Mom’s Unstable Relationships Not Enough to Change Custody in Tennessee

Tennessee law case summary on custody modification in family law from the Court of Appeals.

Brandon and Krysten were never married, but were the parents of two children, a son born in 2003, and a daughter born in 2004. The children were born in New Jersey, and shortly thereafter, they moved to Mississippi. After they moved, the relationship deteriorated, and they separated in 2004. The father went back to New Jersey, and the mother and children stayed in Mississippi. A Mississippi court entered an agreed parenting order.

In 2006, the mother and children moved to Tennessee, and the parties agreed that Tennessee could assume jurisdiction, at which time the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County set a parenting order. The mother was named the primary residential parent, with the father enjoying certain visitation periods during school breaks.

After that order, the mother was married and divorced three times, and the children moved frequently in and around Shelby County. The father continued to live in New Jersey, married and had another child, and worked as a network engineer with a salary of about $150,000.

In 2013, the father filed a petition requesting primary custody. He made various allegations as to the mother’s instability and how her relationships were negatively affecting the children. He pointed to social problems experienced by the daughter, and attributed these to the wife’s personal problems. He argued that the children expressed a strong preference to live with him in New Jersey.

The trial court appointed a guardian ad litem to represent the children’s interests. A trial was held at which the court heard various witnesses. The guardian ad litem testified that both parents loved and cared for the children, but that the mother’s stability was an issue. She also testified that she was concerned about the information the father had given the children about the litigation.

The trial court weighed all of the testimony. In particular, it zeroed in on a Facebook post in which the father had said that he hated the mother, and that she was a “pathetic waste of life.” The trial judge finally concluded that the father’s hostility outweighed the mother’s instability, and found that the father was not a credible witness. The court denied the father’s request, and made some revisions to the order in favor of the mother. The father then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The appeals court first noted that the key issue was the best interests of the children. There must also be a material change of circumstances. It looked at the statutory factors in weighing the determination of relative fitness.

In particular, the appeals court noted that even though the children had expressed a preference, this had been the result of the father’s influence. The father had admitted discussing the litigation with the children. The appeals court examined the evidence and agreed with the lower court that the father had been manipulative and emotionally damaging to the children.

The father also argued that the lower court didn’t appropriately weigh how he was in a better position to respond to the children’s emotional and medical needs. But the trial court had found that the children’s grades were actually good given the parents’ strained relationship. After weighing all of the evidence, the appeals court agreed that the lower court had appropriately addressed these factors.

The father’s main argument was that his household was more stable. The trial court agreed that this factor weighed in his favor, but “just barely.” Again, the appeals court carefully reviewed the evidence and concluded by agreeing with the lower court’s view of the case.

The appeals court went on to examine the other factors considered by the trial court and again concluded that the lower court had properly considered and weighed them.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s judgment.

No. W2014-00542-COA-R3-JV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 27, 2015).

See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Modifying Custody & Parenting Plans in Tennessee After Divorce. See also Miles Mason’s book available on Amazon.com 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.