TN Mom Not Allowed To Relocate With Kids After Agreeing Not To

Tennessee child custody case summary on denial of parent relocation.

Holly Theresa Self v. Jason Wayne Self

This was a Tennessee parental relocation case.  The parties had agreed to a permanent parenting plan, and one provision of that plan stated that if either party relocated from Lincoln County, Tennessee, the children would reside primarily with the remaining parent, and that the children would remain in the Lincoln County school system.

In 2014, the mother informed the father that she intended to relocate to Brentwood, Tennessee, because her husband had accepted a job there.  The father objected to the relocation request, based upon the provision in the parenting plan.

The first issue in a Tennessee parental relocation case is a determination of whether the children spend substatially equal time with both parents, and in this case, the court held that they did.  Under that portion of the Tennessee parental relocation statute, in such cases, there is no presumption in favor of or against relocation, and the court decides based on the best interests of the child.  In this case, however, the sole basis of the ruling was the provision in the parenting plan, which the trial court held prevented the mother from relocating with the children.  After the mother asked the trial court to reconsider, it did go on to consider the best interests of the children, but held that it was in the best interests of the children to remain with the father in Lincoln County.  Dissatisfied with that ruling, the mother appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

On appeal, she first argued that the provision in the parenting plan was unenforceable because it conflicted with the parental relocation statute.  The Court of Appeals agreed with this argument.  It pointed out that once the provision became part of the parenting plan, it was no longer a private contract.  It was instead part of the divorce judgment, and would need to be interpreted in light of Tennessee law, including the parental relocation statute.  Therefore, the appeals court turned to the best interests of the children.

In making this determination, the trial court had relied heavily upon the parties’ prior agreement to remain in Lincoln County.  It had regarded this agreement as an agreement by the parties that remaining in Lincoln County was, indeed, in the children’s best interest.  The appeals court agreed with the father that the trial court was not required to ignore this provision when determining the best interests.

After reviewing this and the other relevant factors, the appeals court agreed that remaining in Lincoln County was in the children’s best interest.  For this reason, it affirmed the lower court’s ruling.

No. M2014-02295-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Sep. 23, 2015).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Tennessee Parent Relocation Statute Law.