Tennessee Child Support Covers What? by Germantown TN Divorce Attorney Miles Mason

Tennessee Child Support Covers What?

This Tennessee child support article is for our divorce and family law clients and friends in Germantown, Collierville, and Memphis, Tennessee and the surrounding area.

The concept of what child support does cover, or should cover, is always a hot topic for debate.  What one parent sees as a bare necessity, the other may consider an unimaginable luxury.  Whether in a rural Northeast Tennessee county or in the heart of Germantown, Tennessee, what expenses child support is supposed to pay is the same because the law is the same even though the families may be quite different.  What it costs to raise children depends on the wealth of the parents and statistics of for Tennesseeans.

Tennessee Basic Child Support Obligation (BCSO)

Tennessee basic child support obligation (BCSO) is a building block for understanding Tennessee child support calculations

One of the core concepts within the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines is the Basic Child Support Obligation (BCSO).  This calculation forms the basis for the entire formula resulting in a child support amount owed.  The “Assumptions and Methodology”  make little sense to most (even a Memphis divorce attorney).  It is possible that an experienced Tennessee family law attorney could spend a lifetime litigating child support matters and the assumptions and methodology described below may never come up in a single case.  One never knows the following provisions from the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines describing the exact methodology, assumptions, and definitions including the Basic Child Support Obligation (BCSO) may be helpful in some context:

Tennessee Child Support Income Shares Model

When Tennessee promulgated the income shares model for its major overhaul of Tennessee child support guidelines in 2004 and 2005, it impacted thousands of Tennessee families. Though there was a great deal of criticism, especially from

Tennessee child support guidelines income shares model impacted thousands of Tennessee families

Tennessee family lawyers, there is no need to repeat them here.  It can be very helpful to know to Tennessee family lawyers and parents alike to take a moment and read what is written about the income shares model within the Guidelines itself.

Tennessee Child Support Guidelines’ Major Goals

If you find yourself in a dispute over the interpretation of a certain provision within Tennessee Child Support Guidelines, an additional argument you may consider is that your interpretation of the Guidelines is more consistent with the stated goals of the Guidelines, which are listed in Rule 1240-2-4-.01, as follows: