Dad Liable for Back Child Support for Previously Unknown Teenage Child

Tennessee child support case summary and name change.

Katarina Parrish v. Michael Griggs

This Parrish County, Tennessee, paternity case was filed when the child was a teenager.  DNA testing established that the father was the child’s biological father even though, shortly after the child’s birth, the father claimed that the mother had informed him that he was not the father.  The father made a petition for custody, and a two-day trial was held.  The trial court changed the child’s surname to that of the father, but named the mother the primary residential parent.  The father was ordered to pay child support retroactive to the date of the child’s birth, an amount totaling over $160,000.  The father then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals first noted that the well-settled rule is that biological parents must support their children until the age of majority, regardless of court orders.  This normally includes retroactive support to the time of birth, but there is a Tennessee statute which limits retroactive support in some cases for equitable reasons.  One factor is whether the father knew he was the father, and the efforts made by the mother to notify him.

But in this case, after reviewing the evidence before the lower court, the appeals court agreed that the father was aware of the child and his possible parentage.  It reviewed the lower court’s order and found that the lower court had weighed the equitable concerns and decided in favor of the mother.  The appeals court reminded the father that it should not substitute its judgment for that of the trial court in such matters.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s judgment with regard to the child support.

The mother argued on appeal that the trial court erred in changing the child’s surname.  The father had not requested the change, and had not presented any evidence that the name should be changed.  For this reason, the appeals court agreed with the mother and reversed that part of the order changing the child’s name.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part the Juvenile Court’s judgment.

No. W2015-02504-COA-R3-JV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 25, 2017).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Child Support Laws in Tennessee.

See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring actual examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.