Child Support: The basics
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019
If someone has a child who is either under the age of eighteen or is disabled, and that child does not live with a parent full-time, then they have a legal duty to pay money for that child’s support to the person who the child lives with. The amount the supporting parent pays is determined […]
Read More »Child Support: What could happen if it isn’t paid?
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019
The child support system can seem intimidating and difficult to understand, both from the perspective of the parent who is owed child support and the parent who owes child support. Whichever side you fall on, you have likely wondered how the process is handled. Where do these numbers come from? (You can learn about that […]
Read More »Child Support: What’s a IV-D application, and why’s it matter?
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019
If your child’s other parent is not paying child support as ordered by the Court, and you want that to change, you will be required by Tennessee Child Support Enforcement Services (TCSES) to fill out a “IV-D” application. The IV-D application costs nothing to file, but it is always required for child support enforcement. You […]
Read More »The Literacy Project: Next Steps
Monday, April 1st, 2019
Held Law Firm staff has been hard at work on The Literacy Project since January. Recent law graduate and Held Law Firm associate Jennifer Henszey first conceived of the idea for this project after she visited the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Service Center during her third year of law school. While there, she was told […]
Read More »Challenges faced by blended families
Friday, March 29th, 2019
Parenting is tough, whether you are a child’s biological parent, a step parent or a grandparent caring for your grandchildren. Blended and nontraditional families (such as those headed by relatives of a child who are not that child’s parents) can provide a great model of functional family relationships, but ensuring these families work well as a […]
Read More »What the drug crisis means for grandparents
Friday, March 29th, 2019
Due to the large number of parents who struggle with drug addiction, particularly in Tennessee, many children are placed in households headed by relatives other than their parents. Nearly 8 million children across the country lived in these non-nuclear households in 2017, and many of those households were headed by grandparents. Although kids would ideally […]
Read More »If my grandkids live in Tennessee but I live out of state, can I get custody?
Friday, March 29th, 2019
Many grandparents are raising their grandchildren when the parents cannot or choose not to do so. Society is so mobile today, and oftentimes the grandparents and the grandchildren may live in different states. What are your options if you live outside the state of Tennessee but your grandchildren reside in Tennessee and need your help? […]
Read More »What should I consider before taking custody of my grandkids?
Friday, March 29th, 2019
More grandparents than ever are taking over the care of their grandchildren. This might be for any number of reasons, ranging from a parent’s drug use, neglect or abuse of their child, or something more innocuous like an inability to provide financial or emotional support for their child based on temporary hardships. Regardless of the […]
Read More »Grandparent Visitation 101
Friday, March 29th, 2019
The desire to be in your grandchild’s life is occasionally met with resistance. A parent may resent the intrusion, be defensive about their parenting style, or have other reasons for feeling that way. For some grandparents, filing for a court-ordered right to visitation is often the only way to ensure continued contact with their grandchildren. The […]
Read More »Domestic Violence Series: Obtaining financial support via an Order of Protection
Friday, March 29th, 2019
In Tennessee, you may seek an order of protection that directs someone to stay away from you or refrain from certain behavior if they do come around you. Often, the defendant is someone to whom you were/are married or someone with whom you share children. If the person that is ordered to stay away from […]
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