Mother Can’t Lose Custody Primarily based Upon Beforehand Approved Relocation

Tennessee little one custody modification case abstract.

Katherine Sanko v. Clinton Sanko

The dad and mom of 4 on this Hamilton County, Tennessee, case have been married in Pennsylvania in 2001 and have been divorced in 2014.  Quickly after the divorce, the mom requested permission to relocate to Pennsylvania with the kids.  The case was finally heard by the Tennessee Court docket of Appeals.  In the end, the mom moved to Pennsylvania with the kids, though a brand new parenting plan was by no means entered.  The daddy continued to take pleasure in 125 days per yr of parenting time.

In 2021, the daddy made a petition to switch, and the decrease court docket concluded that he had confirmed a cloth change of circumstances, primarily based upon the transfer to Pennsylvania.  The daddy was given main custody, with the mom having 69 days per yr parenting time.  The mom then introduced a second attraction to the Tennessee Court docket of Appeals.  She argued that there had been no materials change of circumstances.  She relied upon the primary opinion of the Court docket of Appeals, which held that relocation was correct.  She argued that the trial court docket ignored the opinion, and did not enter a parenting plan authorizing the relocation.  Due to this fact, the transfer, as approved by the Court docket of Appeals, was hardly a change of circumstances.

In his movement to switch, the daddy’s main argument was that the transfer to Pennsylvania would end in a discount of his parenting time.  However the Court docket of Appeals had beforehand acknowledged that this is able to naturally be the case.  Due to this fact, that discount was hardly a change of circumstances.

The daddy additionally pointed to different alleged modifications of circumstances, comparable to the kids’s robust choice to reside in Tennessee.  However the decrease court docket had did not make enough findings as to those different grounds.

For these causes, the Court docket of Appeals reversed the decrease court docket’s ruling.  It did, nonetheless, remand the case to provide the daddy one other likelihood to point out that these different grounds utilized.

No. E2022-00742-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 6, 2023).

See authentic opinion for actual language.  Authorized citations omitted.

To be taught extra, see Modifying Custody & Parenting Plans and our video, How is little one custody decided 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 little one help worksheets from actual circumstances out there on Amazon.com.