Modifying a Court Ordered Parenting Plan
August 26, 2023
At Hagar and Phillips, our attorneys encounter clients who are looking to make a change to their current parenting plan. These changes are usually due to trying to obtain more time to spend with their children. Modifying a court-ordered parenting plan is more complex than just requesting more time. There can often be many obstacles to modifying a court-ordered residential parenting schedule. Examples of barriers could include the other parent who may oppose the changes. Additionally, there may be concerns about how changes in the parenting schedule could affect the children.
Suppose a parent seeking to exercise more parenting time with their children cannot get the other parent to agree to their request. In that case, a petition must be brought in court to modify the parenting plan and grant the additional requested time. In the case of a parent who petitions a court to change a Court-ordered parenting plan in the state of Tennessee, the petitioning parent must prove by a preponderance of the evidence to the Court that there has been a material change in circumstance affecting the child’s best interest that justifies the modification.[1] This is just one step in the two-step analysis for a shift to occur.
Under Tennessee law, several circumstances may be used to support a petition to modify a parenting plan based on a material change in circumstances affecting the child’s best interest. Some of the events which meet the standard for a material change in the case for this purpose include changes to the needs of the child over time, including changes related to the child’s age; significant changes in a parent’s living or working conditions that affect parenting; and even failures to adhere to the previously ordered parenting plan.[2] Additionally, other circumstances that change the residential parenting time in the children’s best interest can be used to support a modification petition.[3]
The second step of this analysis is to demonstrate that the proposed change is in the best interest of the minor children. Check out our blog post here to learn more about how a court determines what is in a child’s best interest (here).
If you are considering a Court-ordered parenting plan, we can help. A Lebanon, TN, attorney will meet with you to talk about your specific circumstances and let you know how a modification might be possible. You can speak with the best attorney in Lebanon, TN, Tiffany Hagar, for more information about parenting plans. Contact Hagar & Phillips for a confidential consultation with a Lebanon attorney at 615-784-4588. Please feel free to call if you need directions to Lebanon, TN.
[1] T.C.A. § 36-6-101(C).
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
