Tennessee baby custody case abstract in divorce.
Michael Lee Brown v. Jennifer Karen Brown
The mom and father on this Montgomery County, Tennessee, case have been married in 2005 and had one baby, who was born in 2011. They separated in 2014, and the daddy filed for divorce in 2016. They have been capable of comply with most points, however each mother and father needed to be named main residential dad or mum. In 2019, a trial was held earlier than Decide Kathryn Wall Olita.
The events had lived collectively till the daddy, who was within the navy, was relocated. In June 2015, the mom was arrested for an alcohol-related offense. This concerned a DUI and leaving the kid unattended within the automotive outdoors a restaurant. The daddy testified that even earlier than this, the mom had turn out to be intoxicated a couple of times a month, and the ingesting elevated when the kid was born. On the time of the 2015 arrest, the daddy was stationed in Afghanistan, however he was given depart to fly dwelling to take custody of the kid. He and the kid then moved to Colorado, though the mom had the kid a number of the time. Throughout her custody of the kid, she was arrested once more, and the kid was positioned in state custody. Finally, the daddy’s brother took custody of the kid till the daddy was capable of return from his deployment. On the time of trial, the daddy was completely stationed in Louisiana, and the kid lived with him there, with the assistance of a nanny.
The trial court docket named the daddy the first residential dad or mum. The mom then appealed to the Tennessee Court docket of Appeals.
The trial court docket had based mostly its ruling partially upon the truth that the daddy had offered main care for the reason that mom’s most up-to-date arrest. It discovered that the kid’s schedule in Louisiana was predictable and constant. The decrease court docket additionally famous the daddy’s previous efficiency as a dad or mum, and the mom’s demonstrated lack of means to carry out her parenting duties.
The appeals court docket famous that in non-jury instances, the appellate court docket evaluations the decrease court docket’s findings de novo, however with a presumption of correctness.
The appeals court docket extensively reviewed the statutory elements and the way the decrease court docket had utilized them. It agreed with the decrease court docket that the daddy had been the extra dependable caregiver for the reason that 2015 arrest. Total, it held that the trial court docket’s ruling was properly inside its discretion.
For these causes, the Court docket of Appeals affirmed the decrease court docket’s determination and assessed the prices of attraction in opposition to the mom. The court docket’s opinion was authored by Decide Andy D. Bennett.
No. M2019-00693-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Sep. 18, 2020).
See authentic opinion for actual language. Authorized citations omitted.
To study extra, see Child Custody Laws in Tennessee.
See additionally Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family that includes examples of parenting plans and baby assist worksheets from actual instances accessible on Amazon.com.