Child Custody

As divorcing parents navigate the stressful process of child custody evaluations, they may find themselves facing a range of emotions. These evaluations involve an in-depth analysis of the parents and their child, with the goal of determining the best custody arrangement. Tennessee mandates custody evaluations when parents can’t agree on how custody is parsed or…

Sharon Stone recently made headlines after providing details about her custody hearing that took place in 2004. While many people were shocked to hear why she lost custody of her child, the truth is that men and women across the country have experienced similar outcomes due to their professions. In fact, it is more common…

The Department of Children’s Services (DCS) in Tennessee is supposed to be an organization that residents can rely on to report cases of abuse or neglect. Children under their care are to be properly supported and provided with everything they need to thrive. They are to assist the children deemed “juvenile delinquents” by encouraging them…

In any divorce where there are minor children at home, a parenting plan has to be made. A significant part of this plan will outline where the child lives; the rest can outline how important decisions regarding the child’s education, healthcare, and so forth will be made. Some parents can agree on a 50/50 share…

As every coparent knows, child support and child custody can be contentious issues in a divorce. Most of the arguments and tension revolve around how much a parent will pay, or how much time a parent will spend with the child. In some cases, however, how a parent earns money can be a source of…

There may come a time when parents cannot come to a determination on custody issues. The court will then order mediation to reach a settlement between the two parties. It will be led by an experienced mediator who will urge the two parties to set their personal feelings to the side and find the best…

Although you may not want to admit it, maintaining a healthy co-parenting relationship with your ex-spouse can sometimes be difficult. Around the holidays, though, your ex-spouse’s actions may just become unbearable. Maybe he just bought your children the latest iPhones for Christmas, even though the two of you agreed not to spend much on the…

Canadian courts recently saw an intense custody fight that is illustrative of the bitterness that can be at the heart of any custody battle. A surrogate, known by her initials KB, agreed to bear a child for a married man, known as MSB, and the man’s wife. The surrogate slept with MSB in order to…

Without a doubt, finding yourself in a custody battle can be one of the most tense and emotional parts of any divorce. The stakes are high when it comes to your children. You certainly want what is best for them, but have you ever wondered whether they have a say in the matter? Depending on…

Parenting is all about balance. You want your kids to get the help they need, but you also want to avoid overreacting to small issues that can be handled without intervention. Striking this balance is hard enough when it comes to things like education, after-school activities, choosing friends, and learning life skills. When it comes…

There was a time when society and courts automatically handed over child custody and essentially total control of raising a divorced couples’ children to the mother. For a long time that was the standard without question, but it is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Fathers who were taught their place was being a…

Ideally, parents can agree about which parent(s) will have legal and physical custody of their children and what the visitation schedules will be. Agreements are always preferable to having a family law judge who doesn’t really know your kids make the custody decisions for you. If the agreement is worded improperly, though, and doesn’t include…

In Tennessee, there are two types of custody – physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody determines where a child lives. Legal custody determines who makes decisions about the child’s welfare and upbringing. Visitation schedules determine when a child spends time with the parent who doesn’t have physical custody. Each type of custody can be…

One of the most difficult and tiring aspects of any divorce involves the determination of child custody arrangements. This aspect of divorce is even more draining and stressful when one or both of the parents of the child serve in the U.S. military. Although laws are in place to assist families in the military facing…

As a stepparent, do you have a strong desire to “make it official,” and formally adopt your stepchildren? There are a number of reasons why a stepparent may want to make the transition to official parenthood. These include: The emotional benefits it provides for the family Enabling the child to take on the last name…

In Tennessee, every divorce decree must include a parenting plan if there are minor children. Parenting plans need to address many issues, including decisions about physical and legal custody. The plans should: Be drafted to minimize the need for modifications Set forth the basic legal and physical custody requirements Minimize the risk of “harmful parental…

Tennessee, like most states, is trying to make shared custody of children the norm. There are two types of custody in Tennessee: Physical custody provides for where the child will live and sleep. It provides for the daily and weekly needs of the child such as feeding the child, seeing that the child goes to…

In Tennessee, the fitness of a parent is a factor in custody decisions. It is also a factor in termination of a parent’s rights altogether. Termination of a parent’s rights usually arises in adoption proceedings. At the core, the Tennessee courts will hesitate to declare a parent unfit to take care of their child. They…

On July 1, 2018, Tennessee’s new parental relocation statute became law. The main difference from prior law is that prior law made it easier for a parent to relocate if the parent who was relocating was spending comparatively equal time with a child as the parent who wasn’t moving. Prior law made it harder for…