How is child support determined in Tennessee?

After the custody order and physical placement of all of the children between has been determined in a Tennessee courtroom, the task at hand is to determine how much the parent considered to be non-custodial, or the “obligor” (as he or she is referred to in the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines) must pay the custodial parent, or “obligee”. Determining child support in Tennessee is done by the court, which considers

• The gross income of the obligor including, but certainly not limited to, total weekly wages earned, 
• Assets the obligor may own, including stocks or savings bonds, 
• Even a company car provided by an employer may be included in the total gross income that the court uses to determine the figure to be paid. 
• The income of the obligee is not generally taken into consideration.  

After the amount of income is calculated, the court will take into consideration the number of children and the expenses related to caring for them, allowing the obligee to receive up to 50 percent of the obligor’s income if there are 5 or more dependent children involved. If there are 4, the court may order a payment of 46 percent, and as the number of children decreases so does the percentage, stopping at one child allowing a payment of 21 percent of the obligor’s weekly gross income.

If you are involved in a child support case, you may wish to hire a lawyer to explain to you what you might expect to receive or be ordered to pay. Your lawyer can also help you protect your legal rights when determining a support agreement.