Mom Can’t Appeal Order Losing Custody Until Mental Evaluation
Tennessee child custody case summary on custody modification in divorce and family law.
Mom’s custody suspending pending mental evaluation not appealable.
Thomas Cecil Cletus Virden v. Myven Magdy Virden
The parents in this Williamson County, Tennessee, case were divorced on April 1, 2025. The very next month, the father was back in court with an emergency motion to suspend the mother’s parenting time. In July, the court, Judge Stephanie J. Williams, ordered the mother to submit to a mental health evaluation under Rule 35 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, and suspended her parenting time until the evaluation. It also stated that if the mother did not complete the evaluation, then the matter would be set for trial in six months. The mother, acting without an attorney, appealed the order to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. The father’s attorney moved to dismiss the appeal, and the mother made no response to that motion.
The Court of Appeals noted that a party is entitled to appeal “only after the trial court has entered a final judgment,” which means that it resolves all of the parties’ claims and leaves nothing else for the trial court to do. If an order is subject to revision, then it’s not a final judgment and can’t be appealed.
In this case, the appeals court found that the lower court’s order did not resolve all of the claims raised by the father. The question of attorney’s fees was also left open.
Under these circumstances, the appeals court held that there was no final judgment. Therefore, it dismissed the appeal. The court’s order did note, however, that the mother was free to file a new appeal once the final judgment had been entered.
The appeals court also taxed the costs of appeal against the mother.
The court’s order was “per curiam,” meaning that no particular judge authored the order. The case was heard before appellate Judges Frank G. Clement, Jr., Andy D. Bennett, and W. Neal McBrayer.
No. M2025-01373-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 8, 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?
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.
