Even after adulthood, Dad must pay child support for disabled son

Tennessee child support case summary in divorce and family law.

Dad must pay child support for disabled son after graduation.

Jeromy Tyson Ratcliff v. Melody Leann Ratcliff Neal

The mother and father of two children were divorced in Bradley County, Tennessee, in 2006. The father was ordered by the court to pay child support. The mother filed a petition in 2019 to extend child support beyond the age of 21 to her youngest child born in 2000. She claimed that the child was declared disabled by the Social Security Administration and had been receiving Supplemental Security Income. Judge J. Michael Sharp denied the father’s motion to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. Judge Sharp ruled that the child will never be able maintain full employment or independent. The psychologist testified that the child would never be able to progress beyond a developmental level of a child aged eight or nine. He also ordered that a vocational assessment be conducted. The father was ordered by the court to pay child support indefinitely. The amount was ultimately set at $980 per monthly. The father appealed the decision to the Tennessee Court of Appeals after a few post-trial motions.

The Court of Appeals began by addressing the question of whether the lower courts had jurisdiction. The father argued the lower court had no subject matter jurisdiction because the petition was filed after the child-support obligation ended. The child graduated in May and the mother filed her petition in June. The appeals court examined the relevant statute, and noted that in cases of disability the duty to pay remains. Since there had been a finding of disability, the child support was still in effect, and the trial court maintained jurisdiction.

It therefore affirmed that portion of the lower court’s order.

The father next argued that the trial court should not have set the amount of child support until after the vocational assessment. The appeals court, after carefully reading the lower courts order,

concluded that the vocational assessment, while necessary, was not a requirement for the resumption of support. It therefore affirmed this part of the order. E2023-01152-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. See original opinion for exact wording. Legal citations have been omitted.

For more information, visit Child Support Laws in Tennessee.