Child Support Lawyers in Clarksville

Ensuring Your Children Are Provided For

Financial support is an important part of being a parent. You are responsible for providing a home for your child and taking care of all of the expenses that are involved in raising children. You have to pay for food, clothes, and other necessities, and all of this can get expensive. Once you are a single parent, it can be even harder to continue to provide for your children while making ends meet. Child support is an important part of the process of helping divorced or unmarried parents ensure that each party is meeting their financial obligations toward their children.

In an ideal world, even though the parents are no longer together, they would continue to collaborate when it comes to financially supporting the children, but this often doesn’t happen. This is why the courts make determined court-ordered child support part of the process when a divorce or custody case comes up. We understand that child support can be a confusing topic, and it’s hard to understand where the determination of the amount of support comes from and how to handle it if you can’t afford to pay. We’ve put together some information below to help make this clearer.

Ensuring you understand what your financial support obligations are can help you prepare for your future — and your children’s. At the law firm of Hibbeler & Associates, our team of child support attorneys can help you do just that.

Call today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about our legal services.

Will I Have to Pay Child Support?

Whether you have to pay child support is a common question that comes up in divorce and custody disputes. The answer isn’t simple because it depends on the circumstances of your cases, but it’s a good idea to assume that child support will be involved unless there is a clear and compelling reason for it not to be. For example, if you and your former spouse make roughly the same amount of money and are using a 50/50 physical custody agreement, the courts may decide that there is no reason for one parent to be paying the other parent. However, if this isn’t the case, child support is likely to be ordered. In situations where there is a primary custodial parent, the noncustodial parent usually pays child support to the custodial parent.

How Are Child Support Payments Determined?

Child support payments in Tennessee follow a structured approach based on the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines. These guidelines provide family courts with a formula to calculate child support obligations, ensuring a fair and consistent process. The formula primarily considers the income of both parents, including wages, salaries, or any additional sources of income. It also accounts for other financial factors, such as health insurance premiums for the child, childcare expenses, and the number of days each parent spends with the child.

When all relevant information is entered into the formula, it calculates an initial figure for child support obligations. This calculation aims to meet the child’s needs while balancing the financial responsibilities of both parents. However, family courts recognize that every family’s situation is unique, and there are times when the formula may not address specific circumstances. In such cases, parents can request a deviation from the calculated amount.

To request a deviation, the parent must present clear evidence and reasoning that demonstrate why the change would serve the child’s best interests. Courts may consider factors such as extraordinary educational needs, significant medical expenses, or substantial differences in financial resources. By taking these additional factors into account, the courts aim to create a child support arrangement that promotes the child’s overall well-being while ensuring fairness for both parents.

At Hibbeler & Associates, we can help you navigate the child support process and advocate for arrangements that prioritize your child’s needs.

How Long Do I Have to Pay Child Support?

In general, a child support order is to be paid until the child turns 18 or graduates high school, whichever happens last. However, the exact specifications depend on the order. In some cases, the custodial parent may receive support while the child is attending college if they are still living at home. It’s possible for the parents to agree to a longer timeline and have the family law courts add that to the order, but in general, the minimum amount of time child support is paid is until the child is 18 unless there is a modification that stops the order entirely because of financial changes.

How Are Child Support Orders Modified?

It’s common for child support needs to change as time passes. One of the parents may change jobs, lose or gain income, or have other circumstances that affect their financial health. To ask for a child support order to be modified outside of the child support guidelines, you will need to submit a petition to the Tennessee Department of Human Services Child Support Program. The Department of Human Services will make an initial determination on whether the child support modification should be approved. If you disagree with its decision, you are able to escalate the case to a family law judge, who can decide whether to issue a judicial decision modifying the existing order. It’s important that you continue paying any child support while you are waiting for the modification request to be decided to avoid child support enforcement measures.

Request a Free Initial Consultation

Navigating child support orders can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to face it alone. At Hibbeler & Associates, our Clarksville child support lawyers work with you to ensure that your rights and your child’s needs are protected. Whether you need help establishing, modifying, or enforcing child support, we take a proactive approach to find practical solutions. Let us guide you through the legal process so you can focus on what matters most—providing for your child’s future.

Our law firm takes pride in being able to help clients successfully navigate the child support rules and guidelines to protect their financial health.

Contact our law firm to schedule your initial consultation by calling 931-236-2711.