Child Support Reversed for Lack of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction in Morristown, Tennessee: Hance v. Hance
Can other courts act when a dependency and neglect action is pending in Tennessee?
Read MoreTag: Juvenile Court
Tennessee Supreme Court Says DCS Has No Duty to Make “Reasonable Efforts” at Reunification in Termination of Parental Rights Cases: In re Kaliyah S.
Facts: While Father was incarcerated, the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) petitioned to terminate his parental rights on the statutory ground of abandonment by wanton disregard for the child’s welfare. The trial court concluded DCS was not required to make reasonable efforts to assist Father regarding reunification with Child because the statutory ground of abandonment […]
Read MoreTermination of Parental Rights Reversed in Sevierville Because DCS Failed to Make Reasonable Efforts: In re Josephine E.M.C.
Facts: Child was born out of wedlock to Mother and Father. After Mother was arrested while intoxicated and charged with child neglect, Child went into the protective custody of the Department of Children’s Services (DCS). A permanency plan was established and revised a few months later. Eight months later, DCS petitioned to terminate Mother’s parental […]
Read MoreChange of Custody Reversed in Memphis Dependency and Neglect Case: In re K.A.P.
Facts: Never-married Mother and Father have one Child, who resided primarily with Mother for approximately the first five years of his life. In February 2011, Father petitioned the Juvenile Court to declare Child dependent and neglected in Mother’s care. The petition included an allegation that Mother left Child with Father for seven weeks, during which […]
Read MoreKnoxville Post-Divorce Child Custody Modification or Dependency and Neglect Action?: Holley v. Holley
Facts: Mother and Father were divorced in Circuit Court in 2008. Mother was designated the primary residential parent for their children. Mother then moved to North Dakota. The following year, the children returned to live with Father in Knoxville for the school year. In 2010, Father petitioned the Circuit Court to change custody on the […]
Read MoreChild Support Debtors’ Prison Shut Down in Kingston: State ex rel. Waldo v. Waldo
Facts: The State filed a petition for contempt relating to Mother’s failure to pay child support for two children, who at the time were in the custody of Mother’s mother. Mother testified that she had not paid her child support because she was unemployed and homeless. She related that she had been unable to find […]
Read MoreFailure to Promote Relationship With Other Parent Leads to Loss of Child Custody in Nashville: In re Zamorah B.
Facts: Child was born to unmarried Mother and Father. Father filed a Petition to Establish Paternity in which he asserted that he had voluntarily supported Child and had emotionally bonded with her, but that Mother decided two months after Child’s birth to eliminate him from her life. Shortly thereafter, Mother filed a Petition to Establish Parentage. […]
Read MoreTennessee Child Support Services Lacks Authority to Appeal Over “Client’s” Objection: State ex rel., Thorn v. Gentry
Facts: Mother and Father are the parents of Child. In 1993, when Mother filed a petition to establish paternity and set child support, the Child Support Services office of the Tennessee Department of Human Services intervened on behalf of Mother. Paternity was established and child support was set. Over the next two decades Father was habitually […]
Read MoreDefault Judgment Against Active Duty Military Parent: State ex rel. Price v. Childers
Facts: Mother received child support enforcement services from the State of Tennessee. The State, acting on mother’s behalf, filed a petition to establish paternity against Father. Hearing no response from Father, the trial court entered an order by default finding Father to be the biological father of Mother’s child. The order also established Father’s child […]
Read MoreBurden of Proof for Voluntary Unemployment in Child Support in Tennessee: In re Hannah M.N.
Facts: Mother and Father are the unmarried parents of Child. Mother petitioned the court to establish child support. At the hearing, Father failed to produce any proof of income as he had been instructed. Instead, Father, who was not represented by a lawyer, testified he was unemployed and had been surviving on the financial generosity […]
Read MoreAdministrative “Indication” of Child Sexual Abuse: Tennessee Dept. of Children’s Services v. Davis
Facts: Davis was the Executive Director of the Youth Emergency Shelter. Shortly after Child reviewed a comic book designed to help children recognize and disclose child sexual abuse, Child told Mother, a long-time employee at the youth shelter, that Davis had touched her inappropriately. Neither Mother nor a counselor who evaluated Child believed Child was […]
Read MoreGambling Winnings and Losses as Income for Child Support in Tennessee: Vivien v. Campbell
Facts: Mother and Father had a child out of wedlock. Paternity was established, thereby requiring a determination of child support. The key issue was the determination of Father’s income, which was derived from several sources, including his minority interest in a trucking company and, according to Mother, his prolific gambling. At the hearing, Mother presented […]
Read MoreContempt and Change of Child Custody: In re Becka L.A.K.
Facts: Mother and Child relocated from Tennessee to New York State. Father’s court-ordered parenting time was to take place mostly during the summer and school holidays. After Father alleged Mother had thwarted his visitation on three occasions, Father filed a Petition for Contempt and to Change Custody. Father alleged Mother’s conduct amounted to a material […]
Read More“Severe Child Abuse” in Tennessee Dependency and Neglect Matter: In re Samaria S.
Facts: Mother gave birth to premature twins. Before the hospital released the infants to Mother’s care, she was given extensive instructions on their feeding. Two weeks later, one twin was hospitalized, near death from severe malnutrition and dehydration. Days later, the other twin was hospitalized, also severely malnourished and dehydrated. The twins were taken into […]
Read MoreDependency and Neglect: In re Nirvanna S.
Facts: Mother and Father were parents to two girls, Dreama and Nirvanna (“Child”). Dreama died. A medical examination revealed old and new bruises on several areas of her body, torn rectal tissue, and multiple broken and fractured bones. The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) brought an action to remove Child from her parents’ custody […]
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