Retroactive Child Support Allowed to Birth or Separation in Tennessee
- At July 31, 2012
- By Miles Mason
- In Child Support
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Retroactive Child Support in Tennessee Allowed to Birth or Separation
Retroactive Child Suport in Tennessee Allowed to Birth or Separation
[See, Back Child Support Can Be Limited to 5 Yrs: New Law in 2017]
The Tennessee Child Support Guidelines are very specific. Support can be ordered back to the date of birth (including birthing expenses) or separation in a divorce. Some Tennessee parents have been ordered to pay up to 17 years in arrears. All parents should take this provision very seriously.
As of Oct. 2021, the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines read:
1240-2-4-.06 RETROACTIVE SUPPORT.
(1) Unless the rebuttal provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 36-2-311(a)(11) or 36-5-
101(e) have been established by clear and convincing evidence provided to the tribunal,
then, in cases in which initial support is being set, a judgment must be entered to include an
amount of monthly support due up to the date that an order for current support is entered.
(2) Retroactive child support shall not be awarded for a period of more than five (5) years from
the date the action for support is filed unless the court determines, for good cause shown
according to Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 36-2-311(a)(11) or 36-5-101(e), that a different
award of retroactive child support is in the interest of justice. The burden to show that a
longer time period of retroactive support is in the interest of justice is on the PRP.
(3) Deviations from the presumption that a judgment for retroactive support shall be awarded
back to the date of birth of the child, the date of the separation of the parties, or the date of
abandonment of the child shall be supported by written findings in the tribunal’s order that
include:
(a) The reasons the tribunal, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 36-2-
311(a)(11)(A) or 36-5-101(e)(1)(C), deviated from the presumptive amount of child
support that would have been paid pursuant to the Guidelines; and
(b) The amount of child support that would have been required under the Guidelines if the
presumptive amount had not been rebutted; and
(c) A written finding by the tribunal that states how, in its determination,
1. Application of the Guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in the particular
case before the tribunal; and
2. The best interests of the child or children who are subject to the support award
determination are served by deviation from the presumptive guideline amount.
(4) The retroactive support amount shall be calculated as follows, using the Guidelines in effect
at the time of the hearing on retroactive support:
(a) For the monthly BCSO, apply the Guidelines in effect at the time of the order, using the
Child Support Worksheet. Use the average monthly income of both parents over the
past two (2) years as the amount to be entered for “monthly gross income,” unless the
tribunal finds that there is adequate evidence to support a different period of time for
use in the calculation and makes such a finding in its order. Do not include any current
additional expenses on the retroactive worksheet. Complete the worksheet for the
retroactive monthly amount, and multiply the amount shown on the worksheet as the
“Final Child Support Order” times the number of months the tribunal has determined to
be the appropriate period for retroactive support.
(b) An additional amount may be added onto the judgment for retroactive support
calculated above in subparagraph (a) to account for the ARP’s share of amounts paid
by the primary residential parent for childcare, the child’s health insurance premium,
and uninsured medical expenses over the retroactive period under consideration, and
other expenses allowed under Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-2-311.
(c) Add the total amount from subparagraph (a) above to the amount from subparagraph
(b) for the total retroactive support due. The retroactive support amount as calculated in
subparagraphs (a) and (b) above is presumed to be correct unless rebutted by either
party.
(d) A periodic payment amount shall be included in the support order, in addition to any
prospective amount of current support, to eliminate the retroactive judgment for support
within a reasonable time. Payment of the monthly amount as ordered shall be
considered compliance with the retroactive order, however, the department may use
additional means of collection to reduce this judgment without regard to the timeliness
of the periodic payment.
Tennessee Child Support Guidelines, as of Oct. 2021.
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:
