Tennessee Dad Wins Change of Custody of Swimming Star
Tennessee child custody case summary on custody modification in family law.
Terrence Moore Robinson, Jr., v. Susan Kathleen Robinson – Tennessee child custody modification
The mother and father in this Tennessee divorce case were divorced in 2001 and had one son, who was born in 1998. Under the most recent parenting plan, the son resided with the mother in Fairview during the school year, and with the father for eight weeks during the summer. The mother was named the primary residential parent.
In 2013, the father filed a petition to be named primary residential parent. As changed circumstances, he cited the fact that the son had become a nationally ranked swimmer, and wanted to attend Memphis University School and swim for the team. The son’s current high school did not have a swim team, and the father argued that this limited the son’s ability to form friendships. The son also indicated his desire to reside with the father and change schools.
The trial court held that this constituted a change in circumstances and that the modification was in the son’s best interests. Therefore, the father was named primary residential parent. The mother then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The appeals court first noted that a change can be made only if there is a change of circumstances that was not reasonably foreseeable when the original decision was made. It noted that there is no bright line, and the court must consider many factors. In this case, the appeals court agreed with the lower court that neither party anticipated how much the son would excel at swimming, and how important this sport would be in his social development. It therefore agreed that there had been a change in circumstances.
The court then considered the child’s best interests. The mother argued that the trial court had not given sufficient weight to continuity. But the appeals court examined the evidence and concluded that this factor had been given sufficient weight.
The mother also argued that the trial court had given too much weight to the child’s stated desire to reside with the father. But the appeals court agreed with the trial court that the son had made this decision for good reasons, and that the trial court had accorded the proper weight to this factor.
For these reasons, the appeals court affirmed the lower court’s ruling.
No. M2014-00431-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 16, 2015).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Modifying Custody & Parenting Plans.
See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring actual examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.
