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(1)
When are the amended Guidelines effective?
July
22,
2008
(2)
Where can I view the amended Guidelines?
You can view the complete text of the
rules on the Internet at:
http://www.state.tn.us/humanserv/rules.htm
(3)
Is there an automated calculator
available to assist in quickly determining support obligations under
the amended Guidelines?
Yes! A
free automated calculator is available. The calculator dramatically decreases the time it takes to
determine child support orders as opposed to figuring the
calculations by hand (from approximately 25 minutes to two minutes
to calculate an order once the fields are filled in). If you are not
viewing these FAQs on the web, see the Internet address in #2
above. If you are viewing on the web,
Click HERE to go to our "Downloads" page...
(4)
What cases will use the amended Guidelines?
The
amended Guidelines apply to all child support cases whether the
action is filed before or after the effective date of the rules,
where a hearing that results in an order establishing, modifying, or
enforcing support is held on or after the effective date of the
rules. [One exception is where a case has been on appeal to an
appellate level court, such as the Tennessee Court of Appeals, and
is remanded with instructions to calculate using the guidelines in
effect at some other date.] Modifications of existing orders must
comply with the requirements of the amended Guidelines.
(5) Will
the amended Guidelines automatically be applied to my case?
The amended Guidelines will be
applied to all child support cases where a new or modified order
results from a hearing held on or after the effective date; however,
there is no “automatic” change to any child support order. One of
the parties to the case will have to request action from the court
with jurisdiction of the support order or from the
Department’s Child Support Office. This can be done by:
1)
requesting a “Review and Adjustment” from the local child support
office for your county if you are currently receiving child
support services, or if you apply for child support services.
The Department of Human Services will conduct the review and
determine if the “significant variance” rule or other rules for
modification of the existing order are met, and will either seek a
court order to modify the existing order or issue an administrative
order modifying the support amount to make the modification; or
2) filing
a court action through your private lawyer or on your own. The same
guidelines apply to private cases.
Families First (the name for
Tennessee’s version of the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families [TANF] program) cases that are active are reviewed by the
Department at least every three (3) years, without request of the
parties. The amended Guidelines will apply to those three (3) year
reviews that occur on or after the effective date of the new
Guidelines.
NOTE: If the Department determines at the time you request
services that you owe back child support, the Department will seek
to collect the unpaid child support by court order, or by
administrative action by the Department such as income tax refund
intercepts; attachment of financial assets, workers compensation, or
unemployment benefits; suspension of drivers, business, trade, or
professional licenses; or any other available means of collection.
(6) How
are credits for my other children calculated?
The
amended Guidelines modify the procedure for giving credit against
gross income for the other children of either the Mother or the
Father, provided the qualifications for credit are met. To be able
to receive credit for the other children, the parent claiming the
credit must have a legal duty to support the child and, in
fact, actually support the child, either in the parent’s home or by
monetary support. In the amended Guidelines, these are referred to
as “qualified other children.” Credit is available for all
qualified other children, whether the children reside in the
parent’s home, or in some other home, and whether the children are
supported by the parent voluntarily, under a pre-existing child
support order or under a subsequent child support order. This is a
change from the original Income Shares Guidelines that were
effective beginning January 18, 2005, that required credit for
children supported under pre-existing orders be calculated
separately from a parents qualified other “not-in-home” children.
(A) Theoretical Orders
A “theoretical” order (also called a
“dummy” order) is an order calculated for the purposes of
determining the amount of credit against gross income allowed for
support provided to the parent’s qualified other children, prior to
calculating the support under the order being considered. Using the
income of the parent claiming the credit (minus self-employment
taxes), the number of children in the situation (whether living
primarily with the parent seeking credit or living somewhere else),
and the Child Support Schedule, the amount of support a parent would
pay for these children is determined. This amount is referred to as
the “theoretical order amount.” The theoretical order is subject to
the existing statutory threshold on child support obligations for
high income parents which, absent deviation, limits the amount of
support to two thousand one hundred dollars ($2,100) for one (1)
child and up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) for five (5) or more
children. The maximum credit is 75% of the theoretical order
amount.
(B) Children Living 50% or More of
the Time in the Home of the Parent Claiming Credit
If either Mother or Father have a child
from another relationship, are legally obligated to support that
child, and the child lives with the parent 50% or more of the
time, the parent may deduct from gross income seventy-five
percent (75%) of the amount of a theoretical order up to the amount
of the statutory cap described above. When children are living in the parent’s home,
there is an assumption that the parent is supporting the child.
Unless proven otherwise, therefore, no other proof of support is necessary. The
parent claiming the credit must prove the legal duty of support and
that the child lives with the parent 50% or more of the time.
