Elon Musk is one of the world’s richest men. He is also a new Texan, having moved here some years ago. Most everyone reading this blog post is aware of that. However, one of the things that you may not be aware of is that Elon Musk is also involved in a child custody battle. Musk has filed a child custody petition here in Texas. His former partner, Grimes, has filed a similar petition in California. This is largely a jurisdictional issue that involves the courts determining which venue is appropriate.
What is jurisdiction?
Jurisdiction is the ability of a court to issue rulings in a case. Jurisdiction in a Texas child custody case can become quite complex. We first need to look at the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). The UCCJEA is a federal statute related to child custody jurisdiction. Each state in the country has parts of the UCCJEA codified within its family laws. Texas is no exception to this.
The Texas Family Code states that a Texas family court has jurisdiction for a child custody case when the child has lived in Texas with his parent for at least six consecutive months before the custody case was filed. Texas would also have jurisdiction over the case if the child resided in Texas for at least six months with another person acting as that child’s parent. Using the language of the Texas Family Code Texas would become the Home State.
However, jurisdiction is not always that clear-cut. With families being hypermobile currently, your child may have lived in Texas for stretches but not quite long enough to qualify as a home state under the law. In that case, a Texas court would need to look at several different considerations. In short, the connection of the child to Texas would be tested. Only then, could Texas be determined as the child’s home state.
What is the situation with Elon Musk and his children?
Now that we know more about the law in Texas, we can apply the law to Mr. Musk’s situation. Musk and his former partner are engaged in dueling child custody cases. Elon Musk filed his child custody case in Texas. Grimes moved to California in 2023 with two of their children. Many people have speculated that this was done to avoid the $2760.00 per month child support cap. California, as one might imagine, has more favorable laws for child support than Texas.
The argument put forth by Grimes is that Elon Musk kept custody of their three-year-old son from her. This was against her wishes. Grimes further argues that jurisdiction is proper in California. California has no cap on child support. The argument Mr. Musk sets forth in his child custody petition is that Texas is the home state for these children because they resided here when he filed his custody case in 2023. Grimes continues to argue in her petition that the children resided with her in California since 2022.
Many child custody cases revolve around issues of possession and visitation
Parents put forth the best arguments that they can to determine who has primary custody, for example. The situation involving Elon Musk and his children would certainly involve similar questions. However, his case is more complicated. Before questions about custody may be answered, the jurisdictional issues must be dealt with. Which state, Texas or California, has the right to make decisions about the Musk children?
Issues concerning the service of the process
in Texas, a person has a right to be served personally with notice that a lawsuit has been filed against him or her. Personal service is the preferred method to convey notice of a lawsuit. A law enforcement officer or private process server will physically take court documents and a citation. Then, that person will attempt to personally hand them to the respondent of a civil lawsuit. The petitioner informs the process server of the probable location for the respondent.
From there, the respondent has a responsibility to respond to the petition. For Elon Musk, the same rules apply. In November 2023, Grimes attempted to have Elon Musk personally served with notice of her California lawsuit. However, Mr. Musk was never personally served with notice of the lawsuit. Rather, lawsuit paperwork was left with security personnel at various companies owned by Mr. Musk.
Child support issues in Texas
the uniform Interstate Family Support Act relates to child support issues on an Interstate basis. Like the UCC JEA, the UIFSA deals with subjects related to child custody across the nation. It is especially important when dealing with situations where parents reside in multiple states. Texas must have jurisdiction over Grimes, using the example of Elon Musk’s case, to issue rulings on child custody and support.
Assumedly, Grimes is no longer a resident of Texas. She has established California as her residence. Elon Musk is now left in a situation where he would need to be able to establish that Texas has jurisdiction over her even though she no longer resides here. There are a handful of ways for Texas to establish personal jurisdiction over a nonresident. The simplest way would be to personally serve the nonresident with the process here in Texas. That, however, does not appear to be an option in this situation.
The more likely avenue to establish personal jurisdiction over Grimes would be to provide evidence that Grimes resided in Texas with the children at some point. Almost assuredly, this is possible given that Grimes did reside in Texas for some time.
Maximum child support in Texas
One of the more intriguing aspects of this story relates to the issue of child support. In Texas, child support is typically calculated by taking a percentage of a non-custodial parent’s net monthly resources. That percentage varies depending on the number of children before the court. Following the guideline levels of child support, for three children it would follow that 30% of the noncustodial parent’s net monthly resources would be paid for child support.
This is where the $2760 figure comes from as it relates to Elon Musk. In 2019, child support began being calculated off of only the first $9,200 of a non-custodial parent’s net monthly resources. Essentially, a court does not have to consider any income for non-custodial parents over and above the $9,200 level. This $9,200 level is an increase over and above the prior limit of $8,550.
These are, to be clear, not a hard and fast rule for courts to follow. The number one consideration for a court when issuing orders regarding your children or Elon Musk’s is the child’s best interests. Due to considering the child’s best interest, it is possible and even likely that the maximum amount of child support for three children can be more than $2,760.00 per month. Depending upon the needs and circumstances of the child the maximum amount of child support is very likely to increase over this number.
What are the income and resources of the non-custodial parent?
Let’s suppose that Elon Musk wins the argument with Grimes and Texas is determined to have jurisdiction over the child custody case. From there, the Texas court will be tasked with figuring out the net monthly resources of Elon Musk. This can be a complex subject for regular people like you and me. However, it becomes especially difficult when you consider that Elon Musk has countless streams of income.
