(1) "Adjusted Gross Income" - The Adjusted
Gross Income (AGI) is the net determination of a parent's income, calculated by
modifying the parent's gross income as follows:
(a) Adding to the parent's gross income any
social security benefit paid to the child on the parent's account;
(b) Deducting from gross income any
applicable self-employment taxes being paid by the parent; and
(c) Deducting from gross income any credits
as set forth in these Rules for the individual parent's other children for whom
the parent is legally responsible and is actually supporting.
(2) "Adjusted Support Obligation"
- The adjusted support obligation (ASO) is the Basic Child Support Obligation
(BCSO) from the Child Support Schedule (CS Schedule), adjusted for parenting
time as set forth in these Rules, health care insurance, work-related childcare
expenses, and recurring uninsured medical expenses.
(3) "Adjustments for Additional Expenses" -
The additional expenses associated with the cost of health care insurance for
the child, work-related childcare, and recurring uninsured medical expenses are
not included in the Basic Child Support Obligation (BCSO) and must be added to
the BCSO to determine the Adjusted Support Obligation (ASO).
(4) "Alternate Residential Parent (ARP)" -
The "alternate residential parent" (ARP) is the parent with whom the child
resides less than fifty percent (50%) of the time.
(5) "Basic Child Support Obligation" - The
Basic Child Support Obligation (BCSO) is the amount of support displayed on the
Child Support Schedule (CS Schedule) which corresponds to the combined Adjusted
Gross Income (AGI) of both parents and the number of children for whom support
is being determined. The BCSO amount is rebuttably presumed to be the
appropriate amount of basic child support to be provided by both parents prior
to consideration of any adjustments for parenting time or additional expenses.
However, if the obligor's adjusted gross income falls within the shaded area of
the CS Schedule, the BCSO may be computed using only the obligor's income. [see
"Self Support Reserve" definition]
(6) "Caretaker" - The person or entity
providing primary care and supervision of a child. The caretaker is the child's
Primary Residential Parent. The caretaker may be a parent of the child, a
non-parent person or agency who voluntarily or, pursuant to tribunal order or
other legal arrangement, is providing care and supervision of the child (for
example, the child's grandparent). A caretaker may be a private or public
agency or person not related to the child providing custodial care and
supervision for the child through voluntary or involuntary placement by the
child's parent, non-parent relative, or other designated caretaker, or by court
order or other legal arrangement (for example, a foster parent). In these
rules, the designation "non-parent caretaker" refers to a private or public
agency, a non-parent person who may or may not be related to the child, or
another designated caretaker who provides the primary care and supervision for
the child.
(7) "Child" - "Child"
includes the plural "children," and "children" includes the singular "child,"
where the context requires. For purposes of this chapter, "child" means:
(a) A person, not otherwise emancipated, who
is less than eighteen (18) years of age or a person who reaches eighteen (18)
years while in high school until the person graduates from high school or until
the class of which the person is a member when the person attains eighteen (18)
years of age graduates, whichever occurs last; or
(b) A person who is disabled pursuant to
Tennessee Code Annotated §
36-5-101(k).
(8) "Child Support Schedule" - The
Child Support Schedule (CS Schedule or Schedule) is a chart which displays the
dollar amount of the BCSO corresponding to various levels of combined AGI of
the children's parents and the number of children for whom a child support
order is being established or modified. The Schedule shall be used to calculate
the BCSO , according to the rules in this chapter. The shaded area on the
schedule represents the SSR amount. Deviations from the Schedule shall comply
with the requirements of
1240-02-04-.07.
(9) "Combined Adjusted Gross Income" - The
amount of AGI calculated by adding together the AGI of both parents. This
amount is then used to determine the BCSO for both parents for the number of
children for whom support is being calculated in the case immediately under
consideration. However, if the obligor's AGI falls within the shaded area of
the CS Schedule, a comparison must be completed to determine if the BCSO is
computed using only the obligor's income.
(10) "Days" - For purposes of this chapter, a
"day" of parenting time occurs when the child spends more than twelve (12)
consecutive hours in a twenty-four (24) hour period under the care, control or
direct supervision of one parent or caretaker. The twenty-four (24) hour period
need not be the same as a twenty-four (24) hour calendar day. Accordingly, a
"day" of parenting time may encompass either an overnight period or a daytime
period, or a combination thereof. In extraordinary circumstances, routinely
incurred parenting time of shorter duration may be cumulated as a single day
for parenting time purposes.
