Abuse Reduces Parenting Time in Bradley County, Tennessee Child-Custody Dispute: Purvis v. Purvis
When parenting time must be limited, what constitutes an abuse of discretion in Tennessee?
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Dispute over Accrual of Postjudgment Interest in Bradley County, Tennessee Divorce: St. John-Parker v. Parker
When does postjudgment interest start accruing in Tennessee?
Read MoreTennessee Supreme Court Reverses Child-Custody Change in Chattanooga: C.W.H. v. L.A.S.
Temporary, legal employment as a sex worker leads to a change of custody by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Read MoreTennessee Supreme Court Says Parent’s Signature Not Required on Notice of Appeal in Termination of Parental Rights Cases: In re Bentley D.
The legislature says a notice of appeal in a termination of parental rights case must be signed by the appellant. The Court of Appeals dismissed several such appeals solely because the notice of appeal was signed by the lawyer. Now the Tennessee Supreme Court weighs in.
Read MoreTennessee Supreme Court Ain’t Got Time for All the Dismissed Termination-of-Parental-Rights Appeals: In re Bentley D.
Well, that didn’t take long. A few weeks ago I wrote about the sudden avalanche of appellate decisions dismissing parental-rights-termination cases because the appellant’s lawyer signed the notice of appeal on behalf of the appellant. Recently amended Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-1-124(d) requires that “[a]ny notice of appeal filed in a termination of parental rights […]
Read MoreNew Procedural Requirement Results in Dismissal of Termination of Parental Rights Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee: In re Catherine J.
Facts: Child was removed from the parents’ custody and determined to be dependent and neglected. Five months later, the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) petitioned to terminate Father’s parental rights. After a trial, the trial court entered a judgment terminating Father’s parental rights to Child. Father filed a notice of appeal. Notably, Father did not […]
Read MoreExtraordinary Appeal Results in Reversal of Emergency Change in Custody in Roane County, TN Parenting Dispute: Milton v. Harness
Facts: Mother and Father never married. Child was born in 2010 in Arizona. Mother listed Father on Child’s birth certificate. Initially, Father lived in California while Mother and Child lived in Arizona. Mother granted Father informal visitation with Child on a regular basis. Father would travel to Arizona for this visitation. Later, Father moved to […]
Read MoreCourt Reversed for Not Following Its Own Order in McNairy Co., TN Divorce: Hudson v. Hudson
Facts: Husband and Wife were divorced after 12 years of marriage. The trial court divided 68 acres of marital property into three separate tracts. Wife was awarded the marital home with three acres. Because Wife’s mother occupied a mobile home located on the 68-acre tract, Wife was also awarded 10 acres where the mobile home […]
Read MoreTennessee Family Law Legislative Update 2016
Things were relatively quiet on the family-law front this past legislative session. Notably missing, however, was any effort to update the various family-law statutes to account for the constitutionally-protected rights of same-sex parents. Until that happens, Tennessee children and their same-sex parents will continue to navigate in an atmosphere of legal uncertainty. There were several […]
Read MoreDuration of Rehabilitative Alimony Reversed in Williamson County, TN Divorce: Hopwood v. Hopwood
Facts: Father and Mother divorced after 14 years of marriage. They have four children. During most of the marriage, Mother was a stay-at-home parent while Husband was the financial provider for the family. About a year before the divorce, Mother began working as a teacher’s assistant. She also enrolled in a community college with the […]
Read MoreNo Appellate Review after Order of Protection Expired in Nashville, TN Divorce: Honeycutt v. Honeycutt
Facts: While their divorce was pending in another court, Wife petitioned the trial court for an order of protection. She alleged being in fear of abuse from Husband based on an incident that occurred nine days earlier and what she claims was Husband’s history of controlling and abusive behavior. After hearing, the trial court granted […]
Read MoreTennessee Supreme Court Divides 3-2 On “Effective” Court-Appointed Counsel in Termination of Parental Rights Cases: In re Carrington H., et al.
Facts: Mother’s parental rights to Child were terminated after a trial in which she was represented by court-appointed counsel. The trial court found three separate grounds for termination. Mother appealed the trial court’s termination of her parental rights. Mother’s court-appointed counsel sought appellate review of two of the three grounds for termination. The Court of […]
Read MoreTennessee Supreme Court Deletes Unpublished Opinion Rule
Prior to March 4, 2015, Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 4(H) required that lawyers citing unpublished opinions must attach a copy of the unpublished opinion to any pleading in which it is cited, thereby furnishing a paper copy to both the court and all other parties. The Rule further required that copies of unpublished opinions must contain […]
Read MoreTN Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Review for Telephonic Testimony in Divorce: Kelly v. Kelly
Facts: A more detailed summary of the underlying facts of this case and my analysis of the 2-1 decision from the Court of Appeals can be found here in my blog post on that opinion. The short version is the trial court in this divorce designated Mother as the primary residential parent of Son and Daughter. In so doing, […]
Read MoreJudge Frank G. Clement, Jr., Named “World’s Most Awesome Judge” by Herston on Tennessee Family Law
I read a lot of appellate opinions on Tennessee family law, far more than make it onto this blog. For the most part, that amounts to what many would consider a rather dry reading list. Appellate judges will occasionally flash a little sarcasm or make a tongue-in-cheek comment, however. When that occurs, it needs to […]
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