Court Grants Equal Parenting Time, Despite Mom’s Objections 

Tennessee child custody case summary on “Maximum Participation Possible” in divorce.

Barry Michael Spencer, II, v. Christina Marie Spencer

The mother and father in this Tennessee divorce case were married in 2010 and had one daughter, who was born in 2012.  The mother also had two children from a previous marriage.  Both parents were paramedics who worked 24 hours on and 48 hours off.  The mother also had a full week off every four weeks.

The parties were able to resolve most issues, but could not agree on a parenting plan, and a hearing was held.

After hearing, the trial court named the mother the primary residential parent, awarding her 183 days per year of parenting time, with the father receiving the additional 182 days.  The mother appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The appeals court first noted that the trial court has broad discretion in fashioning parenting plans, and that there is a presumption that factual findings are correct unless the evidence preponderates otherwise.

The mother’s argument was that the weight of the evidence was contrary to the lower court’s finding that substantially equal time was appropriate.  In particular, she argued that the lower court had placed the wrong weight on some of the relevant factors.  She pointed out that she had been the child’s primary caregiver, but the appeals court noted that the lower court had considered this factor and given it the proper weight.

On days when the mother had been working, the child was cared for by the child’s maternal grandmother, and the trial court had agreed with the father that this arrangement was unreasonable when he was available.  The father had suffered from depression and had shown some angry outbursts, but the appeals court concluded that the lower court had properly considered this, and the final ruling was not outside the scope of being reasonable.

Overall, the appeals court held that it was not in a position to “tweak” the lower court’s findings.  For that reason, it affirmed the lower court’s ruling and assessed the costs of appeal against the mother.

No. M2014-01601-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 25, 2016).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Child Custody Laws in Tennessee.

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.