Child Support Not Affected by Receipt of Pension

Tennessee child support case summary on income determination.

Brianne Marie (Lane) Baker v. Kenneth Dean Baker

Child Support Not Affected by Receipt of Pension

The mother and father in this Montgomery County, Tennessee, case were married in 2004 and had two daughters.  The father was stationed in Germany in the Army, but the marriage deteriorated, and in 2016, the mother and daughters returned to the United States and lived with her parents.  She worked briefly, and then cared for her grandparents.

In 2016, the father filed an action in federal court under the Hague Convention to have the children returned to Germany.  When that was unsuccessful, he moved back to Tennessee.

The mother filed for divorce in 2016.  In 2019, the trial court, Judge Ross H. Hicks, granted the mother the divorce.  In 2020, the trial court issued another order deciding the other issues.  The mother was named the primary residential parent, and the father was ordered to pay $1,064 per month child support.

The father appealed various issues, including the child support, to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.   The appeals court first tackled the issue of child support, which focused on a determination of the parties’  income.

The mother had been awarded a portion of the father’s military retirement, and based upon that award, the court set the mother’s income as $1,500 per month.  The father argued that the alimony award, $1,300 per month, should have been included in the mother’s income.  But the appeals court pointed out that alimony is not included in the definition of income contained in the child support guidelines.

The father also argued that since he had retired, the wife’s income under his military pension should have been included as part of the child support calculation.  But once again, the court pointed out that the guidelines exclude retirement pay.

After analyzing the evidence, the Court of Appeals concluded that the trial court had properly computed the wife’s income for purposes of child support.  Accordingly, it affirmed the child support award.

After addressing a number of other issues, the Court of Appeals affirmed in all respects.  The court assessed the costs of appeal against the father, but denied the mother’s request for attorney’s fees.

No. M2020-00374-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 28,  2021).

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.