Taking Responsibility for the Children: Tennessee Child Support
- At August 24, 2012
- By Miles Mason
- In Child Support, Home
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Tennessee Child Support: Taking Responsibility for the Children
Tennessee Child Support: Taking Responsibility for the Children
Unfortunately, nearly half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. While everyone who has been married has hoped and dreamed of “forever” the reality is a number of things may make “forever” an impossibility. If “forever” is no longer your reality, consulting with an experienced divorce attorney is the best way to protect your rights and the rights of your children.
Although the decision to divorce can be the result of a number of different scenarios, the general areas of life that it impacts are universal. Understandably, individuals going through a divorce are often concerned about the laws surrounding child support and custody. The laws in Tennessee acknowledge the responsibility of both parents for care for the children and the state has enacted laws to ensure that children are cared for to the best of both parents’ abilities.
In Tennessee, child support payments are generally determined by balancing the income of the parents and the number of children with the parents’ respective time with and responsibility for their children. The Tennessee Department of Human Services administers child support payments and can provide some basic guidelines with respect to income, number of children and anticipated payments if you are curious. While the information provided by the department is useful, an attorney licensed to practice in Tennessee can help you compile the evidence you need and make the necessary calculations to ensure that any agreement reached is in the best interest of your child or children.
Occasionally people feel that they can handle their own divorces and while the law certainly allows individuals to do this, it is rarely recommended when children are involved. You may think that working the divorce out with just your former spouse will result in a quick and easy divorce. But it is important to remember that consulting with an attorney does not mean your divorce will be unnecessarily heated and contentious. In fact, having an attorney who can guide you through the process and who can make sure your rights and the rights of your children are being protected often makes things proceed much more smoothly. Knowing that you have an experienced and thorough local Memphis lawyer on your side should make you confident that this transition will proceed as smoothly and quickly as possible.
You may be wondering what qualifies as an expense for child support, child support can be ordered for things like food and clothing, housing expenses, child care, education and extracurricular activities. As we’ve stated before, the goal is to provide for the children to the best of the parents’ abilities which is why there is often such a huge difference in the child support awards from one family to the next. This is why your average couple may have a modest child support award but a celebrity couple will have an award in an unthinkable amount. The law requires that the awards are made based on the parents’ abilities and the needs of the child or children.
Sometimes things change after a divorce and you may feel that your former spouse isn’t using the child support payments for the child’s benefit or you may not be receiving the child support payments you need to take care of your child. In these instances it is important to remember that having an attorney who is familiar with your case can smooth out these issues if they arise. A simple phone call to your former spouse’s attorney may be all it takes to fix the issue.
In the event that the needs of the children or the circumstances of a parent change, your Memphis Tennessee family law attorney can request a change in the child support and custody orders. These changes could include increased or decreased visitation with one parent and corresponding changes in child support payments, additional child support payments to cover unexpected expenses or a reduction in child support payments as a result of a change in employment or job loss.
Having a Tennessee attorney on your side will help you protect the rights of your child throughout the entire divorce process.
Memphis divorce attorney, Miles Mason, Sr., JD, CPA, practices family law exclusively with the Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC in Memphis, Tennessee. To learn more about Tennessee child support laws, read and view:
