Legal Analysis and Commentary
Facts: Mother and Father are the parents of three children. After one child was found to be severely malnourished, i.e., starving, all three children were removed from their parents’ custody and placed in foster care. The rest of the facts can be found in my earlier post on the 2-1 decision from the Court of […]
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Facts: Sixteen-year-old Child was born female but identifies as male. Child is transgender and undergoing a medical transition via hormone therapy from the female gender to the male gender. Child was diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria, a medical diagnosis that refers to the emotional distress of having a gender identity that is different than the gender […]
Read MoreFacts: Child was born in Guatemala 16 years ago. Child’s father abandoned the family over four years ago. Child’s mother struggled to provide for the family, which forced Child to drop out of school after the sixth grade because his mother was too poor to pay for him to continue. After dropping out of school, […]
Read MoreFacts: Mother gave birth to Child in 1996. No father was listed on the birth certificate. When Child was 17 years old, the State petitioned to establish paternity and require the father to provide health insurance for Child. DNA testing confirmed Father’s paternity a few months before Child’s 18th birthday. An order was entered, but […]
Read MoreFacts: Mother and Father had a five-year relationship. By the time it ended, Father lived in Illinois and Mother in Tennessee. Mother got pregnant. After Child was born, Father visited Mother and Child in Tennessee on several occasions. Father also voluntarily paid two child support payments of $400 each. When Child was 14 years old, the […]
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Hello, friends! It’s that time of year again—time to review how our legislators made Tennessee family law worse than it was this time last year. First, let’s all take a minute to chug a jar of East Tennessee moonshine to prepare ourselves for what’s to come. OK, now that we’re sufficiently numb, let’s get started. Hit us with your best shot, […]
Read MoreFacts: Mother and Father are the unmarried parents of Child. Within a week of Child’s birth, Father filed a petition to establish paternity and a parenting schedule. An agreed temporary parenting plan was entered. Later, disputes regarding parenting and contempt landed the parents back in court. The only issues I find noteworthy are the trial […]
Read MoreFacts: In 2011, Child was born to Mother and Father. At birth, Child weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces. Six months later, Child weighed a mere 7 pounds, 6 ounces, having gained only 8 ounces. When Child saw a doctor, Child was immediately transported to the emergency room, where he remained for four days. Child was […]
Read MoreThings 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 MoreFacts: Father’s children were adjudicated dependent and neglected and put in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) after Father committed domestic assault against Mother. DCS petitioned to terminate Father’s parental rights to the children on grounds of, inter alia, wanton disregard for the welfare of the children. Father was incarcerated at the […]
Read MoreFacts: 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 MoreFacts: The facts of this sad case are set forth in my blog post on the Court of Appeals’ opinion. Click HERE to see that post. I suggest you read that post before proceeding. On Appeal: The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the courts below. Holding #1: The judgment terminating Mother’s parental rights is void. The record of the […]
Read MoreFacts: Mother and Father are the unmarried parents of Child. Before being discharged from the hospital, when it was time to sign Child’s birth certificate, Mother informed Father that she had decided Child would have her last name. Mother testified she did not make this decision lightly and felt it was in Child’s best interest because […]
Read More2015 was a quiet year for family law legislation in Tennessee. The Republican super-majority devoted it’s time to other issues such as preventing a floor vote on the Governor’s “Insure Tennessee” plan to expand Medicaid to low-income Tennesseans, imposing medically-unnecessary restrictions on women’s healthcare, or preventing local governments from prohibiting guns in local parks. While […]
Read MoreFacts: After the children were adjudicated dependent and neglected, the maternal great-grandparents were awarded temporary custody. The children lived with the great-grandparents for the next six years. Once custody was restored to the biological parents, the great-grandparents petitioned for grandparent visitation. The biological parents opposed any visitation and asserted the great-grandparents lacked standing to seek grandparent visitation […]
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