Juvenile Court

Over the years, Juvenile Court's role in children and parent's lives has expanded.

As the Administrative Offices the Courts details:

JUVENILE COURT JURISDICTION
A juvenile is defined as any individual who is under the chronological age of eighteen (18) years and who has not been previously transferred to adult court. Juvenile courts deal not only with delinquency and status offenses, but also with issues concerning dependency and neglect, child abuse, child support, custody issues, establishing parentage, visitation, and the need for medical and/or mental health treatment for children. Tennessee's juvenile courts have jurisdiction within the following areas:

Adjudication of children as dependent and neglected, abused, status/unruly, or delinquent
Determination of custody
Termination of parental rights
Ordering of treatment, evaluation and/or commitment of a developmentally disabled or mentally ill children
Commitment of children to the custody of the Department of Children Services
Establishment of parentage
Ordering and enforcement of child support for children of unwed parents
Establishing visitation for non-custodial parents
Enforcement of the compulsory school attendance laws
Removal of the age restrictions on a minor's application for a marriage license
Giving of judicial consent to a minor's employment or enlistment in the armed services if law requires such consent
Giving of judicial consent to the medical treatment of a child when his/her parents or guardians are unable to do so
Judicial authorization of an abortion without parental consent
Adjudication of alleged traffic violations by persons under the age of eighteen
Transfer of serious delinquency cases to criminal court for trial as adults

Child Support and Visitation

Not only can Juvenile Court establish and enforce child support for unwed couples, but it can and will enforce child support orders incident to a divorce if that issue is transferred from the divorce court.

Tennessee has adopted an income shares model for calculating child support. Parents in Tennessee must use the child support guidelines to help determine how much support they will pay or receive. The guidelines take many different factors into account, but are generally based on the parents' gross incomes. Things such as daycare expenses and health insurance costs are factors to be considered in calculating child support.

Documentation such as tax records and payroll stubs must be provided to correctly calculate the amount of child support. Although there are many factors to be considered in calculating child support, you can obtain a rough estimate by following the link below:

Tennessee Child Support Calculator and Worksheet

How does my parenting schedule affect the amount of child support I pay?

This is a question frequently heard from our clients. The Tennessee child support guidelines factor in the amount of time a parent spends with the child. The more time a parent spends with a child, the more "visitation credit" that parent receives when calculating the amount of child support. This credit for the amount of overnight visitation handled by the alternate residential parent can change the amount of child support. This is frequently a factor when parents are determining child custody and visitation.

When you hire us to handle your child support case, we take all factors into account to make sure you are paying or receiving the correct amount. We work at implementing successful legal strategies, such as making sure the amount of parenting time you receive fits your particular situation.

Child Support Estimate

It can be overwhelming to try and calculate the child support amount on your own — especially when so many factors go into getting it exactly right. At Rasberry Family Law Group, P.C., we take on this responsibility for our clients. Our Tennessee law firm represents parents who need child support matters determined as part of a divorce, paternity or child custody proceedings. In addition, we help clients reduce the amount of child support based on a change in income, parenting time or other factors. We are also experienced in the enforcement of existing child support orders through the contempt powers of the court.

Memphis Child Support Enforcement and Modification

When circumstances change, Tennessee child support orders can be modified. Additionally, they can be enforced when either parent fails to live up to his or her child support obligation. If you would like a child support order changed or enforced, talking to Rasberry Family Law Group can help you understand your options.

We serve clients in Germantown, Millington, Cordova, Bartlett, Collierville, Shelby County, Fayette County & Tipton County.

Contact a Memphis Child Support Attorney

Contact us to schedule a confidential consultation at our conveniently located office in Memphis, Tennessee. Call us at 901-567-7215, or send us an email at JohnnyR1066@gmail.com.