(11)
"Department" - The Tennessee Department of Human Services.
(12) "Fifty-fifty Parenting/Equal Parenting"
- For purposes of this chapter, parenting is fifty-fifty (50-50) or equal when
the parents of the child each spend fifty percent (50%) of the parenting time
with that child. On the Child Support Worksheet, each parent will be designated
as having one hundred eighty-two point five (182.5) days with the child. For
purposes of calculating the support obligation, fifty-fifty/equal parenting is
a form of standard parenting.
(13)
"Final Child Support Order" - The presumptive child support order (PCSO)
adjusted by any deviations ordered by the tribunal or adjusted to the minimum
child support order.
(14) "Health
Insurance" - Health insurance includes medical, vision, and dental coverage for
the minor child(ren), if available at a reasonable cost.
(15) "Legally Responsible for a Child" - For
purposes of this chapter, a person is "legally responsible for a child" or
legally obligated for a child or children when the child is or has been:
(a) Born of the parent's body;
(b) Born of the parents' marriage if the
child is born during the marriage or within three hundred (300) days after
termination of the marriage by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or
divorce;
(c) Legally adopted by the
parent;
(d) Voluntarily
acknowledged by the parent as the parent's child pursuant to Tennessee Code
Annotated §
24-7-113
or pursuant to the voluntary acknowledgement procedure of any other state or
territory that comports with Title IV-D of the Social Security Act;
or
(e) Determined to be the child
of the parent by any tribunal of this State, any other state or territory, or a
foreign country pursuant to a reciprocal agreement or treaty.
(16) "Obligee" - The parent or
caretaker that receives payment of the child support obligation from the
Obligor. The Obligee can be either the PRP, the ARP, or the non-parent
caretaker of the child(ren).
(17)
"Obligor" - The parent that is responsible for payment of the child support
obligation to the Obligee. The Obligor can be either the PRP or ARP of the
child(ren), but in no case shall the Obligor be a child's non-parent
caretaker.
(18) "Parent" - For
purposes of this chapter, "parent" means a person who:
(a) Gave birth to the child;
(b) Was married to the mother of the child at
the time of the birth of the child or within three hundred (300) days after
termination of the marriage by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or
divorce;
(c) Legally adopted the
child;
(d) Voluntarily acknowledged
the child pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated §
24-7-113
or pursuant to the voluntary acknowledgement procedure of any other state or
territory of the United States that comports with Title IV-D of the Social
Security Act; or
(e) Has been
determined to be a parent of the child by any tribunal of this State, any other
state or territory, or a foreign country pursuant to a reciprocal agreement or
treaty.
(19) "Parenting
Time Adjustment" - Adjustment to the BCSO based upon parenting time.
(20) "Percentage of Income" - The Percentage
of Income (PI) for each parent is obtained by dividing each parent's AGI (see
paragraph (1) above) by the combined total of both parents' AGI. The PI is used
to determine each parent's pro rata share of the BCSO, as well as each parent's
share of the amount of additional expense for health insurance, work-related
childcare costs, and recurring uninsured medical expenses. [Also see paragraph
(23) below - "pro rata"]
(21)
"Presumptive Child Support Order."
(a) The
"Presumptive Child Support Order" (PCSO) is the amount of support to be paid
for the child derived from the parent's proportional share of the basic child
support obligation, adjusted for parenting time, plus the parent's proportional
share of any additional expenses.
(b) This amount is rebuttably presumed to be
the appropriate child support order.
(22) "Primary Residential Parent (PRP)."
(a) The "primary residential parent" (PRP) is
the parent with whom the child resides more than fifty percent (50%) of the
time. The PRP also refers to the parent designated as such by Tennessee Code
Annotated §
36-6-402 and, if
not determined by these rules, the parent designated as such by the
tribunal.
(b) A non-parent
caretaker that has physical custody of the child is the child's PRP for the
purposes of these rules. See: Tennessee Code Annotated §§
36-5-101(b);
71-3-124(a)(6)
(c) If a primary
residential parent has not been otherwise designated, the primary residential
parent will be determined consistent with the criteria of subparagraphs (a) and
(b) above.
(23) "Pro
rata."
