Mom loses custody fight after showing contempt for parenting plan
Codie Lynn Anderson v. Leah Rae Marshall
The child born to unwed parents in Lauderdale County, Tennessee in 2015 was the subject of this Tennessee case. In 2015, the child in this Tennessee case was born to unwed parents in Lauderdale County. A parenting plan was created later that year naming the mother as primary residential parent and giving the father 120 days of parental time. In 2021, a father filed a petition for the transfer of custody to Dyer County and to change custody. The father provided evidence that the mother failed to meet him to exchange the child 18 times. The trial court determined that these incidents, together with the child’s anxiety and the fact that the father was supposed to pick up the child at school, constituted a significant change in circumstances that warranted a change in custody. After analyzing the relevant factors, the court held that naming father primary residential parent was in the child’s best interest.
While the case was pending, the mother sought to introduce psychiatric records concerning the child. The trial court denied the request on the basis that the mother did not give the father enough advance notice. He informed the mother of the relocation and she did not file an opposition. She claimed that it was not necessary to do so, as the court case was still pending. The trial court, Judge Jason L. Hudson, agreed with the father that this was fatal to the mother’s case, but nonetheless made a decision that the move was in the child’s best interest.
After the final order, the mother appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, which first addressed the evidentiary issue regarding the counseling records. The court dealt with this issue quickly, noting that the mom had not offered proof. The mother then argued that the lower courts erred by modifying custody. The appeals court acknowledged that preserving custody will add stability to a child’s life. It pointed out that the mother showed contempt for the parenting plans. The Court of Appeals agreed that the mother did not object in a timely manner to the father’s notice of his intention to move. It held that relocation must be permitted for this reason. W2023-00336-COA-R3-JV (Tenn. Ct. App. Legal citations omitted. Legal citations have been omitted.
For more information, please see Child Custody Laws and our video How is child custody determined in Tennessee.
For more information, please see Modifying Custody and Parenting Plans, and our video How is child custody determined in Tennessee.
For more information, please see Tennessee Parent Relocation Statute Law.
For more info, you can also see our video How is child child custody
