TN Court Must Maximize Parenting Time Or State Reasons For Not Doing So

Tennessee child custody case summary.

Darryl Lee Pogue v. Jessica Simms

The appeals court found it difficult to ascertain the lower court’s reasoning for not awarding equal parenting time.

The child in this Lincoln County, Tennessee, case was born to unwed parents in 2021.  The father sued to establish paternity and a DNA test established that he was the biological father.  The case went to trial on the issue of visitation, and trial was held in 2022 before Judge Andy Myrick, who issued an order granting the mother 229 days of parenting time and the father, 136 days.  The order, however, contained no findings of fact or conclusions of law.  The father appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The appeals court began by citing cases for the proposition that findings of fact and conclusions of law are required in support of orders.  The father’s main purpose of the appeal was that the lower court had not maximized his parenting time, as required by a Tennessee Statute.

In this case, both parties had agreed that the other was an excellent parent who played an active role in the child’s life.  In light of this, and the statute, the appeals court found it difficult to ascertain the lower court’s reasoning for not awarding equal parenting time. 

[T]he trial court’s order contains no findings of fact or conclusions of law regarding its decision to award Mother 229 days and Father only 136 days of parenting time, and we find no indication in this record that the trial court’s disposition was made in consideration of the legislative intent of section 36-6-106(a)’s requirement that courts are to fashion custody arrangements to maximize a parent’s time with their child in accordance with the child’s best interests.

For this reason, the Court of Appeals vacated the lower court’s order and remanded the case for the lower court to set forth its findings and conclusions.  The appeals court also pointed out that while there was a schedule for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the lower court had failed to adopt a schedule for the parenting time.

Both parents asked for attorney’s fees for the appeal, but this was denied.

No. M2022-01095-COA-R3-JV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 19, 2023).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Child Custody Laws in Tennessee and our video, How is child custody determined in Tennessee?

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.