Custody
Tennessee Visitation GuidelinesTYPICAL VISITATION GRANTED NON CUSTODIAL PARENTS Tennessee Courts will set visitation unless such visitation would place the child in imminent danger of harm. If your spouse is a child molester or some other kind of pervert he or she will still get visitation, with some kind of supervision. Parents concerns over the child's welfare regarding diet medication doctor's appointments will be dealt with by the Judge thusly, "The child's mother/father is able to handle these chores and you are being overly protective and unreasonable." I have heard some mothers give very eloquent and touching reasons why visitation should be limited, to no avail. The moral, just because you hate your ex or soon to be ex spouse, your child gets to see his or her mother or father without having to put up with your biases towards the mother or father. *** The Tennessee legislature has passed and the Governor has signed the long sought parenting plan legislation. The new law will allow more flexibility in visitation which should now be refereed to as "parenting time". The Law is effective January 1, 2001. For copies of the parenting plan law and form in pdf format click here. *** Courts are now required to set holiday and special occasion visitation. Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-301, states that:. . . the court shall designate in which parent's home each minor child shall reside on given days of the year, including provisions for holidays, birthdays of family members, vacations and other special occasions. *** Typically courts set the following visitation schedule: Alternating weekends from 6:00 p.m. Friday to 6:00 p.m. Sunday, alternating holidays including New Years, Easter Sunday, July 4th, Labor Day, Memorial Day, and Thanksgiving Day, whereupon the holiday shall begin at 6:00 p.m. on the eve of the holiday and end at 8:00 p.m. on the date of the holiday. Each parent shall have the child(ren) [together] one week before Christmas until 9:00 p.m. Christmas Eve with the other parent having the child(ren) from 9:00 p.m. Christmas Eve until one week thereafter which shall included the following weekend until 6:00 p.m. Sunday, alternating year to year with the Husband having the child(ren) before Christmas in 1997. The child(ren) shall be with the mother on Mother's Day from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and the father on Father's Day from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Holiday visitation supersedes regular weekend visitation. *** Extended summer visitation with the non custodial parent usually varies quite drastically from a minimum of two weeks to two days after school is out until two days before it commences. If the trial judges in middle Tennessee have a rationale behind this variance it has, to date, escaped me. |
