Child Support

Resolving Child Support Issues in Tennessee

For dependable advice in determining your rights and responsibilities with respect to child support payments, contact a Nashville family law attorney at Hollins, Wagster, Weatherly & Raybin, P.C. Our lawyers can help you resolve problems in establishing your right to receive child support or your obligation to pay it, modifying child support arrangements on the basis of changed circumstances, or enforcing your rights under an existing parenting plan.

The basic child support obligations in a divorce case or paternity proceeding are calculated from worksheets under the formulas provided under the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines. The essential policy goals under the guidelines are to minimize the economic impact to the children when the parents live apart, and where applicable, to let the child share in the higher standard of living enjoyed by one or both parents.

The initial child support obligation payable by the noncustodial parent is determined from the incomes and expenses of both parents. The noncustodial parent's payment as calculated from the guidelines will be reduced depending on the number of days in a year over 92 that the child stays overnight. If that number of overnights is less than 68 in a year, however, the child support payment can be increased.

There are many situations in which the resolution of child support issues can be more complex than simply filling out worksheets to find the guidelines figure. An experienced family law attorney's advice can be extremely helpful in such cases as:

• Determining accurate income and expense figures for a parent who is self-employed or an independent contractor
• Identifying or reviewing hardship claims relating to the care of an elderly parent, the care of other children, or the parent's own medical condition
• Paying for the child's special needs, ranging from private school tuition to medical treatment not covered by insurance
• Modifying child support obligations on the basis of substantially changed circumstances, such as a change in income of 15 percent or more

In some cases, measures must be taken for child support enforcement. Our AV-rated* family law attorneys can advise you whether you need help collecting past-due payments, or if you need to resolve arrearages of your own. For additional information about your rights in any child support situation, contact a lawyer at Hollins, Wagster, Weatherly & Raybin in Nashville.

* CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties, Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings evaluate two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.