High Income Parents Have a Duty to Share Through Tennessee Child Support

Tennessee child support law in Tennessee family law from Supreme Court of Tennessee.

Helen Matlock Nash vs. Charles Mulle – Tennessee Child Support Law

Once a parent is a high-income earner, there is an expectation that their behavior includes providing financially for a child’s future, so says the Supreme Court of Tennessee in this early and continually cited decision.  And, with those financial resources, even when parents separate and divorce, the court is empowered to require parents to behave responsibly, including putting money aside into a college trust fund, maintained by the primary residential parent.

Melissa Alice Matlock was the one child born to Charles Mulle and Helen Nash.  From the time she was born in 1981, the Father had “nothing” to do with the Child or the Mother.  In 1984, paternity was established and a child support order was set at $200 per month.  In 1990, child support was increased to $3,092.62 per month, of which $1,780.17 was reserved for a trust fund to be established for the Child’s college education.

The Father’s net monthly income was determined to be $14,726.98.  The Father’s earning history started at approximately $30,000 per year and rose to $192,000 by 1988, the next year $292,000, and the year after that $260,000.  Generally, when a parent’s income exceeds $6,250 per month, the court has the discretion to order such additional amounts of child support as are appropriate to the circumstances of the case.

The Supreme Court took pains to set forth language from precedents more than 100-years old to emphasize that a parent “must provide support ‘in a manner commensurate with his means and station in life.’” (The court was here referencing Evans vs. Evans, a case from 1911).  The Supreme Court was clear that a child should benefit from the superior earning capacity of parents, no matter their marital circumstances.

The Father’s own arguments worked strongly against him, as the Supreme Court stated he evidenced a “lack of care” for his child.  The court characterized as “simply backwards” the Father’s argument that his absence of relationship with his daughter negated any obligation for him to fund her college education.  The court went on to add “It is precisely when natural feelings of care and concern are absent, and no parent-child relationship has been developed, that the court must award child support in a manner that best mirrors what an appropriate contribution from an interested parent would be.”

By contrast to the Father, the Mother, raising the Child on her own, had an income of approximately $42,000 per year.

The case was remanded back to the trial court with the explanation that it was not limited to cap child support on the Father’s first $6,250 per month of income, nor was it required to impose child support at 21% of the Father’s entire income.  It also instructed that the trial court could award moneys during the Child’s minority that would benefit the Child after she turned 18-years of age.

Helen Matlock Nash vs. Charles Mulle, 846 S.W.2d 803 (Tenn. 1993).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

NOTE: In the new Income Shares Model child support guidelines and in Tennessee statutory law, the burden of proving need has been modified.  See Caps on Tennessee Child Support for Parents with Greater Than $10,000 per Month Net Income.

For more information, see Tennessee Child Support Answers to FAQ’s.  For legal updates, news, analysis, and commentary, visit our Tennessee Family Law Blog and its Child Support category.  A Memphis child support attorney from the Miles Mason Family Law Group can help you with Tennessee child support issues including setting or modifying child support. To schedule your confidential consultation about Tennessee child support, call us today at (901) 683-1850.