(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, if a defendant is convicted of a violation of § 39-13-213(a)(2) or § 39-13-218 and the deceased victim of the offense was the parent of a minor child, then the sentencing court shall order the defendant to pay restitution in the form of child maintenance to each of the victim’s children until each child reaches eighteen (18) years of age and has graduated from high school, or the class of which the child is a member when the child reached eighteen (18) years of age has graduated from high school.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-13-219

  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Defendant: means a person accused of an offense under this title and includes any person who aids or abets the commission of such offense. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • 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.
  • Minor: means any person under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Obligation: 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.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Services: includes labor, skill, professional service, transportation, telephone, mail, gas, electricity, steam, water, cable television, entertainment subscription service or other public services, accommodations in hotels, restaurants or elsewhere, admissions to exhibitions, use of vehicles or other movable property, and any other activity or product considered in the ordinary course of business to be a service, regardless of whether it is listed in this subdivision (a)(38) or a specific statute exists covering the same or similar conduct. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • 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 1-3-105
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The court shall determine an amount that is reasonable and necessary for the maintenance of the victim’s child after considering all relevant factors, including:

(1) The financial needs and resources of the child;
(2) The financial resources and needs of the surviving parent or guardian of the child, including the state if the child is in the custody of the department of children’s services;
(3) The standard of living to which the child is accustomed;
(4) The physical and emotional condition of the child and the child’s educational needs;
(5) The child’s physical and legal custody arrangements; and
(6) The reasonable work-related child care expenses of the surviving parent or guardian.
(c) The court shall order that child maintenance payments be made to the clerk of court as trustee for remittance to the child’s surviving parent or guardian. The clerk shall remit the payments to the surviving parent or guardian within ten (10) working days of receipt by the clerk. The clerk shall deposit all payments no later than the next working day after receipt.
(d)

(1) If a defendant who is ordered to pay child maintenance under this section is incarcerated and unable to pay the required maintenance, then the defendant must have up to one (1) year after the release from incarceration to begin payment, including entering a payment plan to address any arrearage. If a defendant’s child maintenance payments are set to terminate but the defendant’s obligation is not paid in full, then the child maintenance payments continue until the entire arrearage is paid.
(2) Notwithstanding § 40-35-304, a surviving parent or guardian who is awarded restitution pursuant to this section may convert the restitution order to a civil judgment at any time by filing a certified copy of the restitution order with an appropriate civil court having jurisdiction over the total amount of restitution ordered. The civil court may convert the restitution order into a civil judgment in the manner provided in § 40-35-304(h).
(e)

(1) If the surviving parent or guardian of the child brings a civil action against the defendant prior to the sentencing court ordering child maintenance payments as restitution and the surviving parent or guardian obtains a judgment in the civil suit, then any maintenance ordered must be offset by the amount of damages that has been received by the surviving parent or guardian prior to the sentencing court entering an order of restitution.
(2) If the court orders the defendant to make child maintenance payments as restitution under this section and the surviving parent or guardian subsequently brings a civil action and obtains a judgment, then the child maintenance order must be offset by the amount of damages received by the surviving parent or guardian pursuant to the civil action.
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