Dad Granted More Parenting Time After Return from Deployments

Tennessee child custody modification case summary.

Kara Krulewicz v. Joshua Krulewicz

Dad Granted More Parenting Time After Return from Deployments

The parents in this Montgomery County, Tennessee, case were married in Oklahoma in 2006 and had two children, born in 2008 and 2012.  They separated in Virginia in 2013, and the mother filed for divorce in Tennessee in 2017.  Both parents were in the military.  The wife was most recently stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, and lived with her new husband in Tennessee.  The father was most recently stationed in Georgia, where he lived with his new wife.

In 2017, the parents agreed to a marital dissolution agreement.  Under the parenting plan, the mother was named the primary residential parent, with 300 days of parenting time per year.

In 2019, the father came back to court asking to have the parenting plan modified.  He requested the immediate return of the children and a restraining order.

The trial court did not enter an emergency order, but did order that neither parent should use corporal punishment.  A guardian ad litem was also appointed.

A hearing was held, and the father testified that he had not exercised visitation because he had been stationed in Turkey, and when he returned to the United States, he was stationed in Nevada and couldn’t afford air fare.

While he was in Turkey, the father learned of allegations of abuse on which his petition was based.

After a hearing, the trial court found that there had been a material change of circumstances, and that revising the parenting plan was in the children’s best interest.  The father was awarded 120 days per year, with the mother’s time reduced to 245 days.  After post-trial motions, the mother appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The appeals court first turned to the question of material change of circumstances, and noted that there is a very low threshold on this issue.  The trial court had based this finding primarily on the parents’ remarriages, and the appeals court agreed that this was a sufficient change to constitute a material change.

The court then turned to the best interest analysis, and listed the statutory factors that must be considered.  In this case, the lower court had considered the relationship between the children and each parent, and also gave some weight to the child’s desire to spend more time with them.

The trial court also ruled that both parents were capable of performing the duties of parents, and that this factor was equal to both parents, as was the parents’ ability to provide for the children.

Both the lower court and appellate court spent time considering activities the children were involved with, and considered whether the residential schedule would interfere with those activities.

The appeals court also held that the lower court had given appropriate weight to the desires of the older child, since one relevant factor is the desires of a child older than 12.

After examining all of the factors, the Court of Appeals held that the lower court had acted appropriately.  Therefore, it affirmed the trial court’s judgment and remanded the case for any further proceedings that were necessary.

No. M2021–00190-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 1,  2022).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Modifying Custody & Parenting Plans.

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.