(a) For the purposes of this chapter,
"pro rata" refers to the proportion of one parent's Adjusted Gross Income to
both parents' combined Adjusted Gross Income, or to the proportion of one
parent's support obligation to the whole support obligation. [Also see
paragraph (20) above - "percentage of income"]
(b) A parent's pro rata share of income is
calculated by combining both parents' Adjusted Gross Income and dividing each
parent's separate Adjusted Gross Income by the combined Adjusted Gross
Income.
(c) A parent's pro rata
share of the basic support obligation is calculated by multiplying the basic
child support obligation obtained from the Child Support Schedule by each
parent's pro rata percentage of the combined Adjusted Gross Income.
(24) "Reasonable Cost of
Insurance" - When the Order states that insurance should be provided when
available at a reasonable cost, the cost of insurance is considered reasonable
to the parent responsible for providing medical support for the child(ren) if
the cost does not exceed five percent (5%) of his or her gross income. If
adding vision and/or dental insurance for the child(ren) increases the total
cost of the insurance to more than 5% of gross income, only medical insurance
is required.
(25) "Self Support
Reserve (SSR)" - The minimum amount of income required to meet the basic
subsistence needs of a parent as determined under
1240-02-04-.03
is considered the self support reserve. The obligor is eligible for the SSR
adjustment if his/her income falls within the shaded area of the CS Schedule.
The SSR adjustment amount shall be compared to the obligor's proportionate
share using the combined AGI of the parents to determine the BCSO from the CS
Schedule and multiplying by the PI. The lesser amount of the two establishes
the Calculated BCSO Owed.
(26)
"Split Parenting"- For purposes of this chapter, "split parenting" can only
occur in a child support case if there are two (2) or more children of the same
parents, where one (1) parent is PRP for at least one (1) child of the parents,
and the other parent is PRP for at least one (1) other child of the parents. In
a split parenting case, each parent is the PRP of any child spending more than
fifty percent (50%) of the time with that parent and is the ARP of any child
spending more than fifty percent (50%) of the time with the other parent. A
split parenting situation will have two (2) PRPs and two (2) ARPs, but no child
will have more than one (1) PRP or ARP.
(27) "Standard Parenting" - For purposes of
this chapter, "standard parenting" refers to a child support case in which all
of the children supported under the order spend more than fifty percent (50%)
of the time with the same PRP. There is only one (1) PRP and one (1) ARP in a
standard parenting case.
(28)
"Theoretical Support Order" or "Theoretical Order" - A theoretical support
order is a hypothetical order which allows the finder of fact to determine the
amount of a child support obligation if an order existed. In these rules, a
theoretical order is used to determine the amount of credit allowed as a
deduction from a parent's gross income for a parent's qualified other children
who are receiving support from that parent, whether or not the support is
provided pursuant to a child support order.
(29) "Tribunal" - A judicial or
administrative body or agency granted legal authority to determine disputed
issues within its jurisdiction including, but not limited to, the
establishment, modification, or enforcement of child support and paternity
issues.
(30) "Uninsured Medical
Expenses" - For the purposes of this chapter, the child's uninsured medical
expenses include, but are not limited to, health insurance co-payments,
deductibles, and such other costs as are reasonably necessary for orthodontia,
dental treatment, asthma treatments, physical therapy, vision care, and any
acute or chronic medical/health problem, or mental health illness, including
counseling and other medical or mental health expenses, that are not covered by
insurance.
(31) "Variable
Multiplier."
A mathematical formula based upon the number of days the ARP
spends with the child and the amount of the BCSO which is used in the
calculation of a parenting time adjustment in parenting situations where the
ARP spends ninety-two (92) or more days per calendar year with a child, or an
average of ninety-two (92) days with all applicable children.
(32) "Work-Related Childcare Costs."
(a) For the purposes of this chapter,
work-related childcare costs mean expenses for the care of the child for whom
support is being determined which are due to employment of either parent or
non-parent caretaker.
(b) In an
appropriate case, the tribunal may consider the childcare costs associated with
a parent's job search or the training or education of either parent necessary
to obtain a job or enhance earning potential, not to exceed a reasonable time
as determined by the tribunal, if the parent proves by a preponderance of the
evidence that the job search, job training, or education will benefit the
children being supported.
(c)
Childcare costs shall be projected for the next consecutive twelve (12) months
and averaged to obtain a monthly amount.