Parents’ liability for support

(a) In any case in which the court shall find a child dependent and neglected, unruly or delinquent, it may in the same or subsequent proceeding, upon the parents of such child or either of them being duly summoned or voluntarily appearing, proceed to inquire into the ability of such parent to support the child or contribute to such child’s support, and if the court shall find such parent or parents able to support the child or contribute thereto, the court may enter such order or decree as shall be according to equity in the premises, and may enforce the same by executing or in any way in which a court of equity may enforce its orders and decrees, including by imprisonment and fine for contempt. No property of such parents, except the homestead of either of them, shall be exempt from levy and sale under such execution or other process issued from the court. (A) A person under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102Court order: means any order or decree of a judge, magistrate or court of competent jurisdiction. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102Custodian: means a person, other than a parent or legal guardian, who stands in loco parentis to the child or a person to whom temporary legal custody of the child has been given by order of a court. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102Custody: means the control of actual physical care of the child and includes the right and responsibility to provide for the physical, mental, moral and emotional well-being of the child. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102Department: means the department of children's services. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.Juvenile court: means the general sessions court in all counties of this state, except in those counties and municipalities in which special juvenile courts are provided by law, and "judge" means judge of the juvenile court. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105(b) (1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), placement of a child in the custody of an agency of the state shall make the parents of that child liable for support from the effective date of the court’s order. The court’s placement of the child’s custody with the state shall be deemed as an automatic application by the state, as custodian of the child, for child support services from the department of human services Title IV-D child support program. (2) In all cases in which the court places physical custody of any child with an agency of the state, and if no prior orders for the support of the child by each parent exist, the court shall immediately order child support or shall set a hearing, which hearing shall be held within forty-five (45) days of the date the child’s custody is placed with the state, for the purpose of establishing child support and the provision of medical care, to be paid by each parent to the state for the child placed in the state’s custody by the court. Such hearing may be set on the court’s next regular child support docket within the forty-five-day period in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (b)(3). (3) (A) The parents and the Title IV-D office that is enforcing child support under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, compiled in 42 U.S.C. §§ 651 et seq., for the county from which the child is placed shall receive at least ten (10) calendar days’ notice of the child support hearing date unless child support was ordered at the custody hearing. (B) The notice to the parents shall be in writing and may be given at the time of the hearing at which the child is placed in the custody of the state, and shall include a subpoena to each parent to bring to court any documents showing evidence of income, including, but not limited to, pay stubs, W-2 forms, or income tax