No Willful Failure to Visit in Lynchburg, Tennessee Termination of Parental Rights Case: In re Justin P.
Is a parent’s failure to visit willful when the other parent prevents it?
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Failure to Visit Not Willful in Murfreesboro, Tennessee Termination of Parental Rights Case: In re Emma S.
What is a “willful” failure to visit that may result in the termination of parental rights in Tennessee?
Read MoreDoes Tennessee Need a”Free-Range Parenting” Law?
Utah’s legislature unanimously passed a “free-range parenting” law. Should Tennessee follow?
Read MoreTermination of Parental Rights Reversed in Athens, Tennessee: In re T.W.
When is the failure to visit one’s child not willful?
Read MoreTennessee Republicans Fail to Intervene in Knoxville, Tennessee Same-Sex Divorce: Witt v. Witt
Should politicians be allowed to intervene personally in a Tennessee divorce?
Read MoreTermination of Parental Rights Reversed Because Question Wasn’t Asked in Covington, TN: In re Michael O.
Lawyers are taught to avoid asking one question too many. It turns out there’s an inverse to that rule.
Read MoreTermination of Parental Rights Reversed for Lack of Evidence in Knoxville, Tennessee: In re Brianna T.
Facts: Father and Mother are the parents of four children. After being found to be dependent and neglected because of severe abuse to one child, all four children went into the protective custody of the state. The Department of Children’s Services (DCS) subsequently petitioned to terminate Father’s parental rights. Although Father did not attend the trial, […]
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 MoreFive Myths about Fatherhood
I found this interesting article from The Washington Post titled “Five Myths of Fatherhood.”
Read MoreNo Standing to Terminate Parental Rights in McMinnville, TN: In re Lyric A.
Can one parent terminate the other parent’s rights in Tennessee?
Read MoreTennessee Supreme Court Reverses Termination of Parental Rights in Chattanooga, Tennessee: In re Gabriella D.
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 […]
Read MoreDenial of Transgender Child’s Name Change Reversed in Williamson County, Tennessee: In re Leyna A.
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 MoreSame-Sex Parents Still Face Legal Complications
This article by Elizabeth Harris in The New York Times will be of interest. Same-sex parents in Tennessee can relate. Same-Sex Parents Still Face Legal Complications At gay pride marches around the country this month, there will be celebrations of marriage, a national right that, at just two years old, feels freshly exuberant to many […]
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 MoreMore Termination of Parental Rights Cases Dismissed on New Procedural Quirk, but Now There Are Dissents: In re Jayden R.
As I wrote about a few weeks ago, the legislature enacted a statute last year that requires parents appealing the termination of their parental rights to personally sign the notice of appeal, instead of the customary practice of the attorney signing the notice of appeal. Because of this new procedural requirement, appeals in termination of […]
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