Tenn. Judge Denies Parent’s Equal Time Custody Agreement Over Dispute

Tennessee law case summary on custody dispute in divorce and family law from the Court of Appeals.

Michael Davis Holmes v. Maria Elizabeth Holmes – Tennessee divorce custody dispute overrides agreed parenting schedule.

Michael and Maria Holmes were married for 13 years and had three children who were ages 4, 5, and 10 at the time of their 2012 separation and divorce.  When they separated, the mother and children initially remained in the marital home, and the father moved to a rental property owned by the parties in the same neighborhood.  Within a few months, the parties agreed that the children would spend alternating weeks with each parent, and this arrangement continued until the time of trial.  They agreed to continue this alternate schedule.  However, they were unable to agree which parent would be the primary custodial parent, and trial was held on this issue.

A custody evaluation was performed by Dr. Robert Wahler, who found that the alternate-week plan was working well.  However, he also noted that the parents were deadlocked on some important issues.  After hearing the evidence, the trial judge, Frank V. Williams III of the Roane County, Tennessee, Chancery Court, decided to order split custody.  During the school year, the children would reside with the father, and during the summer months, they would be with the mother.  During the part of the year when they had primary custody, that parent would have the decision-making authority.  The other parent would have the children during the first and third weekends of the month.  The trial court recognized that the mother was receiving less time overall, but reasoned that because of the deadlocks on decision-making, it was more important to provide continuity.  To somewhat make up for the time imbalance, the trial court also assigned custody to the mother during some other school breaks.

The mother then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  The appeals court first noted that the standard of review in custody cases, one of the most important decisions made by a court, was the abuse of discretion standard.  The mother argued that since the parties had agreed on the alternate-week plan, that the court should have accepted that agreement.  But the appeals court held that the trial court must always weigh the appropriate factors contained in the Tennessee statutes, which it found that the lower court had done in this case.

The trial court had noted that the parents “fight like dogs” about many issues, and that the best way to achieve co-parenting would be to move away from the alternate-week plan.  The Court of Appeals thoroughly reviewed the record of the case and concluded that the trial court’s findings were supported by the evidence.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the Roane County court.

No. E2013-01301-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb 3, 2014).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.