Nash v. Mulle
Supreme Court of Tennessee
846 S.W.2d 803 (1993)
After Charles Mulle (defendant) was declared the father of Helen Nash's (plaintiff) daughter Melissa and ordered to pay $200 per month in child support, Nash later sought an increase based on Mulle's income rising from $30,000 to over $200,000; the trial court ordered Mulle to pay $3,092.62 monthly, including $1,780.17 for a trust fund for Melissa's college education, but the court of appeals limited support to $1,312 monthly (21 percent of $6,250, the guidelines' top explicit income bracket) and disallowed the trust fund as improperly extending parental support duties beyond the age of majority.
Whether a trial court possesses the discretion to deviate from statutory child-support guidelines if a parent's income exceeds the maximum amount.