Dad Must Pay Child Support for Disabled Son, Even After Adulthood

The mother and father of two children were divorced in Bradley County, Tennessee, in 2006.  They entered into a permanent parenting plan, and the father was ordered to pay child support.  This was ultimately extended to the time when the youngest child graduated from high school.

In 2019, the mother filed a petition to extend child support past the age of 21 for the youngest child, who was born in 2000.  She alleged that the child had been declared disabled by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and had been drawing Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The father made a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, but this was denied by Judge J. Michael Sharp.

Trial was held in 2022, and the trial court held that the child was severely disabled, with several learning and developmental issues.  Judge Sharp held that the child would never be able to maintain full employment or independence.    This was based upon a psychologist’s testimony that he would never progress beyond the developmental level of an eight- or nine-year-old child.  He also ordered a vocational evaluation.  The father was ordered to pay child support going forward indefinitely.  Ultimately, the amount was set at $980 per month.  After some post-trial motions, the father appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals first addressed the issue of whether the lower court had jurisdiction.  The father argued that since the petition had been filed after the child support obligation terminated, the lower court no longer had subject matter jurisdiction over the case.  The child had graduated in May, and the mother filed the petition in June.

The trial court had found that since the SSA determination had happened before graduation, that the normal rule did not apply.  The appeals court looked at the relevant statute and noted that the duty to pay continues in the case of disability.  Since there had been a finding of disability, the child support was still in effect, and the trial court maintained jurisdiction.  It therefore affirmed that portion of the lower court’s order.

The father next argued that the trial court should not have set the amount of child support until after the vocational assessment.  However, upon careful reading of the lower court’s order, the appeals court concluded that while the vocational assessment was necessary, it was not a condition to the resumption of child support.  Therefore, it also affirmed this portion of the lower court’s order.

The mother requested attorney’s fees for the appeal, but this request was denied.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the lower court.

No. E2023-01152-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 4, 2024).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Child Support Laws in Tennessee.