Child Custody

Child Support Guidelines in Tennessee

June 12, 2023 | by Cole Law Group, PC

Kids Are Expensive $!$

It is commonly said that one of the most expensive choices that can be made in life is having children. According to CBS News, the cost of raising a child from birth to age seventeen is approximately $310,000![i] In Tennessee the payment of child support is mandatory in cases where the child is born out of wedlock, where the parents are divorced, or where there is a domestic violence order of protection. The Tennessee child support guidelines may be found in Chapter 1240-02-04 of the Rules of the Tennessee Department of Human Services Child Support Services Division. The Social Security Act located at 42 U.S.C. §§ 651-669 requires states to establish guidelines for setting and modifying child support. Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 36-5-101(e), 71-1-105(a)(15), and 71-1-132 implement these requirements and direct the Tennessee Department of Human Services to establish guidelines to enforce those provisions of federal law.

In general, a child support order is based on the alternate residential parent’s earnings, income, and other evidence of ability to pay. The Child Support Guidelines define important terms in 1240-02-04.02 including Adjusted Gross Income, Adjusted Support Obligation, Alternate Residential Parent, Days, Pro Rata, and uninsured medical expenses.

Interstate Modification of Custody Orders in Tennessee

May 1, 2023 | by Andy Goldstein

Custody Determination and the Permanent Parenting Plan

Throughout Tennessee, courts are often tasked with rendering an initial child custody determination regarding one or more minor children between parents. These custody decisions – which are ultimately enshrined in the law in the form of court orders issued by a Tennessee court of competent jurisdiction – may occur between parents regardless of whether they are married. At the conclusion of a case where child custody is at issue, the courts in Tennessee will enter a Permanent Parenting Plan, setting out the parenting schedule between both parents for their children, and making provisions for the payment of child support, health insurance, and other important matters pertaining to the parties’ child(ren).

Once a Tennessee court has made a child custody decision, a parent displeased with the custody decision can appeal. However, if there is a significant change in the circumstances surrounding the child custody decision such that the Permanent Parenting Plan needs to be modified in order to continue to serve the best interests of the child or children, then a parent may seek a modification of the Permanent Parenting Plan by a court of competent jurisdiction. Circumstances giving rise to a basis for modification are myriad and may include one or both parents relocating from the original jurisdiction where the child custody decision was originally made.

Am I Eligible for an Annulment in Tennessee?

May 18, 2022 | by Andy Goldstein

Am I Eligible for an Annulment in Tennessee?

When a couple seeks to end their marriage in Tennessee, the termination of the marriage is generally accomplished through divorce. The divorce process usually commences with one spouse filing for divorce in a Tennessee court of competent jurisdiction. Once the divorce litigation is initiated, it will progress in either an uncontested or contested fashion. In uncontested divorce cases, the divorce is finalized upon the court approving and incorporating a Marital Dissolution Agreement (and a Permanent Parenting Plan if there are minor children born of the marriage) into a final judgment of divorce. In contested divorce cases, the parties are unable to agree on a Marital Dissolution Agreement (and Permanent Parenting Plan if applicable), and the divorce is finalized by a trial judge upon the entry of a final judgment of divorce after a trial.

There is, however, a rare alternative to divorce: annulment. Annulment is only available if grounds for annulment existed at the time a couple married. In other words, there must have been a defect in the marriage from its inception that renders it subject to annulment, and the spouse seeking the annulment has the burden to prove that the defect existed at the time of the marriage. Simply put, grounds for annulment in Tennessee do not arise after a couple marries, although they may be grounds for divorce.

