Marriages in the state of Tennessee are either ended by absolute divorce or suspended by legal separation, also called divorce from bed and board. In either case, there may be two kinds of support payments ordered by the court. The first is alimony, and the second is child support.

Alimony is the money a former spouse is ordered to pay the other spouse by the court. Child support is the money paid by one parent for the care, support, education, and upbringing of children from the marriage. The custodial parent (the parent in whose custody the child remains) is usually paid child support by the noncustodial parent.

The amount of child support and alimony varies in each individual case. The court has to decide whether or not support will be paid at all and the amount of support which will be paid.

There are several things the court takes into consideration in making the decision to award support. In the case of alimony, the court considers the number of years of the marriage; the earnings of the spouse asking for support; and the ability of that spouse to work and earn a living. Also considered are the earnings and ability to pay of the spouse who is asked to pay support; the standard of living of both people involved; and the amount of money owed by both parties.

Generally, all of these things determine whether or not support will be paid at all and the amount of support the court will order. For example, the more a spouse earns, the more support he or she may be required to pay. A spouse with a small income would not be expected to pay as much as one whose earnings are very high.

If the spouse requesting support is ill or under doctor's orders not to work, more support may be required. On the other hand, if both have the ability to earn a living and support themselves, less support or no support will be awarded by the court. The court attempts to be as fair as it can to both parties.

The duration of alimony payments depends on a number of factors, including the ability of the spouse seeking support to work, past earning ability, future earning ability, his or her age, the length of the marriage, etc. Generally, the longer the marriage, the longer the period of support; therefore, a marriage of twenty years would probably require a longer term of support than a marriage of five years.

Upon request of the paying spouse, the court may terminate alimony when the spouse receiving the payments remarries or cohabits with a third party.

Alimony is not, however, awarded as punitive or compensatory damages for the failure of the marriage. The court may, however, consider relative fault of the parties. The sole purpose of alimony is to provide the means by which the supported spouse can "rehabilitate" himself or herself to the position occupied when he or she entered into the marriage. In general, courts award more rehabilitative alimony than any other type. This could include tuition or the costs of a training course plus some support. The time limitations on this type of alimony are shorter: generally, one or two years.
The amount of child support to be paid by the noncustodial parent is generally determined by the use of guidelines which are based on the earnings of that parent. Under certain circumstances, the court can deviate from those guidelines. In general, the child support guidelines provide a percentage of net income for support. Net income is defined as gross income less a deduction for federal tax and social security payments. For one child, the standard percentage is 21%; for two, 32%; for three, 41%; and for four, 46%.

In most cases, child support stops when the child reaches age eighteen or when the child graduates from high school (if he or she is graduating with his or her class), whichever is later; when the child dies; when the child marries; or when the child lives on his or her own away from the custodial parent.

You must petition the court and get a court order to stop the support. Either party may request a court hearing to have the amount of support raised or lowered during or after the divorce. If you are paying child support, the only way to stop paying and not have an arrearage accumulate is to go to court; otherwise, the custodian can come back years later and petition for and receive a judgment against you for unpaid support payments. Nothing, including unemployment, illness, or agreements with your former spouse will authorize the nonpayment of ordered child support payments.

Support for a spouse or children may cost a large sum over the years. Legal representation may be a good investment to be sure your legal rights are protected.

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