TN Keeps Jurisdiction Over Child of Parents Who Are Residents

Tennessee law case summary on child custody & jurisdiction in Tennessee family law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

In re: Marquise T. G. – Tennesse Jurisdiction & Custdoy Law + Grandmother vs. Parents

This appeal centers on the jurisdiction of a Tennessee court to modify a custody order when the child has been living with his maternal grandmother out of state (in Indiana) for 30 months prior to the filing of the petition. Amber Newton, Mother, and Bryant Gilbert, Father, are the parents of Marquise T.G who was born in may of 2004 in Muncie, Indiana. Kimberli Stacey, the child’s maternal grandmother lives in this location. She is the appellant in the case.

The Mother lived with the child for the first 18 months of the child’s life. The Father resided in Tennessee. The mother returned to Tennessee when the child was 18 months old. The Mother filed a Petition to Establish Paternity when the child was 3 ½ years old in a Tennessee court. The court entered an order in October of 2007 establishing the Father’s status. It required him to pay child support to the Mother monthly and granted the Father Visitation rights. The Mother was named the primary residential parent.

In June of 2008, the Mother asked her mother to help with the child. The grandmother drove to Tennessee to get the child and brought him to Muncie to live with her. She enrolled him in preschool and acted in the role of primary caretaker for 30 months. She provided medical care to the child and enrolled him in first grade. She also enrolled him in a local soccer program and took him to games. During that time, she brought the child to Tennessee about 10 times to visit the Mother. The Mother visited the child twice in Muncie. The Father spoke to the child over the phone once or twice and never traveled to see him.

In October of 2010, the Father filed a Petition to Modify Custody and for Contempt. He stated the Mother did not give him notice regarding the relocation of the child to Indiana and stated that her removal of the child out of state circumvented his ability to have visitation. He stated he was gainfully employed and wanted to provide a stable and secure home for the child. He wanted to be named the primary residential parent.

The grandmother filed a Limited Appearance contesting the jurisdiction in January of 2011. She argued that any litigation should occur in Indiana since this is where the child was living. She also stated she should be permitted to intervene since she was the primary caregiver of the child.

In February of 2011, the trial court had a hearing. It concluded that it had jurisdiction to rule on the Father’s petition and denied the grandmother’s request to dismiss the case. It did give her the right to intervene as a litigant but only for the purpose of protecting her interest as a grandparent to visit the grandson.

In May of 2011, the trial court ruled that the Mother was to be named the primary residential parent and the Father was to be given 135 days of visitation per year. The grandmother was giving visitation with the child for two weeks in July each year. The grandmother appealed the decision.

The grandmother does not believe the trial court had jurisdiction in the case. As a grandparent, she does not have the right to the initial custody determination or any modification of it, according to law. She was never named a guardian of the child or a legal custodian. This meant she lacks the ability to contest the child’s custody and the jurisdiction matter in the case.

However, the appeals court considered the question of jurisdiction anyway. The state’s laws give the trial court the ability to decide in cases where it has made an earlier custody decision, in so much as its exclusive, continuing jurisdiction should the jurisdiction end otherwise. The appeals court stated that in the absence of any abuse or neglect, only the Mother and Father are entitled to exercise custody of the child. Since both the Mother and Father reside in Tennessee, the lower court’s decisions were affirmed.

In re: Marquise T. G., No. M2011-00809-COA-R3-JV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 18, 2012).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

Memphis divorce lawyer, Miles Mason, Sr., JD, CPA practices family law exclusively and is founder of the Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC, which handles Tennessee family law matters including divorce, child support, alimony, prenuptial agreements, child custody, parental relocation, child support modification, alimony modification, and divorces including business valuation and forensic accounting issues.  A Memphis divorce attorney from the Miles Mason Family Law Group can help. Contact the Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC at 901-683-1850.