Memphis Child Support Lawyer

Child support in Tennessee is not negotiable. Not really. The state has a formula. You plug in the numbers and the formula tells you what the support amount should be. What is negotiable is making sure the right numbers go into that formula.

How Tennessee Calculates Child Support

Tennessee uses an Income Shares Model. Both parents’ gross incomes go into the calculation, along with the number of parenting days each parent has, daycare costs, health insurance costs, and any support obligations from prior relationships. The result is each parent’s proportional share of the children’s financial needs.

Income is not limited to salary. It includes wages, bonuses, commissions, self-employment income, investment income, rental income, and certain benefits. If a party is voluntarily underemployed or unemployed without good cause, the court may impute income, meaning the support calculation is based on what they are capable of earning, not what they actually earn.

It Is the Child’s Money

I hear parents say regularly that they do not want the other parent’s money. I understand the sentiment. But child support belongs to your child, not to you. If you choose not to use it for daily expenses, put it in a savings account for college. What you cannot do is waive it on your child’s behalf without court approval, and courts rarely do.

Modifying Child Support

Child support can be modified when there is a significant variance, defined in Tennessee as at least a 15% difference between the current order and what the guidelines would produce today. Common reasons for modification include a substantial change in either parent’s income, a change in the child’s needs, or a significant change in parenting time.

Modifications do not go back further than the date of filing. If you have waited two years to address a change in circumstances, you cannot recover the difference retroactively. File promptly.

Enforcement of Child Support Orders

Tennessee has robust enforcement tools for unpaid child support, including income assignment, license suspension, contempt of court, and in egregious cases, incarceration. If you are owed back child support, you have legal remedies. If you are struggling to pay, the answer is to petition for modification. Do not simply stop paying. For related issues, see our page on Memphis Child Custody and the main Memphis Divorce Lawyer page.

William W. Jones IV is a Memphis family law attorney, Rule 31 Listed Family Mediator, and Super Lawyers selectee every consecutive year from 2014 through 2025. Licensed in Tennessee (BPR 022869) and Mississippi (BPR 100707), he practices at The Jones Law Firm, 5100 Poplar Ave, Suite 708, Memphis, TN 38137. Call (901) 761-5353 or visit midsouthdivorce.com.