Mother Awarded Custody After Domestic Violence

Tennessee child custody case summary in divorce.

Sandra Jo Robbins v. Robert Scholze Robbins

The husband and wife in this Hamilton County, Tennessee, case had been married for about 20 years at the time of their 2016 divorce, which followed the wife’s obtaining an order of protection following a domestic violence incident.  The couple had three children, the oldest of whom was over the age of majority at the time of the divorce.

The wife had predominantly been a stay-at-home mother during the marriage.  The trial was held before Judge L. Marie Williams, who heard testimony by the parties, and also questioned the children in chambers.  During the questioning, a court reporter and guardian ad litem were present, but the wife’s attorney and the pro-se husband were excluded.  After hearing all of the evidence, Judge Williams entered an order on various issues, including custody.

In particular, the court found that the children were very credible.  Despite the husband’s assertion, the judge found no evidence that the children had been “brainwashed.”  The trial court gave particular weight to the findings of domestic violence by the husband and violations of the order for protection.  The court found that the children had a strong bond with the mother but had not formed a bond with the father.  The mother had previously relocated to Michigan where she had family, and the court found that the children had formed strong relationships there.

Ultimately, the court granted custody to the mother and entered a parenting plan.  Under that plan, the children were allowed to initiate contact with their father, but he was not allowed to contact them.  Instead, he was allowed to write letters which would be held by his brother until requested by the children.

The husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals and raised various issues, including the appropriateness of the custody order.  After addressing the other issues, the appeals court turned to the custody issue.  It first outlined the statutory factors to be considered.

The appeals court focused on the trial court’s findings that the children were well adjusted and happy in Michigan.  After its extensive review of the evidence, the appeals court concluded that the evidence supported the lower court’s findings, and it affirmed the lower court’s custody ruling.

After addressing the alimony issue, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling in its entirety, and remanded the case for collection of costs.

No. E2017-01427-COA-R3-CV  (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 16, 2018).

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.