Dad Loses Visitation Days When Stepmom & Stepsister Pose Threat

Tennessee child custody case summary on custody modification.

Angela Charlene Iveson v. Jeffrey Wayne Iveson

The mother and father in this Sumner County, Tennessee, case were divorced in 2009.  They had three children, two of whom subsequently reached the age of majority.  The father had been named primary residential parent of the two older children, and the mother was primary residential parent of the youngest.

In 2016, the mother filed a petition to modify the parenting plan and increase child support.  A trial was held in early 2018.  The mother argued that the child’s stepmother and stepsister were negative forces in the child’s life.  She alleged, for example, that the stepmother had a temper problem.  She also argued that the health insurance for the child was inadequate.  The child also reported that the stepsister became violent at times.

The father, on the other hand, blamed the problems on the mother’s vindictiveness.

The trial court ruled in favor of the mother and modified the parenting plan.  It reduced the father’s parenting time from 80 to 44 days.  It also increased the father’s child support obligation, based upon his income in the previous year.  The father then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The father first argued that it was error to reduce his parenting time.  The court noted that such a change can be made only if there is a material change of circumstances and that the change is in the child’s best interest.

The appeals court zeroed in on the fact that the previous parenting plan, by everyone’s admission, had not been working.  Therefore, it quickly concluded that there had been a material change of circumstances.

The contested issue, however, was whether the change was in the child’s best interest.  The appeals court reviewed the statutory factors, and noted that the lower court had made extensive factual findings related to these factors.  A majority had favored the mother’s position.  The trial court had accorded considerable weight to the child’s position, and had heard the child’s evidence as to the stepdaughter’s conduct.

In particular, the lower court had found that the stepmother and stepsister “posed a threat” to the child.  The appeals court found that this finding was supported by the evidence.

The court also reviewed the change in child support, and concluded that the lower court had acted properly in considering only the previous year’s earnings, and not an average of a longer period.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling.

No. M2018-01031-COA-R3-CV  (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 18, 2019).

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 examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.