The 1997 Legislature made changes, including responsibility for a child destrying a hotel room. Check the legislative changes page. The general rule in Texas is that liability follows management. This concept will be explored in more depth later in this article. First, some general information on responsibility for debts and liabilities for one's spouse and children.
Spouses can have direct and indirect legal responsibility for debts or liabilities.
Direct responsibility occurs when a spouse signs an instrument or contract obligating himself or herself. A common example would be an application for credit. Indirect liability is based on agency principles and the doctrine of necessaries. A spouse does not act as an agent for the other spouse solely because of the marriage relationship. Each parent has the duty to support his or her child during the period that the child is a minor, and thereafter as long as the child is fully enrolled in an accredited secondary school in a program leading toward a high school diploma until the end of the school year in which the child graduates.