Understanding the family finances can be important for people in Tennessee who are going into a divorce, particularly if they are parents. In some families, one spouse may primarily handle the finances. A spouse who is unfamiliar with marital finances may want to hold off on discussing the divorce until they get copies of some paperwork. Otherwise, the other spouse might make financial records difficult to obtain.
Running a credit report may help a person get a record of debt. This could include a mortgage and credit card debt. The person should also know what the family’s monthly expenses are. This will be useful when calculating how much child support is likely to be. Parents should be sure to include the cost of childcare. There could be additional expenses as well, such as medical expenses or contributions to a 529 account for the child’s education.
Parents may also want to start thinking about where they and the children will live after the divorce. Some parents prefer to keep the family home. In making this decision, the expense of keeping up the house as well as taxes and fees if one buys out the other should be considered. Parents should also think about the child’s future expenses. Child support may be partly based on how much time the child spends with each parent.
Parents should keep in mind that they are not permitted to violate the custody agreement if one parent does not pay child support. There are other legal channels that may help one parent collect child support from the other if necessary. Once child support payments are set, the paying parent might have a change in income from job loss or other circumstances. If this happens, the parent may want to ask for a modification in child support.