Don’t settle for just any mediator. Instead, choose the family mediator that’s right for your case. What makes a good family mediator? Look for a Listed Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Mediator. - Experience (Mediator’s Background) - Respect / Non-Judgmental - Flexibility - Common Sense / Good Sense of Humor - Referrals, Referrals, Referrals

Generally, the cost to mediate is shared equally between the parties involved unless otherwise stated. In some cases, the judge may order a case to be mediated.

If the parties do not reach an agreement, you maintain the right to take the dispute before a judge or jury. If you start family mediation but decide to stop before you complete an agreement, you will maintain your right to go to court at a scheduled court date.

Mediation is confidential. No information you share during mediation is shared with the judge. The mediator only reports the result of the mediation – if it was successful or not. Unless otherwise communicated, all conversations and documents presented during mediation are confidential and privileged under Tennessee mediation law T.C.A. § 36-4-130.

You can attend voluntary mediation any time before or during a case. A trained Mediator will lead the mediation meeting. Each party voices its opinion as to how to resolve the matter. The role of the Mediator is to help you and the other party reach an agreed-upon resolution without going to court for full litigation. Most family mediation sessions are agreed-upon hours, but usually no longer than five-hour sessions. Mediation can be conducted in person or remotely via phone, email, or video. Having the flexibility to conduct mediation means you can work around work conflicts, illness, and agreed-upon. You can prepare for family mediation with a proposed parenting plan, ideal arrangements, lists of expenses, proof of income, and entries from a parenting journal or calendar showing when you care for your child.

In some cases, it is not required under Tennessee law for one or both parties to have an attorney to get divorced in Tennessee. However, this is usually only the case when the parties do not own any real property (including buildings or land), do not have a pension or retirement benefits, and are in complete and total agreement about how to divide all other personal property (i.e. money, cars, bank accounts, debts) and how to share custody of any children. These are very narrow circumstances, so often at least one party will be required to have representation by an attorney to get divorced, even if the parties agree. Further, it is always a good idea to have an attorney represent you in a divorce so that you can receive legal advice and ensure that your rights are protected.

A “no fault” divorce is a divorce where the party filing for divorce is not required to prove grounds to the Court for the Court to declare the parties divorced. Tennessee is a “no fault” divorce state, wherein the Court will enter a divorce decree without either party proving grounds for divorce. These “no fault” divorces are known as divorces with “irreconcilable differences.” However, for the Court to find that the parties have “irreconcilable differences,” the parties must both be in full agreement with the divorce and the Court must find that the parties have made sufficient written agreements for the custody of any children of their marriage and for an agreed division of their property. See generally Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-103.

Yes, a legal separation is different from a divorce, as a legal separation does not end the parties’ marriage, but does allow the parties to “cease matrimonial cohabitation” under Tennessee law. If the parties do not reconcile following a legal separation, the Court can later grant them a divorce. However, the Court can also hear and determine orders on matters such as child custody, visitation, support and property issues during legal separation and must still make an adjudication of the parties’ property rights in divorce proceedings following a legal separation. Often, the process of a legal separation prior to a divorce just adds time and expenses to the proceedings for parties that do not reconcile. See generally Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-102.

A Marital Dissolution Agreement (MDA) is a divorce agreement, or divorce settlement agreement, in which two spouses agree to the division of their property or assets and agree to get divorced. The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has a form for a marital dissolution agreement on its website. The MDA lists each parent’s personal property that they shall keep after the divorce. It also includes the debts that each party will assume after the divorce. The MDA must be signed by both parties and notarized. The judge hearing the divorce will have to approve the MDA before the divorce is approved and finalized.

Yes, Tennessee law provides that trial judges have broad discretion in determining permanent parenting plans that fulfill the best interests of the children involved. This means that it is essential that you have a qualified family law attorney to argue your case in court. If you are contemplating filing for divorce or have been served with divorce papers, then consider contacting an experienced family law attorney, such as Tiffany Hagar of the Lebanon-based law firm Hagar & Phillips.

Much as with child custody decisions in general, the courts will employ a “best interest” determination in deciding whether to approve or deny a permanent parenting plan. The Tennessee Court of Appeals explained in 2020 that “the polestar behind any parenting arrangement remains the best interests of the children impacted.”

