Dad Unsuccessfully Seeks Credit for Child Support for Other Expenses

Tennessee child support case summary on enforcement.

Cynthia Anne Knop v. Aaron Charles Knop

The parties to this Greene County, Tennessee, were married for 16 years and were the parents of two minor children.  They were dentists who practiced together until the wife’s disability.  After the wife filed for divorce, they were able to resolve most issues, and in 2017, the court approved their marital dissolution agreement and permanent parenting plan.

The husband was ordered to pay child support of $3000 per month.

In 2018, the wife filed a motion alleging that the husband hadn’t paid the full child support obligation, and other allegations.  A hearing was held before a special master, and the court approved the special master’s report.  The husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The court of appeals first addressed division of certain accounts.  It then turned to the question of whether the husband should have been credited for premiums paid on a whole life insurance policy belonging to the wife.  The premiums were over $44,000, and the special master had given the husband credit for only half this amount.  The appeals court held that he was not entitled to any credit.  However, since the wife had not appealed this issue, the husband was allowed to keep the 50% credit.

The court then turned to the issue of whether the husband had made payments for the children’s medical bills as required by the decree.  The husband argued that he was not notified of these expenses in a timely fashion.  However, the appeals court carefully reviewed the evidence and held that he was still required to pay.

The court then addressed issues regarding car insurance, since the parties had agreed to pay vehicle expenses for the children.  The father argued that he should have received credit for finding lower-priced car insurance that what the mother obtained.  However, the appeals court noted that he hadn’t presented evidence of the alleged lower cost.

Finally, the father argued that he should have received credit for one of the month’s child support, since he incurred significant expenses for the children during that month.  However, after reviewing the evidence, the appeals court agreed that he was not entitled to the credit as a matter of law.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s judgment.

No. E2019-01035-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 29,  2020).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Child Support Collection & Enforcement 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.