As one of the richest men in the world, the income guidelines and child support laws of Texas do not account for someone like him. While most Texan incomes come in around the numbers discussed earlier, Elon Musk does not. He earns in a matter of seconds what many Americans earn over an entire year. Seemingly, then, it will be difficult to argue that it is in the best interest of his children that the child support he pays be capped at $2,760.00 per month.
With that said, if you are a relatively high-income earner then figuring out your net resources is important for child support. Rather than guessing at this issue or leaving it up to chance why not reach out to the Law Office of Bryan Fagan today? Our experienced attorneys know how to address subjects like this. We are diligent about helping clients determine an accurate amount of net monthly resources. This is true whether you are a custodial or non-custodial parent. A free-of-charge consultation with one of our experienced family law attorneys is available six days per week.
Calculation of income
Disagreement between parents in the world of Texas child support usually comes down to the calculation of the non-custodial parent’s income. This can be a difficult analysis given the nature of work in 2024. Not only do people like Elon Musk have multiple sources of income but regular, everyday working people do as well. This presents a unique set of challenges for attorneys on both sides of the case. Ultimately, determining net monthly income is important to protect the well-being of a child. Your child deserves to have child support paid based on an accurate reflection of the non-custodial parent’s income.
When a case comes down to details like this it is important to understand all the different factors at stake. Many parents overlook the small details of a case. This is understandable given that there are many considerations in a child support case. On top of that, some parents are not as forthcoming with information about their income as they ought to be. When the well-being of your child depends upon an accurate figure of child support that means you should strongly consider working with an experienced family law attorney. Helping to submit discovery requests and otherwise ask intelligent questions about income is what a good family law attorney does.
There are many ways for a parent to hide or avoid a direct viewing of their income. Income and a child support case tend to be a snapshot in time. A more accurate view of the situation would be to assess child support based on the future earning capacity of a parent. Many times, this involves the parent making an argument that their income is about to decrease for any number of reasons. An attorney’s job is to help you see through these uncertainties to help capture an accurate amount of income.
Determining child support based on the best interests of your children
It would be difficult to argue that the best interest of Elon Musk’s children is served by him paying a minimal amount of child support. At the same time, there is no guarantee in Texas family law that a family will be able to continue living in the manner to which they have become accustomed after a relationship ends. Therefore, Grimes and her children should not necessarily expect to be able to live the same lifestyle that they have become accustomed to during their lives in Texas.
The key to a child support case is finding a middle ground. A Texas family court must determine the best interests of the child first. This considers the child’s safety, educational needs, health, and emotional well-being. From there, the court attempts to consider what amount of child support is appropriate given all of these factors. In Elon Musk’s situation, his net worth and yearly income are both more than the gross domestic product of many sovereign nations. What should this tell you?
This should tell you that, despite the headline, Elon Musk is very unlikely to only pay $2,760 in child support in Texas. Rather, the best interest of his children in combination with his income likely points to an amount of child support far higher than this number. It should not surprise any of us that news organizations would seize upon the opportunity to put Elon Musk’s name in a headline in connection with his children. Elon Musk is likely to pay much more in child support than the average monthly wage of many Americans.
Preparing for a Texas child support case
The key to any family law case is preparation. The more diligent you can be when preparing for a case the more likely you are to accomplish your goals. This is the simple reality of the situation. The more preparation you put into the case the better off you will be. This is true on many fronts. First, separation in your case allows you to focus on goal setting. Some people go into a family law case with no goals at all. These people will simply hope to escape the case in one piece. This is not a good approach. Rather, having a goal for your case allows you to focus on what you consider to be most important.
From there, developing a strategy geared towards accomplishing your goals is also important. A strategy developed around goal setting puts you on a productive path within the case. The more focused your goals and strategy are around your children the better off your family will be. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan can tell you that families who work together on these issues tend to develop closer and more functional co-parenting relationships. These co-parenting relationships are the bedrock of the family.
Finally, do not presume that your situation has much of anything to do with Elon Musk’s. While the law applies equally to all Texans, it is not true that your circumstances are the same as Elon Musk’s. There is likely quite a bit that we do not know about his situation. Do not lose track of your situation by looking to celebrities and their circumstances. Rather, focus more on your life and your family. Doing so helps your children and helps you maintain peace of mind.
The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is here to serve you
The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan thank you for choosing to spend part of your day with us here on our blog. We offer free-of-charge consultations with our experienced family law attorneys six days a week. These consultations come at no risk to you. Simply come and share your situation with us. We are happy to sit down with you and discuss your circumstances.
Asking questions and getting a feel for our office is what we would hope to accomplish with you in one of these free-of-charge consultations. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan has physical office locations in every major metropolitan area in Texas. We are here to serve you and your family.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law. Before signing a document or negotiating on a subject you do not know well, contact our office. We look forward to the opportunity of serving you during an important part of your life. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is on your side
Evan Hochschild was raised in Houston, TX and graduated from Cypress Creek High School. He went on to graduate from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX with an undergraduate degree in Political Science. While in college, Evan was a four-year letterman on the Cross Country team.
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncle before him, Evan attended law school after he completed in his undergraduate studies. He graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law and has practiced in a variety of areas in the law- including family law.
Mr. Hochschild is guided by principles which place the interests of clients first. Additionally, Evan seeks to provide information and support for his clients with the heart of a teacher.
Evan and his wife have four small children together. He enjoys afternoons out and about with his family, teaching Sunday school at his church and exercising. A veteran attorney of fourteen years, Mr. Hochschild excels in communicating complex ideas in family law simply and directly.
