I escaped the kids last night and saw Hell or High Water, which starts out with two brothers in the Texas midlands who (1) are squeezed between a bank and a child support plaintiff, (2) need cash, and (3) have a lot of guns. All four of us (age range 19-60) were impressed by the film, but the retired Wall Streeter wondered “Why couldn’t they get a loan?”
Readers: What did you think?
[How realistic is the child support squeeze under Texas family law? The state caps child support profits, which means that the revenue from a one-night encounter with a high-income Texan is less than the median income of a college graduate. On the other hand, when a low-income or medium-income defendant is sued, the Texas guidelines are not that different from other U.S. states. The state government is aggressive in enforcing court orders against the losers of the state’s winner-take-all custody system (recent example: “Texas to Tie Car Registration Renewal to Child Support”).
How realistic is the reverse mortgage squeeze? nolo.com explains reverse mortgages. It looks as though a reverse mortgage can be undone by paying a big lump sum when the original homeowner dies (source).]