#material change

What role should a parent's gender play in a Tennessee child custody dispute?

Facts: Mother and Father are the divorced parents of two daughters. The operative parenting plan has Father living with the children in Texas and Mother exercising 129 days of parenting time over extended school breaks and several long weekends. Four years later, when the daughters were 12 and 10 years old, Mother petitioned to change the parenting plan because Father was not following it, the…

What type of material change is needed to modify a parenting schedule in Tennessee?

Facts: When Mother and Father divorced, their agreed parenting plan provided for Father to have 155 days of parenting time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the parties agreed to deviate from the court-ordered schedule and follow an alternating-week schedule (week on, week off) during the 2020-21 school year while the child engaged in “distance-learning.” The following school year, Father…

What is a material change to modify a parenting plan in Tennessee, and when is it required?

Facts: Mother and Father are the never-married parents of two children. The trial court approved their agreed parenting plan that gave Father 120 days of parenting time each year. During Father’s parenting time, Mother informed him of a domestic violence incident involving Stepfather. Although the children were not present, Stepfather threatened to harm them. Stepfather was arrested, Mother…

What types of material changes justify changing a parenting schedule in Tennessee?

Facts: Mother and Father are the never-married parents of Child. When Child was 14 months old, they entered an agreed parenting plan naming Mother as the primary residential parent and awarding Father 89 days of parenting time. When the agreed parenting plan was entered, Mother and Child lived a three-hour drive from Father. In the intervening years, Mother and Child moved back to the area…