Mom Allowed to Relocate to Germany With Children

The parents in this Lincoln County, Tennessee, case were divorced in 2018, and the mother was named the primary residential parent of the two minor children.  The father was granted 144 days per year of parenting time.  The father later came back to court requesting more parenting time, but while this case was pending, the mother gave notice of her intention to move to Germany with the children to be closer to her family.  The father opposed this move.

The trial court heard testimony about various parenting disputes.  The children were dual citizens, and spoke German in the mother’s home.  The mother testified that she was willing to bring the children to the United States during school breaks, and to allow weekly phone calls with the father.

The trial court granted the mother’s request.  It found that the mother had tried to co-parent, but that the father had made this process very difficult.  The trial court also reduced the father’s parenting time, granting him summer vacation, fall break, and half of the Christmas break.  It also ordered at least four phone calls per week.

The father appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, which first pointed out that the lower court’s factual findings had a presumption of correctness.

The lower court had found that the mother had a stronger relationship with the children, and that the father exhibited a bias toward the mother.  It also found that the mother’s family was willing to assist with parenting, that the children spoke German, and that they would be able to adapt to the new school in Germany.

The appeals court found that the evidence did not preponderate against those findings.  While the mother’s family did not testify, and the appeals court conceded that this might have been better, the appeals court held that the wife’s testimony was a sufficient basis for the lower court’s findings.  There was apparently conflicting testimony as to the children’s ability to speak German, but the trial court was in the best position to resolve this issue.

The father also argued that the lower court had misapplied some of the statutory factors in making the relocation decision.  But on review, the appeals court held that the lower court had acted properly.

Both parties asked for attorney’s fees on appeal, but both requests were denied.

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

No. M2022-01721-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 9, 2025).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Child Custody Laws in Tennessee and our video, How is child custody determined in Tennessee?

To learn more, see Modifying Custody & Parenting Plans and our video, How is child custody determined in Tennessee?

To learn more, see Tennessee Parent Relocation Statute Law.