Will I be arrested if I do not show up for my court hearing that decides if I have to pay child support.

If you have been summonsed to Court on a contempt petition, then it is possible that you may be arrested if you fail to appear. If you have been summonsed to Court only on a petition to set support, and no contempt proceedings have been brought against you, then it is not likely that you would be arrested for failing to appear. However, a default may be granted against you, and your child support may end up being set at an unreasonably high rate based upon the Court not having any information concerning your income. In particular, pursuant to the child support guidelines, your income could be imputed at the median income for males in the State of Tennessee, which is $ 37,589.00, if the Court determines that it does not have any reliable information concerning your income because of your failure to appear after receiving the appropriate notice required by the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. This imputation of your income at such a high level could result in a child support Order that you do not actually have the ability to pay if your income is actually much less than the median income figure provided above. Your inability to pay the child support could then lead to significant problems in the future including the potential for incarceration based upon your non-payment or underpayment of child support. These problems will be further magnified by the fact that child support can not be modified retroactively. As such, it is highly advisable that you figure out a way to attend this hearing if at all possible. I would also bring information about your income with you to the hearing including your most recent pay stub and your income tax returns for the past couple of years. Best of Luck!

IF you were served with a subpoena or with something that has the same force and effect as a subpoena THEN it is possible for the Court to issue a warrant for your arrest if you fail to appear in regard to the same. HOWEVER, as you reside outside the jurisdictional reach of the Court that would be issuing the same, it is doubtful that anything would ever become of this unless you were to return to the state that actually issued the warrant AND you were to come to the attention of law enforcement AND they were to have some way of knowing that you had an outstanding civil warrant. It is highly unlikely that you would ever be extradited from your current state to answer for a warrant of this nature. What you should find out is if there is the ability to appear by phone for the present hearing or not and if there is you should make every effort to do so and participate in the hearing.

If you're in South Dakota, why does the question say "asked in Chattanooga"?