In Tennessee, parenting time and child support are two entirely separate issues. A parent who fails to pay child support cannot be denied parenting time with the children. Likewise, paying more child support than is legally ordered does not guarantee that you will be granted more time with your children.
When parents get divorced in Tennessee, they are required to develop a Parenting Plan, or the Court will order one for them if they cannot agree on one themselves. This document contains information about child custody, a visitation schedule and lots of detailed information about the care of the child. The court can give the parents shared custody of the child, or one parent might get custody of the child while the other parent has visitation with the child according to the schedule in the parenting plan. It is typically best for parents to develop the parenting plan because they are in the best position to know what is in their child’s best interests – but sometimes, when parents cannot get along, they are unable to work together or agree on much of anything. In those instances, the court will decide who is the primary residential parent.
Child support and parenting time
Both parents have a legal obligation to support their children financially until they reach adulthood. In Tennessee, the court usually orders the non-custodial parent to pay the other parent child support, though this is not always the case.
Child support is calculated based on an “income shares” model, which factors in the number of days the child spends with each parent, each parent’s income, how much each parent must pay to support other children and additional expenses such as health insurance, child care and more. The calculator combines both parents’ incomes, determines a percentage of the combined income that will be devoted to the care of the child and then that amount is divided between the parents depending on how much time the parent will have the child in their home.
Can a custodial parent withhold visitation because of late child support payments?
No. Visitation may not be used as a bargaining chip to get the other parent to pay child support. For court ordered visitation, if the custodial parent interferes with visitation, they are effectively violating a court order. There are child support enforcement options available that do not involve denying the other parent time with their child. The custodial parent can actually lose custody if they make it a practice to interfere with the other parent’s parenting time with their child.
If you are having difficulty spending time with your child because your co-parent is restricting your visits, or if you are looking for assistance in enforcing a child support order, an experienced Nashville family law attorney can help you.
If you are a parent planning to divorce, we can help make sure that your child’s needs are addressed and that you feel supported during a difficult life transition. Please call the experienced Nashville divorce attorneys at Miller Upshaw Family Law, PLLC at 615-391-4200 or fill out our contact form to reserve an in-person or video consultation to discuss your case.
Karla C. Miller has devoted her entire career to the practice of family law in Tennessee. She attended Auburn University and Nashville School of Law, and upon graduation in 1996, she opened her own law firm and has been assisting families throughout Tennessee since then. Learn more about Karla C. Miller here.
