Support by Agreement
11
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 110 – Court Fees
12
Texas Law Help. Court Fees and Fee Waivers
13
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Income Withholding Frequently Asked Questions