A court must approve a permanent parenting plan for a divorce to be considered valid and final. The court can approve a permanent parenting plan based upon the agreement of the parties at the time of a final divorce decree or upon a modified divorce decree. However, if the parties cannot agree on a permanent parenting plan, the court can order the parties to “appropriate dispute resolution proceedings.” This means that each side must present their case to a neutral, licensed mediator. In disputed proceedings, oftentimes each side will submit a proposed parenting plan and the court ultimately has to determine what is the proper permanent parenting plan based upon the best interests of the child or children involved.

A permanent parenting plan is a plan required for any Tennessee divorce in which the parties have minor children that establish each parent’s time, responsibilities, and authority with regard to their children. It establishes the custody and visitation schedules for each parent. Tennessee law requires that each parenting plan do the following: (1) “provide for the child’s changing needs as the child grows and matures”; (2) set out the authority and responsibilities of each parent with regard to the child; (3) “minimize the child’s exposure to harmful parental conflict”; (4) “provide for a process for dispute resolution” (5) allocate to one parent the primary authority to make educational and health decisions regarding the child; (6) give day-to-day decision-making regarding the child to the parent whom the child is staying with at that time; (7) provide that the parties shall act in good faith to further best interest of the children; (8) require any parent who pays child support to provide yearly accounting of their income; and (9) require that any parent who does not have a valid driver’s license to ensure adequate transportation for the minor to the other parent.

Possibly, though, the Tennessee statute on stepparent visitation rights states that this applies in “extraordinary cases.” This sometimes applies when the stepparent has a very solid relationship with the child, but then the parent to whom the stepparent is married dies. The other parent, who has custody of the children, then denies visitation privileges to the stepparent. The stepparent can then petition the court for visitation rights. It is a high burden for the stepparent to overcome the wishes of a fit parent on the other side. However, it can happen in certain cases.

Yes, Tennessee does have a statute on grandparent visitation rights. It allows grandparents of parents to petition for visitation rights. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in Troxel v. Granville (2000) that grandparent visitation rights cannot trump the liberty interests of a fit parent’s liberty interest in rearing her child. Writing for the Court, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor explained: “Accordingly, so long as a parent adequately cares for his or her children (i.e., is fit), there will normally be no reason for the State to inject itself into the private realm of the family to further question the ability of that parent to make the best decisions concerning the rearing of that parent’s children.” One must show that there would be substantial harm to the child to be awarded grandparents’ visitation in addition to the other requirements of the statute. However, grandparents can still petition for visitation rights, and a court may grant such. This may apply, for example, when the child’s mother or father (the daughter or son of the grandparent) is deceased as long as they meet the other statutory requirements.

Virtual visitation refers to situations in which a parent cannot have physical visitation with her or his children but can speak to the children virtually through Facetime, Zoom video conferencing, Skype, Facebook Live, or some other form of similar communication. While courts prefer visitation to be physical, there are times when due to a parent’s employment or travel schedule, the visitation will need to be virtual.

Generally, no. While an injunction may not be formally issued regarding household bills and there may not be a specific law prohibiting this during a divorce, it is a bad idea. Courts typically require parties to maintain the “status quo” during the pendency of a divorce, including the payment of all current household bills. Further, taking an action like this will often lead the opposing spouse to seek temporary spousal support or a lump sum of temporary spousal support. Finally, all debt incurred by either or both spouses during the marriage up until the date of the final divorce hearing, including household bills, is considered marital debt under Tennessee law and will have to be allocated at the end of the proceedings. Thus, the failure of a party to contribute to or pay household bills can affect the divorce proceedings and the Court’s final determination.

Yes, Tennessee law provides that, generally speaking, the noncustodial parent should receive visitation rights so that the relationship between the noncustodial parent and the child is not broken. The Tennessee law on visitation specifically provides that after the court awards custody, “the court shall, upon request of the noncustodial parent, grant such rights of visitation as will enable the child and the noncustodial parent to maintain a parent-child relationship.” A key exception to this is if the court finds after a hearing that visitation with the noncustodial parent would endanger the child. In such circumstances, any visitation – if allowed at all – would likely have to be supervised visitation.