Child Support and the Texas State Disbursement Unit

The Texas State Disbursement Unit is a facility in San Antonio that collects and records child support payments.  In a child support order, the court will order that all child support shall be paid to the State Disbursement Unit and then forwarded to the custodial parent. 

Once the Disbursement Unit receives the support, it can remit by direct deposit that money into the custodial parent’s bank account.  This keeps everything very convenient for both parties.

Sometimes parties get along and the paying parent just sends money directly to the other parent or pays for items directly (school tuition, child care, etc.), however this has the potential for causing problems later on.  For instance, there can be disagreements over what has been paid and when. If child support payments are sporadic or inconsistent they can be difficult to keep track of. 

The benefit to having the money sent through the Disbursement Unit is there is an accurate record of all support payment amounts and the date those payments were made.  The State Disbursement Unit helps protect paying parents who send in child support and helps custodial parents show any support not paid.