Mom Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder Loses Custody Battle

Tennessee child custody case summary.

Jade C. Nunnally v. Adam Nunnally

The mother and father in this Hamilton County, Tennessee case were married in 2013 and had a daughter who was born in 2015.  Three months after the daughter was born, the mother filed for divorce.  The mother’s proposed parenting plan called for the father to have no visitation with the child.  The father’s proposed parenting plan called for him to be the primary residential parent, with the mother having only supervised visitation.

Prior to the marriage, the mother had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  About three years later, she didn’t believe she needed her medications and stopped taking them.  At her parents’ intervention, she was then admitted to a psychiatric facility with irrational thinking and bizarre behaviors.  She resumed her medications and was discharged.

The parties were married shortly after her discharge.  After the baby was born, the mother stayed home while the father worked.  While he was at work, she sent him texts that she had gone insane and reached the breaking point.  She had a number of emotional outbursts, and killed the father’s pet fish.  Shortly thereafter, she filed for divorce.

After hearing all of the evidence, the trial court ruled that the father would provide a more stable environment for the child.  The court noted that the mother would need to deal with her diagnosis and comply with appropriate treatment.  The father was named the primary residential parent.  The mother was given unsupervised visitation on alternate weekends and one day a week.  The mother was ordered to pay child support.  Both parties then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

After noting the appropriate standard of review, the appeals court first turned to the mother’s argument that she should have been named primary residential parent.  She argued that undue weight was placed on a psychiatric report, when the psychiatrist had never seen her interact with the child.  But the appeals court noted that the trial court had based its ruling on other factors as well, including the testimony of the parties and other witnesses.  The appeals court reviewed the relevant factors and found that the evidence supported the lower court’s ruling.  Therefore, it found that the evidence did not preponderate against the lower court’s ruling, and affirmed for that reason.

The court then turned to the father’s argument that the lower court should have granted only supervised visitation.  He argued that the mother was emotionally and mentally unstable and posed a danger to the child.

But the appeals court noted that the trial court had carefully considered the evidence and had come to the conclusion that the mother did not physically or mentally abuse the child.  She had shown consistent concern for the child.  For this reason, the Court of Appeals also affirmed this portion of the judgment.

The appeals court also reviewed the award of child support and affirmed.

No. E2016-01414-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 28, 2017).

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