(C) Children Living Less Than 50% of
the Time in the Home of the Parent Claiming the Credit
If either Father and Mother have a
child from another relationship, are legally obligated to support
that child, are actually supporting that child, and the child
lives with the parent claiming the credit less than 50% of the time,
the parent may deduct from gross income a credit for the average
monthly support actually provided for that qualified other child up
to 75% of a theoretical support order, limited also by the amount of
the statutory cap described above, whichever is less. For example, if the
theoretical order is $500.00 per month (75% of that being $375.00),
but the actual average payment for the prior twelve (12) months is
only $300.00, then the maximum allowable credit is $300.00. The
amount of the credit is not based on whether the qualified
other child was born before or after the child born to the Mother
and Father, or on whether the qualified other child is supported
voluntarily, supported under a pre-exiting support order, or a
subsequent support order.
The
parent claiming the credit must prove the legal duty of support and
monetary payments to the child’s primary caretaker
over the most recent twelve (12) months. Evidence of “in kind”
remuneration, such as food,
clothing, diapers or formula, can be used for this credit so
long as the “in kind” remuneration has been reduced to a monetary
amount approved by the court in the qualified other child’s case or
affirmed by the receiving parent in the other case.
(7) How
does the Parenting Time Adjustment operate?
Under the
amended Guidelines, the number of “days”, or the average number of
“days” if there is more than one (1) child involved, the children
stay with the Alternate Residential Parent (ARP) determines whether
the ARP is eligible for a Parenting Time Adjustment. A “day” is
now defined as more than twelve (12) hours of a twenty-four (24)
hour period.
This definition includes either a daytime period, or an
overnight period.
For
example – The majority of a twenty-four hour period could include
from 8 o’clock Saturday morning to 8:15 Saturday evening or from
after school on Wednesday afternoon to start of school Thursday
morning. If the average number of days an ARP spends with the
children equal ninety-two (92) or more in a year, or sixty-eight
(68) or less in a year, then the Parenting Time Adjustment may be
applied. Either parent may present evidence to rebut the presumption
that the adjustment should be applied in a particular situation.
If the ARP spends sixty-eight (68)
days or less in a year with the children, the ARP’s share of the
BCSO is increased by a per diem (daily) amount based on the number of days
fewer than sixty-nine (69) the ARP spends with the child [{(69 – No.
of days) / three hundred sixty-five (365) x the ARP’s share of the
BCSO} + the ARP’s share of the support obligation].
If the ARP spends ninety-two (92)
days or more in a year, a multiplier of .0109589 [2 / 182.5] is
multiplied by the ARP’s parenting time, creating a variable
multiplier. The variable multiplier is then applied to the BCSO to
obtain an amount representing the ARP’s child rearing expenses. The
PRP’s pro-rata share of the ARP’s expenses is subtracted from the
ARP’s share of the BCSO, giving the ARP a credit for the child
rearing expenses due to the additional
parenting time.
In split parenting
situations, only the days the parent spends with the children for
whom that parent is the ARP are counted for the adjustment. If
there are multiple children included in the support order the
average number of days the ARP spends with all the children is used
to calculate the credit.
(8)
How are my child’s medical insurance costs and work–related
childcare costs calculated?
Under the Income Shares model, the
actual cost of the child’s health insurance premiums (medical and
dental), uninsured medical expenses, and work-related childcare are
included in the calculation of the support order. The actual
expenses are divided according to each parent’s percentage of their
combined income and accounted for in each parent’s share of the
Support Obligation.
(9)
How do educational expenses and special expenses come into
consideration?
After calculating a BCSO, adjusting
for parenting time, as appropriate, and adding health insurance
cost, uninsured medical expenses, and work-related childcare
expenses, educational expenses for private or special schooling for
children can be considered as a deviation from the presumed amount
of support. Expenses for such things as music lessons, camps,
travel, and other activities that may contribute to the child’s
cultural, social, artistic or athletic development (Special
Expenses) may also be considered by the court as deviations from the
presumptive child support order. Such Special Expenses must exceed
percent (7%) of the Basic Child Support Obligation before they are
considered, unless the parties agree otherwise. If a deviation is
made, the court must include in the order the reasons for the
deviation and the amount the order would have been without the
deviation.
(10)
My former spouse and I have equal time with our children. How do the
amended Guidelines treat parents with equal time?
If each parent has exactly fifty
percent (50%) of the time with a child, the parents must still
complete a child support worksheet, indicating 182.5 days with the
child for each parent. This is the only time a fraction of a day may
be used under Income Shares. Complete the worksheet in the same
manner as for any child support case, including any other children
in the case on the same worksheet.
There
will be a child support obligation for children who spend exactly
equal time with each parent unless both parents have exactly the
same income and expenses for the child.
(11)
I pay state taxes in another state. Do I get to deduct those
taxes from gross income?
No, the Rules do not provide a
deduction for the taxes of another state. | 
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