Mom’s Abusive New Husband Means that Custody Goes to Dad
Tennessee child custody case summary.
Jesse Clay King v. Brittany Bourgeois Jones
In this Maury County, Tennessee, case, the court decreed in 2013 that the father was, indeed, the legal father of a boy and a girl. About two years later, the mother and father agreed to a permanent parenting plan, and it was adopted by the court. Under the plan, the mother was named primary residential parent as long as both parents resided in the same school zone.
A year later, the mother moved to Louisiana. The father believed the move to be temporary, and allowed the daughter to move with the mother. The child was enrolled in school in Louisiana, and visited the father during school vacations. Meanwhile, the son resided with the father in Tennessee. In 2017, the mother married, and informed the father that she intended to stay in Louisiana with the daughter. The father moved to modify custody, but in 2017, the court adopted a temporary plan that the son could remain with father and the daughter with mother.
Prior to the hearing, the father amended his petition to allege other reasons for change of custody. In particular, he alleged that there was domestic abuse and drug use in the mother’s new home. The father asked to be named primary residential parent, and asked for the mother’s parenting time to be limited to 80 days per year.
A hearing was held before Judge Stella L. Hargrove, which included the judge meeting with the children, then 9 and 12, in chambers. The evidence included two domestic violence episodes in the mother’s home, although both she and her new husband downplayed their seriousness.
The father also introduced evidence of inappropriate TikTok videos posted by the daughter, apparently owing to the mother’s lack of oversight. However, the mother had reposted some of them, and admitted that they sounded bad in court.
After hearing all of the evidence, the trial court granted the father’s request, named him primary residential parent, although some provisions suggested by the mother were added. The mother’s parenting time was limited to 80 days per year. The mother then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The appeals court started by noting that in order to change a parenting plan, there must be a material change of circumstances. In this case, it noted that the mother had moved to Louisiana, had remarried, and was now in a living situation with domestic abuse in the home. The appeals court held that the evidence supported a finding of material change.
The appeals court then turned to the question of the children’s best interest. On this point, it noted that the trial court had made a specific finding that the testimony of the mother and her new husband was not credible. The trial court had found that the domestic abuse, including when the daughter was present, was sufficient to warrant the change of custody. While the father had made a number of bad and foolish decisions over the years, the trial court found that the children were better off together, and that placing custody with the father was appropriate.
On review, the Court of Appeals ruled that the lower court had acted within its discretion in making these rulings. While the mother argued that the lower court had misapplied the relevant statutory factors, the appeals court did not agree. Therefore, it affirmed the lower court’s ruling.
The opinion of the appeals court was authored by Judge W. Neal McBrayer, and Judges Frank G. Clement and Andy D. Bennett joined.
No. M2020–01252-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 18, 2022).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
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.
