Judge Cannot Restrict Move by Custodial Parent of Less Than 50 Miles

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Tennessee child custody case summary on parental relocation.

Catherine Caton v. Kyle Austin Caton

The mother and father in this Sumner County, Tennessee, case were divorced in 2013.  The mother was named the primary residential parent for the two minor children, ages eight and three.  She was granted 209 days parenting time, with the father being granted 156 days.

In 2014, the mother made a petition to modify the parenting plan.  She alleged that there was a material change of circumstances because she planned to move to Murfreesboro.  Even though this was less than fifty miles, the distance which would trigger the parental relocation statute, she also made the allegations required under that statute.

The father opposed the modification, and alleged that the reason for the move was unreasonable and vindictive.  His counter-petition asked for him to be named primary residential parent if the mother moved.

The case was heard by Judge Barry R. Brown, who denied both petitions.  The order prohibited the mother from relocating from Sumner County.  The mother then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The appeals court quickly noted that because the parental relocation statute didn”t apply (since the move was less than fifty miles), there was no legal basis to restrict the mother’s ability to move.  It noted that the permanent parenting plan had no such restriction.

The appeals court went further to say that even had the statute applied, it did not grant courts the power to dictate where parents must live.  Custody agreements may be modified, but only in accordance with the terms of the statute.

For these reasons, the appeals court reversed this portion of the lower court’s order and put the original parenting plan back in place.

No. M2015-01829-COA-R3-CV  (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 16, 2018).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Tennessee Parent Relocation Statute Law.

See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.