Going through a divorce is never easy. It can be even more challenging and complicated when children are concerned. Child custody laws can be challenging to understand, and navigating the muddy waters of child support in Tennessee may have you tearing your hair out.
It doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re dealing with child custody and child support in a divorce, we’re here to help.
This article will discuss some factors you need to know that affect child support decisions and common mistakes to avoid when owing child support.
Tennessee child support laws play a huge role in all of the parenting time and child custody proceedings. Because of this, every parent going through a divorce should retain an expert lawyer well versed in family law for consultations.
Ordering a parent in Tennessee to pay child support starts with applying the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines. Before any child support calculations can be made, both parents must complete the Tennessee Child Support Worksheets disclosing income from all of their sources.
With this data, Tennessee lawyers and judges will interpret both the child support law and guidelines to establish if and how much a parent should pay to maintain each child’s support.
Mistakes can happen to anyone as they are a part of life. But when it comes to owing child support, you want to take caution to avoid errors if at all possible. Making a mistake could cost you higher payments, back payments, or even court ordered arrest warrants.
Here are a few common mistakes to avoid when owing child support.
If the parent ordered to pay the child support misses a payment for any reason, the other will be permitted to file a motion for contempt of court in order to force payment.
Remedies include:
You should never try to hide assets in your divorce or lie about anything. Trying to hide income, including side jobs – or that fun little craft business where you sell on places like Etsy – from the courts or your ex-partner when you pay or receive child support.
The judgment is strong if you are caught lying. It looks terrible on your character and definitely wouldn’t put you in the court’s favor for being the custodial parent.
Many counties in Tennessee use wage garnishment methods to collect court-ordered child support payments. It’s a streamlined approach making it simpler to collect the amount due directly through the payroll process from the payer’s employer.
Funds are collected and sent to the local child support services office. From there, they automatically transfer to the other parent. Since each county has its own child support payment processing, these should be the only methods you use to alleviate any potential hassles down the road.
You always want to report to the courts any changes in income. This includes raises or loss wages – especially if there’s been a change in employers. Once you report the changes, you can request a modification to lower your child support payments.
Modifications could also raise the child support amount. It’s best to request the modification on your own than have the other parent petition the courts for the withheld information of a wage increase.
If you are experiencing a divorce and unsure about all of the child support and custody laws, we’re here to help. Contact the offices of divorce attorney Hunter Fowler today, so you don’t have to go through this journey alone. He’s here to listen and guide you through the legal process and win the best possible outcome for you.