Project Director

McGuffee, Karen

Department Examiner

Grant, Brenda; Thomas,Neil W.; Helton, George

Department

Dept. of Criminal Justice and Legal Assistant Studies

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Due to a growing number of The State of Tennessee's parents who should be receiving child support instead receiving welfare, the State is reexamining the makeup of the guidelines. Tennessee's existing child support regulations are written in a language that most individuals can interpret, but issues of compensation for additional dependents, low and very low income families, and shared parenting are three key circumstances producing inequalities that need to be improved within the guidelines. Judicial review has already made several advances in the way child support is awarded. New law has recently developed from child support case decisions regarding moneys on prior support and allowing the obligor (the noncustodial parent ordered to pay child support) to be given credit for other dependents in the obligor's care. Along with developments in the law, the model that Tennessee presently uses in its calculations could also be changed and/or improved to satisfy the previously mentioned three primary inequalities presently recognized in the State's present guidelines. The following are methods used to sufficiently determine the present value(s) and short-coming(s) of Tennessee's guidelines: Evaluate the current guidelines; investigate the methodology and possible results of a whole or partial implementation of the Income Shares Model; study cases implementing the Income Shares Model; analyze statistics on child-rearing costs; gather information from interviews with legal professionals, and offer modifications to Tennessee's present guidelines on methods of collection. In order to set the law at a more complete, equitable pace, the Income Shares Model fused with portions of the present guidelines, should be implemented to more effectively meet the guidelines' goals: regular payment, best interest of the child(ren), and lessening the economic burden on a child(ren) of a split family.

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

3-2004

Subject

Child support--Law and legislation--Tennessee

Discipline

Social Welfare Law

Document Type

Theses

Extent

32 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Call Number

LB2369.5 .V369 2004

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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