In Tennessee, when a court addresses parenting schedules, whether as part of a divorce or otherwise, the court will enter a Parenting Plan. Tennessee’s Parenting Plan is a form document that contains various categories related to parenting a child. You can see a Tennessee Parenting Plan form by accessing the tn.gov website.

One of the most highly contested parts of a case with children is the designation of the Primary Residential Parent in the Parenting Plan. A Tennessee Parenting Plan must establish one of the parents as the Primary Residential Parent. The other parent is established as the Alternate Residential Parent. While this designation may sound important, it really only impacts the school zone designation. The child will attend school in the school zone of the Primary Residential Parent. The Parenting Plan will address in another section whether one parent or both parents have the ability to make major decisions for the minor child (such as non-emergency medical, educational, religious or decisions about extracurricular activities). The right to make the decision is not necessarily given solely to the Primary Residential Parent and in many situations the parties will be granted equal rights to make these decisions.

Recently, the Tennessee legislature modified the law to allow, by agreement, either the designation of Joint Primary Residential Parents or no designation of a Primary Residential Parent. However, if you are designating both parents as Primary Residential Parents or not designating a Primary Residential Parent, there are limitations on these designations.

First, the designation of Joint Primary Residential Parents or no Primary Residential Parent must be done by agreement. If a court is deciding the terms of a Parenting Plan, the court must designate one parent as the Primary Residential Parent. If one parent has more parenting time, that parent will receive the designation. If the Parenting Plan is an equal plan, the Court must choose the Primary Residential Parent after considering multiple factors that will be discussed in this article.

Second, you may only choose the designation of Joint Primary Residential Parents or no Primary Residential Parent if the Parenting Plan grants both parents an equal number of parenting days.

Finally, if you are designating either Joint Primary Residential Parents or no Primary Residential Parent, the Parenting Plan should address the parties’ agreement on whose school zone will be used for the child’s education.

If the parties cannot agree to the terms necessary for the entry of a Parenting Plan, the Court must conduct a “comparative fitness” analysis and must consider a set of factors set forth in Tennessee law (Tenn. Code. Ann. §36-6-106), which includes factors such as the relationship the child has with both parents, which parent has been the primary caregiver, which parent is more likely to foster a good relationship between the child and the other parent, and various other factors. After considering these factors, the Court will designate on parent as the Primary Residential Parent and the other parent as the Alternate Residential Parent.

The attorneys at Patton | Pittman have decades of experience helping our clients obtain a fair Parenting Plan that is in the best interest of their children. If you have a case in which a Parenting Plan will be entered, contact us today.