Franklin, TN, Child Support Attorney
Both parents are obligated to support their children financially, regardless of whether the parents are married, divorced, separating, or never married at all. At Fort, Holloway, & Rogers, LLC, our Franklin, TN, child support attorneys are ready to assist you throughout the legal process, representing you in court, presenting arguments and evidence and advocating for the best interests of the children. Count on us to ensure child support is calculated fairly and that any deviation from the Tennessee child support guidelines is well accounted for.
What Every Parent Needs to Know About Child Support in Tennessee
When parents with minor children separate, the children are often the ones who are affected the most. In Tennessee, child support is a mandatory financial payment to promote parental responsibility and provide a standard of living for a child’s adequate growth. This monetary support ordered by the court is provided throughout childhood to cover the child’s living expenses, including food, housing, clothing, education and medical care.
While both the custodial and non-custodial parents contribute a fair share to cover child-rearing costs, child support is generally paid by the parent who does not live with their children.
Child Support Process: Step-By-Step for Franklin Parents
The Tennessee Child Support Guidelines consist of specific pages of laws, rules, formulas, worksheets and schedules that determine how much monthly child support the non-custodial parent must pay to the parent with primary custody. After completing several pages of worksheets and consulting the child support schedule in the guidelines, the parents will arrive at a basic child support obligation.
Calculate the Child Support Under the Guidelines
The court calculates a monthly financial obligation for the parents based on a series of factors, including:
- Combined adjusted gross incomes of both parents.
- The number of children to be supported.
- Each parent’s allotted time with the children.
- Other relevant factors, such as child care expenses, the cost of health insurance premiums for the children and unreimbursed medical expenses.
Calculating child support starts with combining the gross incomes of both parents and making adjustments under the guidelines. Income is more than just salary or wages. The guidelines include 24 different kinds of income that should be included. Automated tools are also available to simplify the calculation process.
Determine Possible Deviations
The amount calculated under the guidelines is only presumed to be the appropriate amount. Deviations are sometimes allowed if a parent has to incur substantial travel expenses for parenting time or if the children have extraordinary expenses, such as medical needs, education, summer camp or costly extracurricular activities like band or athletics. The judge is allowed to deviate up or down from the guidelines amount if convinced that the guidelines amount is unjust and a deviation would be in the best interest of the child.
Pay the Court-Ordered Support Obligation
The court orders the non-custodial parent to pay a monthly amount of child support to the primary residential parent. There will also be a child support obligation for children who spend exactly equal time with each parent unless both parents have exactly the same income and expenses for the child. This obligation lasts until the children turn 18 in most cases, or in some instances longer if the children are still in high school or have special needs.
Child support payments are often made through Income Withholding Orders, a legal document requiring an employer to deduct child support from an employee’s wage. If this is not possible, parents can pay the monthly obligation through preferred payment methods, including MoneyGram, automatic withdrawal, credit card or TouchPay.
Why Work With a Child Support Attorney in Franklin, TN?
Child support calculation, review and adjustment demand precision and compliance. The guidelines become even more complicated in situations where the parents share custodial time equally or where custody of multiple children is split between the parents.
In some cases, spouses underreport their income to pay less in support, at the expense of the children and the custodial parent who must support them. Some spouses even go as far as hiding assets in creative ways or become willfully unemployed or underemployed. Working with a child support attorney helps ensure your spouse or co-parent reports their income completely and correctly, so child support can be calculated fairly.
Why Trust Our Franklin, TN, Child Support Lawyers?
From complex paperwork to detailed calculations, we recognize the challenges in child support requirements and legal representations. Trust us for a personalized, empathetic approach to family law, offering clear communication and strategic representation.
Our experienced Tennessee child support attorneys can guide you through the complicated task of reporting all of your and your spouse’s income accurately. If you are asking the judge to deviate from the guidelines or opposing such a motion, we’ll put together a case backed by factual evidence and appropriate legal arguments to ensure you and your children are properly supported and not taken advantage of when it comes to child support obligations.
Contact Fort, Holloway, & Rogers, LLC for Reliable Child Support Legal Assistance
Take the next step in a divorce or child custody dispute and share your concerns with our child support lawyer in Franklin, TN. We offer honest advice and a strategic approach to meeting child support needs. Get in touch with us for a confidential consultation. You can also speak to our attorneys at 615-791-7575 to get started.
