How Does Custody Impact Child Support Obligations in Tennessee?

The number of overnights each parent has with the children, according to the court-ordered parenting plan, is one of the factors in Tennessee’s child support guidelines.

Most aspects of divorce vary from one case to another. Couples work out their own property settlement agreements and parenting plans during mediation, and judges sign off on the arrangements the parents have chosen for themselves. Tennessee is an equitable division state, so when cases go to trial, there is no presumption that the judge must divide the marital property equally; the judge can divide it in whichever way he or she thinks is fairest to both spouses. As for family court decisions about parenting time, judges must consider more than a dozen factors that form the best interests of the children, and just as no two families are alike, no two parenting plans are alike. Child support, however, is based on a statewide formula, so it is one of the most predictable aspects of divorce, even though it is also one of the most irksome. A Murfreesboro family law attorney can help if the family court’s decisions have left you with an unfair child support burden.

The Parenting Plan is a Prerequisite for a Child Support Order

The main factors in the Tennessee child support formula are the children’s reasonable work-related childcare expenses, health insurance premiums for the children, each parent’s share of parenting time, and each parent’s separate income. Therefore, the court cannot calculate child support until it has signed off on a parenting plan drafted by the parents or issued one at trial.

Because child support orders are based on how many overnights the children spend with each parent, it is especially important to follow the parenting plan. If your ex does not exercise his or her parenting time as indicated in the parenting plan, it puts an unfair financial burden on you because there are days when your ex is contributing neither time nor money to the children’s care. If this happens, you have the right to petition the court to enforce the child support order or modify the parenting plan.

How Does Child Support Work for Blended Families?

You can stop paying alimony if your ex-spouse remarries in many cases, but your ex’s new marriage does not affect your child support order. The court assumes that stepparents do not contribute to the financial support of their stepchildren. In practice, it is not so easy to itemize a family’s finances. You might pay 100% of the mortgage payment for your house, where your stepchildren sometimes live, while paying child support for your own children, who spend some days each week with your ex, where their stepfather pays the mortgage. Step-relatives may be a reason to modify a parenting plan, but they are not a reason to modify a child support order.

Contact a Murfreesboro Co-Parenting and Child Support Lawyer

A family law attorney can help you if your child support obligations are unmanageable. Contact David L. Scott in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, or call (615)896-7656 to set up a consultation.