Neither Mom nor Dad Can Drink in Front of Kids
Tennessee child custody case summary on parenting restrictions.
Thomas Stephen Goughenour, Jr. v. Marion Michelle Goughenour
Neither the father nor the mother was allowed to consume any alcohol during their parenting time.
The mother and father in this Rutherford County, Tennessee, case were married in 2011 and had one child. In 2020, the father filed for divorce and also sought an order of protection against the mother.
The court found that the mother had a serious alcohol problem and an assessment recommended she seek treatment.
Ultimately, the father was named primary residential parent, but both parents were awarded equal parenting time. The court also ordered that neither the father nor the mother was allowed to consume any alcohol during their parenting time. The father appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The father first argued that the trial court discredited an alcohol assessment conducted by one doctor who testified at trial, but instead considered another assessment that had not been submitted into evidence. But while the lower court had mentioned this report at one point, there was no indication that this evidence had affected the court’s judgment. Therefore, it ruled against the father on this point.
The father next argued that the lower court should not have placed a restriction on his alcohol consumption. Here, the appeals court pointed out that trial courts have broad discretion in setting such conditions. It pointed in the record to incidents where the father was intoxicated in the child’s presence and was yelling at another individual. After reviewing the evidence, the appeals court held that the lower court had acted within its discretion.
The father next argued that the equal parenting time ordered by the lower court was improper. But the appeals court noted that the lower court had applied all of the statutory factors, and that the father’s argument to the contrary was unavailing.
Both parties requested attorney’s fees for the appeal. Since the mother prevailed and in light of the other relevant factors, the appeals court determined that she should be awarded her fees.
For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court and remanded the case for a determination of the mother’s attorney fees.
No. M2022-00297-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 5, 2023).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Child Custody Laws in Tennessee 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.
