Tag: Shelby County court

Gavel representing material change in circumstances custody modification Tennessee

Domestic Violence and Divorce: How the Law Connects Them

This one is harder to write than most of what I put on this blog. Not because the law is complicated, but because the people reading it are sometimes in situations that are dangerous and frightening and need more than legal information. So I want to be direct. If you are in an unsafe...

Moving boxes representing Tennessee parent relocation custody law

When One Parent Wants to Move: Tennessee Relocation Law

Posted in Big Latin Words.

I had a client once who got a job offer in another city. Great opportunity. Significant pay increase. The kind of thing you say yes to without hesitating, if you do not have a parenting plan. Except she had a parenting plan. And her ex was not going anywhere. She called me from the parking...

Father representing fathers rights and custody in Tennessee courts

Fathers, Courts, and What the Law Actually Says

Posted in Big Latin Words.

Every June, right around Father’s Day, I get a version of the same call. A father who believes the court system is set against him. Who has heard from someone at work or a buddy at the gym that judges always favor mothers. Who has already half-convinced himself that fighting for meaningful...

Two people in mediation representing Tennessee divorce mediation process

What Happens in Mediation (And Why Judges Like It)

Posted in Big Latin Words.

My clients tell me the same thing before every mediation. This is a waste of time. They will never agree to anything. This is a waste of money. Why are we even doing this. I have heard it so many times I could say it for them. And I am still amazed, every single time, at how often a good...

Legal documents representing a Tennessee parenting plan

What a Parenting Plan Actually Has to Say

Posted in Big Latin Words.

I keep a folder in my office of parenting plans I wish I had written. Not because they are beautifully drafted (though some are). Because they actually work. The other folder is thicker. That one is full of plans where someone thought “we’ll figure it out as we go” was a good approach to...

Parent and child representing co-parenting and holiday custody in Tennessee

Co-Parenting When One of You Doesn’t Want To

Posted in Big Latin Words.

Let me settle one question before we get into the harder stuff. Mother’s Day belongs to mom. Father’s Day belongs to dad. In almost every parenting plan I have ever written or reviewed, these holidays go to the respective parent regardless of whose regular weekend it is. That part...

Calculator representing child support calculation in Tennessee

How Child Support Gets Calculated in Tennessee

Posted in Big Latin Words.

If I had a dollar for every time a client told me what they thought child support was going to be based on what their neighbor said, I could retire. (I am not retiring. But I could.) Child support in Tennessee is not a negotiation. It is not based on what seems fair to either parent. And it is...

Material Change in Circumstances: The Hardest Standard in Family Court

Posted in Big Latin Words.

People call me all the time wanting to change their custody order. And the first thing I have to tell almost all of them is the same thing: Wanting to change it is not enough. Feeling like things are different is not enough. Even being right is not always enough. To modify a parenting...

Couple signing divorce papers representing irreconcilable differences in Tennessee

Irreconcilable Differences: What That Actually Means in Tennessee

Posted in Big Latin Words.

I had a client tell me once that she wanted a divorce because her husband chewed too loud. She was not joking. Or rather, she was joking about the chewing, but she was not joking about wanting out. What she was really saying was what most people mean when they say irreconcilable differences:...

Tax documents representing divorce and taxes in Tennessee

Divorce and Taxes: The Questions Nobody Thinks to Ask

Posted in Big Latin Words.

I am going to be upfront about something. In law school, I avoided the building where they taught tax law. I have made peace with that decision. I still do not sleep particularly well in April, but that is another matter. I am not a tax expert. I am a family law attorney. But every spring, the...

Tag: Shelby County court

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