Source: https://herstontennesseefamilylaw.com/2014/07/14/tennessee-family-law-legislative-update-2014/
Timestamp: 2018-10-22 16:43:23
Document Index: 695389560

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 36', '§ 36', '§ 36', '§ 36', '§ 36', '§ 36']

Tennessee Family Law Legislative Update 2014 | Herston on Tennessee Family Law
K.O. HerstonChild Custody and Visitation, Evidence, Juvenile Law, ProcedureFamily law, Tennessee General Assembly1 Comment
Things were pretty quiet on the legislative front this year. When it came to family law matters, the 108th General Assembly of the State of Tennessee did not appear to make things worse, which means it was a pretty good year.
Below is a brief recap of the new family law statutes, all of which became effective on July 1, 2014.
Child Custody “Comparative Fitness” and Best Interest Factors: Public Chapter 617 consolidated the list of factors the trial court must consider when conducting a comparative fitness analysis or determining the child’s best interest in a child custody proceeding. Previously, courts had to consider different (but substantively similar) factors for initial custody determinations and custody changes (Tennessee Code § 36-6-106(a)) and changes to a parenting schedule (Tennessee Code § 36-6-404(b)).
As amended, Tennessee Code § 36-6-106(a) now contains the following best interest factors:
(10) The importance of continuity in the child’s life in the length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment;
(12) The character and behavior of any other person who resides in or frequent the home of a parent and such person’s interactions with the child;
(14) Each parent’s employment schedule, and the court may make accommodations consistent with of those schedules; and
Likewise, the sixteen factors in Tennessee Code § 36-6-404(b) have been deleted. Thus, there is now just one list of best interest factors instead of two.
K.O.’s Comment: This list is simply an effort to combine the two prior lists. Combining them makes sense. There is no substantive change in the best interest analysis.
Parental Bill of Rights: Public Chapter 617 also rewrote the “Parental Bill of Rights” in Tennessee Code § 36-6-101(a)(3). The new list of rights is as follows:
(i) The right to unimpeded telephone conversations with the child at least twice a week at reasonable times and for reasonable durations. The parent exercising parenting time shall furnish the other parent with a telephone number where the child may be reached at the days and time specified in the parenting plan or other court order or, where days and times are not specified, at reasonable times;
(vii) The right to be given at least forty-eight (48) hours notice, whenever possible, of all extracurricular school, athletic, church activities and other activities as to which parental participation or observation would be appropriate, in the opportunity to participate in or observe them. The parent who has enrolled the child in each such activity shall advise the other parent of the activity and provide contact information for the person responsible for its scheduling so that the other parent may make arrangements to participate or observe whenever possible, unless otherwise provided by law or court order;
K.O.’s Comment: These revisions place new burdens on on the primary residential parent that did not exist before. For example, the custodial parent now has the affirmative obligation to provide the non-custodial parent not only with notice of the child’s school, athletic or church activity activity but also the telephone number the school, athletic or church official who is “responsible for scheduling” the activity. For another example, the custodial parent now has the affirmative obligation to provide “healthcare providers with the contact information” of the non-custodial parent. Lawyers need to make sure their clients understand these new obligations.
Lawyers will also need to update their parenting plans, all of which recite the Parental Bill of Rights. The Administrative Office of the Courts has updated the parenting plan form to reflect these changes. You can access the updated parenting plan here.
Uniformed Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act: Public Chapter 798 permits parents to enter into a temporary agreement granting custodial responsibility during a parent’s military deployment. If the non-deploying parent has no custodial responsibility or if the operative court order prohibits contact between the child and that parent, the deploying parent may, via a power of attorney, delegate all or part of the custodial responsibility to a third party for the period of the deployment. Tennessee Code §§ 36-6-113 and 36-6-308 are deleted.
In Loco Parentis Healthcare Power of Attorney for a Minor Child: Public Chapter 696 requires an adult or organization acting in loco parentis (“in the place of the parent”) to sign an “in loco parentis affidavit” stating that the person has taken responsibility for the health care of the minor child. This protects doctors and hospitals from civil and criminal liability if they rely on the in loco parentis affidavit when providing medical care to a child.
Photo of the Week: Triathlete
One thought on “Tennessee Family Law Legislative Update 2014”
If you’re a parent, please read!