Dads are only entitled to 80 days of parental leave
After the case was filed, he had only sporadic contacts with the child. After the court established a temporary parenting schedule, he made multiple short visits. The evidence proved that the mother was the primary caregiver for the child. The father believed the child had a developmental delay, but the mother denied this. The father believed that the mother had untreated bipolar disorder. Her expert psychologist, however, disputed this. The father’s expert testified the mother was argumentative and quick-tempered, and she was concerned about parental alienation. He recommended giving the father significant time with the child.
Ultimately, the trial court named the mother as primary residential parent, and granted the father 80 days per year of parenting time. The father appealed the decision to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals noted that maximum parenting time was a goal but not the primary concern. Instead, the best interests of the child takes precedence.
The father argued that the trial court had erred in not specifically addressing the portion of the custody statute mentioning maximum participation. The appeals court pointed to the fact that the lower courts had done a detailed analysis of the child’s best interests.
The dad made arguments about how the lower courts could have maximized the father’s parenting time. But the appeals court pointed out that its role was not to “tweak a visitation order.”
Instead, the lower court had great discretion, and the appeals court did not view that discretion as having been abused.
For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the lower court.
No.M2022-01050-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. See original opinion for exact wording. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Child Custody Laws in Tennessee and our video, How is child custody determined in Tennessee?
To learn more, see Modifying Custody & Parenting Plans and our video, How is child custody determined in Tennessee?
See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.
