Tennessee divorce laws

Child Support

Tennessee divorce laws determine the child support amounts in this state, and are based on the "Income Shares" model. Courts take each parents income, the sum of those incomes, and apply arithmetic guidelines. Each parent will contribute child support in approximately the same percentage as their percentage of the overall family income. Tennessee family courts will generally make orders and provisions, and decree suitable support for minor children of the marriage or the parents themselves. These orders can include assets of either party. Orders of support can vary widely. Depending upon circumstances, the court may order temporary or permanent support also be paid.

Should you require detailed information with respect to child support or other divorce issues, you can review Tennessee divorce laws here.

Tennessee courts have the ability to provide for minor children of a marriage in most any way they deem appropriate. Weekly, monthly or semi-monthly payment is possible. Levies and executions can be ordered if awards are not paid. If one has one child, 20% of his or her net income would be deducted. Twenty five percent is deducted if the obligor has two children. If the obligor has three children, then 30% of the net income is deducted. Four or five children, and the deductions would be 35% and 40% of the net income. Six children or more, and the obligor would pay over 40%.

In Tennessee, child support payments can be ordered paid directly to the spouse or to the clerk of the court. The parents may not make changes to the court ordered child support unless approved by the court. This prevents coercion or intimidation.

Tennessee enforces child support payments by intercepting IRS tax refund checks, reporting to the credit bureau, intercepting unemployment benefits, and the denial of passport rights. Suspension of drivers licenses and liens on property can also be used as an enforcement tool. If you have any questions or need assistance, you can go to or call the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

Tennessee child support ends when the child turns 18 or when they graduate from high school, whichever occurs later.

Residency

Tennessee divorce statutes require that in order for your divorce petition to be accepted and processed in this state, the acts of marital misbehavior must have been committed while the plaintiff was a resident of the state. If the acts complained of were committed outside of Tennessee and the plaintiff resided outside of the state at the time, either of the parties must have resided in Tennessee for six (6) months prior to the filing of the petition.

Child Custody

Like all states, Tennessee and its family court system makes custody determinations regarding a minor child upon the basis of the best interest of the child. Tennessee divorce statutes allow the court to consider any or all relevant factors including the following: 1.) The disposition of the parents to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care, education and other necessary care and the degree to which a parent has been the primary caregiver; 2.) The disposition of the parents to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care, education and other necessary care and the degree to which a parent has been the primary caregiver; 3.) The importance of continuity in the child's life and the length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment; 4.) The love, affection and emotional ties existing between the parents and child; 5.) The stability of the family unit of the parents; 6.) The mental and physical health of the parents; 7.) The home, school and community record of the child; 8.) The reasonable preference of the child if twelve (12) years of age or older; 9.) Evidence of physical or emotional abuse to the child, to the other parent or to any other person; 10.) Each parent's past and potential for future performance of parenting responsibilities, including the willingness and ability of each of the parents to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent.

Grounds for Divorce

Tennessee divorce statutes allow the following causes of divorce from the bonds of matrimony:

• Either party, at the time of the contract, was and still is naturally impotent and incapable of procreation;
• Either party has knowingly entered into a second marriage, in violation of a previous marriage, still subsisting;
• Either party has committed adultery;
• Willful or malicious desertion or absence of either party, without a reasonable cause, for one (1) whole year;
• Being convicted of any crime that renders the party infamous;
• Being convicted of a crime that, is declared to be a felony, and sentenced to confinement in the penitentiary;
• Either party has attempted the life of the other, by poison or any other means showing malice;
• Refusal, on the part of a spouse, to remove with that person's spouse to this state, without a reasonable cause, and being willfully absent from the spouse residing in Tennessee for two (2) years;
• The woman was pregnant at the time of the marriage, by another person, without the knowledge of the husband;
• Habitual drunkenness or abuse of narcotic drugs of either party
• The husband or wife is guilty of cruel and inhuman treatment
• The husband or wife has offered such indignities to the spouse's person as to render the spouse's position intolerable
• The husband or wife has abandoned the spouse or turned the spouse out of doors for no just cause
• Irreconcilable differences between the parties; and
• For a continuous period of two (2) or more years that both parties have lived in separate residences, have not cohabited as man and wife during such period, and there are no minor children of the parties.

Mediation

In any proceeding concerning the custody of a child, if there exists an order of protection or a finding of domestic abuse or any criminal conviction involving domestic abuse, the court may order mediation or refer either party to mediation only if:

• Mediation is agreed to by the victim of the alleged domestic or family violence;
• Mediation is provided by a certified mediator who is trained in domestic and family violence in a specialized manner that protects the safety of the victim; and
• The victim is permitted to have in attendance at mediation a supporting person of the victim's choice, including, but not limited to, an attorney or advocate. No victim may provide monetary compensation to a non-attorney advocate for attendance at mediation.

Where the court makes findings of child abuse or child sexual abuse it may only award visitation under circumstances that guarantee the safety of the child. Divorce statutes mandate that the child not be put in harm's way.

Alimony

Tennessee divorce statutes permit the courts to award alimony to either spouse. The award may be periodic, lump sum, or rehabilitative. Some of the factors the court considers in determining the amount and term of alimony include:

• The value of any separate property and the value of each party's marital property. alimony
• Whether the spouse seeking alimony is the custodian of a child whose circumstances are such that the spouse not seek employment.
• The need of the spouse seeking alimony to seek additional training or education to find appropriate employment. alimony
• The standard of living established during the marriage.
• The duration of the marriage. alimony
• The needs and obligations of each spouse. alimony
• The comparative financial resources of each spouse,and
• Any factor the court deems equitable and just.

Waiting Period      

Divorces filed upon the grounds of irreconcilable differences require that there be a sixty (60) day waiting period between the time of the filing of the petition and the hearing of the divorce if the parties have no minor children. If the parties have minor children, Tennessee law requires a ninety (90) day waiting period between the filing of the petition and the hearing of the action.

Grandparents Rights

Visitation rights of grandparents may be secured by petitioning the court during or after the divorce process, and after the court judging such is in the best interest of the child. This right is conferred by federal law. Make your request prior to the dissolution of the marriage to avoid the potential for a separate filing and greater legal fees.

Divorce Settlement

Tennessee is known as an equitable distribution state, which means that the court will divide the marital assets between the parties as it deems equitable and just, after setting aside to each spouse the separate property of each. Some of the factors the court considers in dividing the property between the parties include:

• The duration of the marriage.
• The age, physical and mental health, vocational skills, employability, earning capacity, estate, financial liabilities and financial needs of the spouses.
• The tangible and intangible contributions of each spouse to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other.
• The relative ability of each party for future acquisitions of capital assets and income.
• The contributions of each party to the acquisition, preservation,appreciation, depreciation or dissipation of the marital or separate property.
• The value of each party's separate property.
• Any other factors necessary to achieve an equitable distribution.

To view Tennessee divorce laws as they are written, click here. Be sure to bookmark this site first.

Did you come into this marriage owning a house? Concerned about the equity in that house that you brought into the marriage? Here's how it works generally. What you brought into the marriage is usually all yours. However, any appreciation of the house or the property value is normally treated as a "marital asset", meaning that you will likely forfeit a third to a half of that appreciation to your spouse in the divorce.