Emergency Child Custody Issues in Tennessee

February 28, 2022 | by Cole Law Group, PC

Military Law Attorney Paul Tennison

The main concern of most parents in Tennessee is the welfare of their child. However, occasionally a single parent or a family will find themselves in the unfortunate and often heart-wrenching situation of dealing with the legal issue of emergency child custody. Emergency custody matters may arise due to any of the following: the commitment of a serious offense by a minor child, the death of one or both parents, the incarceration of one or both parents, or the severe abuse or neglect of a minor child. In such cases, the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) is mandated to investigate. The DCS mission is to “provide high quality prevention and support services to children and families that promote safety, permanency, and well-being.”¹

Tennessee custody laws are statutory. Thus, reading the section of Tennessee law that governs Juvenile Courts and Proceedings affords the reader a good idea of what law applies in specific emergency custody situations.²

An Overview of Interstate and International Custody Disputes in Tennessee

September 18, 2019 | by Andy Goldstein

There are arguably no situations more pressing or serious than those involving the custody of your children. In the context of divorce, determining child custody is often the most contentious aspect of the entire lawsuit, and despite issues of property division and alimony often becoming hotly contested issues in their own right, both parents often find themselves fighting with their greatest vigor to protect their right to control the upbringing and development of their children after the bonds of legal matrimony are finally dissolved. If the parents never married, disputes over child custody can become the sole contested issue in a legal dispute. Under Tennessee law, child custody can become an issue in a myriad of different family law proceedings.

Nevertheless, while many parents may think that custody disputes are something that always get resolved at the local courthouse, legal disputes over child custody can often traverse several states or even several countries. To make matters even more complicated and pressing, one parent may take physical custody of the children without the knowledge or consent of the other parent, and it may not even be clear where the children are located or who is with them at the time a parent wants to file a legal action for custody in such exigent circumstances.

For example, imagine a situation in which you have been married to your spouse for approximately fifteen years and you have two minor children, ages twelve and fourteen. One day, after working long hours, you come home to find a note from your spouse saying, “I just can’t take this anymore. I’m leaving and I’m taking the kids with me. I think we may eventually stay with my parents but I’m not sure when. Don’t try to follow us.” After reading the note several times over, you frantically search the house only to find that both of your children are gone, many of their clothes are missing from their closets, and neither the children’s passports nor suitcases are anywhere to be found. In what seems like the blink of an eye, your children are gone, and you don’t know when – if ever – you may see your children again. What can you do?

Creating a 2018 Child Custody Plan

December 11, 2017 | by Cole Law Group, PC

As 2017 winds down, people are looking back at their past year. Was it a good one? What could improve next year?

For parents sharing joint custody, now is a good time to reflect on how the past year went for them and their children to ask the same questions: What is working? What isn’t? Was time divided equitably?

Before making New Year’s resolutions, start to think about how you can resolve to have a smooth custody plan in 2017.

Limiting Visitation of Incarcerated Parent

April 1, 2016 | by Cole Law Group, PC

As a rule, the Courts have historically encouraged the visitation rights of parents, despite separation of the parties, believing that a relationship with both mother and father is essential to the upbringing of a child. However, what if a parent is incarcerated? Do the Courts still encourage visitation if a parent is imprisoned? Can visiting a parent in jail/prison be detrimental to the mental and emotional development of a child?

Under Tennessee law, the fundamental right to care and to have custody of a child is one of the oldest judicially recognized interests protected under federal and state law. Termination of a parent’s rights is considered to be “a grave and final decision, irrevocably altering the lives of the parent and child involved and ‘severing forever all legal rights and obligations’ of the parent.” Means v. Ashby, 130 S.W.3d 48, 54 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003) (quoting Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113(I)(1)). It is for this reason that Courts continue to allow an imprisoned parent to be involved in his or her child’s life, despite the crime(s) he or she has committed. However, can allowing such visitation be mentally and emotionally damaging to a child?

A recent study, funded by the National Institute of Justice, indicated that approximately sixty-five (65) percent of children reacted negatively to visiting an incarcerated parent. Among those that reacted negatively, the parental caregivers characterized the children’s reactions as largely emotional, often involving expressions of fear, anger and anxiety, resulting in excessive outbursts, crying and symptomatic depression. Alternatively, only thirty-five (35) percent of children reacted positively to visiting an incarcerated parent. In some cases, the children exhibited heightened spirits and improved good behavior during visits, often with a promise of future visitations as an enticement for this good behavior.