Category Archives: Child Custody
Yes, It Is Possible to Go to Jail for Bad-Mouthing Your Ex-Spouse in Front of Your Children
You might have heard that contempt, in the sense of an overall negative attitude toward someone and a lack of respect for them, is one of the “four horsemen” that signal that a relationship is doomed, but in a legal context, “contempt” has a different meaning. Contempt of court is when someone disobeys a… Read More »
Child Custody Is Not All or Nothing
When you vent to your friends about your divorce, it is easy to say something to the effect of you are worried that your ex-spouse will take your children away, or that your ex does not deserve to have custody. You probably know, even as you are speaking, that child custody is not a… Read More »
Don’t Quit Your Job and Sell Your House Until You Are Sure the Court Will Allow You to Relocate
Second marriages are both easier and more difficult than first marriages. First, there is the statistic that people who have been divorced before are more likely to get divorced again, but statistics can’t predict your future. On the one hand, people who are married to their second spouse are more mature and have learned… Read More »
Co-Parenting a Child Who Requires Residential Treatment for Mental Health Issues
Getting appropriate mental health treatment for a child is a major challenge, even when the child’s parents are happily married to each other. Managing one’s mental health is a marathon, not a sprint, even in the best of circumstances. Determining whether a psychiatric medication is working, building trust with a therapist, and advocating for… Read More »
What Constitutes a Reasonable Purpose for Moving Out of State with Your Children?
Divorced couples who have children must cooperate to act in their children’s best interests, but there is a limit to how much your ex can meddle in your plans and veto your decisions. For example, if your ex doesn’t like your new partner, they can limit the time your children can spend with the… Read More »
Supervised Visitation: When the Courts Want to Preserve the Parent-Child Relationship, but It Isn’t Safe for the Child to Be Alone with the Parent
Supervised visitation with your children can feel like a blessing or a curse, depending on the circumstances. If you have just finished a jail sentence, then supervised visitation feels great; holding your children’s hands as you walk through the mall and eating with them at the mall food court is so much better than… Read More »
Whose Parenting Time Is It When the Children Are in Daycare?
Tennessee parenting plans contain many details for parents to customize, such as which parent has the children on teacher planning days and which parent transports the children to or from the other parent’s house. With school-age children, most parenting plans are quite similar to each other; one parent has the children on weekdays, while… Read More »
Parenting Plans for the Parents of Newborns
Every parent knows that babies, in their first few months of life, drastically change their families’ daily schedules. Rather than being clearly divided into day and night, a 24-our period with a newborn is a blur of round-the-clock feedings with diaper changes after almost every feeding, an endless cycle of fussing and soothing. Even… Read More »
Trying to Sabotage Your Ex-Spouse’s Efforts at Co-Parenting Doesn’t Pay
Many former couples get along much better as divorced co-parents of their children than they ever did when they were married with each other. If your relationship with your ex-spouse improved after your divorce became final, you are one of the lucky ones. Some people have an even more acrimonious relationship because of post-divorce… Read More »
When Transporting the Children from One Parent to the Other Represents a Significant Expense
Moving to another state after a divorce can give you a fresh start in life. If you and your ex-spouse have minor children together, though, living in different states makes co-parenting much more complicated. If the parents live in the same city, it is easy for Dad to pick up the kids from school… Read More »