Tennessee calculates child support with an income shares worksheet based on both parents’ incomes and the parenting schedule. At Wise Law, the Nashville office of Wise & Associates, child support cases start with an upfront flat fee between $1,500 and $5,000, and a modification generally requires a significant variance of at least 15 percent.
How Does Tennessee Calculate Child Support?
Tennessee uses an income shares model under the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1240-02-04). The guidelines estimate what both parents would spend on the child if they lived together, then divide that amount by each parent's share of their combined income.
- Each parent's gross income is determined, including wages, self-employment income, and other sources.
- Adjustments are made for other children each parent supports.
- The basic support obligation comes from the guidelines schedule for the parents' combined income and number of children.
- Each parent's share follows their percentage of combined income.
- Add-ons include the child's health insurance premium, work-related child care, and recurring uninsured medical expenses.
- The parenting time adjustment accounts for the number of days the child spends with each parent each year.
What Is the Child Support Worksheet?
The worksheet is the state's calculation form. It is completed in every case, including agreed cases, and filed with the parenting plan. Parents can agree to a different amount only if the court finds that the guidelines amount would be unjust or inappropriate and that the deviation is in the child's best interests.
How Does Parenting Time Affect Support?
The parenting schedule changes support. The more days the alternate residential parent spends with the child each year, the more the worksheet adjusts that parent's obligation. That is why the parenting plan and the support calculation are prepared together.
When Can Child Support Be Modified?
A parent can ask to modify support when there is a significant variance between the current order and the amount the guidelines would produce now. For most orders, that means a difference of at least 15 percent. Common causes include a change in income, a change in the parenting schedule, or a change in health insurance or child care costs.
A modification generally applies only from the date the petition is filed and the other parent receives notice. Support that is already past due cannot be reduced retroactively.
How Long Does Child Support Last?
Support generally continues until the child turns 18, or until the child graduates from high school or the child's class is scheduled to graduate, whichever comes first, if the child is still in high school at 18.
How Is Child Support Enforced in Davidson County?
- Income withholding from the paying parent's wages.
- Contempt proceedings in the court that entered the order.
- State enforcement tools through the Tennessee child support program, including license revocation, tax refund intercepts, and liens.
In Davidson County, support in a divorce is enforced in the Circuit or Chancery Court that entered the order, and support between parents who were never married is generally handled in Juvenile Court.
How Wise Law Handles This
Frequently Asked Questions
What model does Tennessee use for child support?
The income shares model, which divides the child’s estimated costs between the parents by their share of combined income.
Does parenting time change child support in Tennessee?
Yes. The worksheet adjusts support based on the number of days the child spends with each parent each year.
How much does income have to change to modify support?
A modification generally requires a significant variance of at least 15 percent between the current order and the amount the guidelines produce now.
Can past-due child support be reduced?
No. A modification generally applies only from the date the petition is filed and the other parent receives notice.
When does child support end in Tennessee?
Generally at 18, or at high school graduation or the class’s scheduled graduation, whichever comes first, if the child is still in high school at 18.
How much does a child support case cost at Wise Law?
At Wise Law, child support cases start with an upfront flat fee between $1,500 and $5,000, and contested hearings are priced before each begins.
Related Reading
- Nashville child support lawyer
- Pricing and staged flat fees
- Child support in Kentucky and Tennessee
- Permanent parenting plans in Tennessee
Talk to a Nashville Child Support Lawyer
Consultations are free and by phone. Book a time, then call the office at your scheduled time.
Wise Law: 4235 Hillsboro Pike, Suite 300, Nashville, TN 37215 · (615) 208-9190 · Book a free phone consultation
Wise Law is the Nashville office of Wise & Associates, Louisville, Kentucky.
Attorney advertising. This article provides general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.