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 [...]

The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted Tennessee immensely, including the criminal justice system. The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued multiple orders suspending in-person hearings, resuming those hearings with restrictions, and preventing members of the public from attending court cases. These orders have been extended multiple times as the pandemic continues into another month. If you need [...]

A lawmaker in East Tennessee wants to deliver financial assistance to grandparents and other relatives who find themselves in the unexpected position of having to raise children of parents who are addicted to opioids. Last year, Sen. Richard Briggs introduced SB0011 and is attempting to push it through the state legislature this year using unspent [...]

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 [...]

In deciding how to assign legal and physical custody, judges always focus on what is in the best interests of the child. Generally, courts like to have parents share legal custody unless there are strong reasons why only parent shouldn’t have any legal custody. One parent is usually granted (primary) residential custody, and the other [...]

Child custody cases are among the toughest cases to handle. Asset division and support cases involve accounting for the appropriate assets, income, and debts – and then assigning a value/sum that must be paid. Custody disputes go the heart of relationships. There’s no way to split a child in half. At every level, courts and [...]

Custody battles can bring out the worst character traits in people who are supposed to be fighting for the best interests of the child. Sometimes, parents get so caught up in their desire to win that they lose sight of the facts of what "winning" a custody battle really means. Are you sure that you [...]

One of the more complex points of your Tennessee divorce was probably determining your child custody schedule. Coming to agreement on something that works for both parents, and is also in best interest of your child or children, isn't easy, and sometimes requires the help of a mediator or a divorce court. Typically, visitation schedules [...]

One of the most important and difficult issues that come up during a divorce is child custody. Divorcing parents must decide the terms for custody, whether it will be joint or sole custody, a schedule for parenting time, and they need to do it in a way that disrupts their children's lives as little as [...]

Not being awarded custody of your children, or losing custody of them, is easier than you think. The court's priority is to make decisions in the best interest if the child. As a parent who desires to get custody of their child in a divorce, if you keep the child's best interests – not your [...]

Families can be complicated and, often, parents are not the sole caregivers to their children. Grandparents often have a special relationship with their grandchildren and, in many cases, might function as a parent or legal guardian to a child for some or most of their lives. In Tennessee, there are three specific statutes of family [...]