Tennessee Family Legal Questions

I think you missed labeled this question. It doesn’t appear to be an immigration question. Unless you or your ex are immigrants with or without a Green Card, you must speak with an immigration attorney ASAP. Most immigration attorneys offer a free consultation, so you should be able to get your questions answered at no charge. Greg Dann, Esq., MBA Immigration Attorney   GAD Legal, LLC www.gadlegal.com Gdann@gadlegal.com Office: (888) 315-4828 Fax: (412) 847-5885... Read More

Hi John, You are correct, you definitely need help with a divorce! The situation as you've described it is one that could go from bad to worse if you do not seek the help of an attorney quickly. Not only do married couples (typically) share an interest in property acquired during a marriage, but also in debts. You could be provided some protection upon the filing of a divorce with the automatic issuance of the statutory injunction, but aside from that you will most likely need the court to enter a temporary order to calm things down during the divorce proceedings. If you haven't already, you need to contact a local divorce attorney to help you with your particular situation. Sincerely, Robert Lee Jackson II Attorney at Law Law Office of Robert Lee Jackson II 5115 Maryland Way Suite 301 Brentwood, TN 37027 Office: (615) 376-9933 ... Read More

Under the circumstances you described, I think she would have some difficulty terminating your parental rights and adopting your child. Now, I'm not trying to be funny when I say she probably describes the situation differently. If I read her description, maybe I would say an adoption is possible. The grounds that people usually use in a case like yours would be that the child was placed into DCS custody, which then I guess went to your mother-in-law, and that you have failed to remedy the conditions that lead to the child's removal from your test today. Your post says you have remedied those conditions, so that would be the big disagreement. You said you are working on getting to the place DSS said you needed to be. If it's been a few months that's OK, if it's been a couple years and you are still "working on it," you are getting closer to the kind of situation where a court could terminate your rights.... Read More

Good evening. The COVID-19 crisis is definitely not, let me repeat not, grounds to refuse summer parenting time. That is not me as a person criticizing your parenting, that is a lawyer answering your question. The judges in the state of Tennessee will absolutely consider a refusal to allow parenting time to be willful contempt of court.  The same order that apparently gives you primary custody gives him the summer visitation. If you have custody, then that is because you have a valid court order. That means it's valid both ways. Having primary custody does not mean you can modify parenting plan without court approval. I feel pretty sure that's not what you were hoping to see, and I'm sorry to give bad news, but I'm absolutely positive I'm correct. You do not want to deny this parenting time. Best of wishes to you and your family; I certainly hope everyone stays safe and healthy.... Read More

It seems your question is an immigration law question. "Family Law" can be a bit of a confusing term, because your question is about your family, but that is not considered family law. If you will post again to the immigration section somebody qualified in that area will review your question.... Read More

If an agreement was entered in court the Order should conform to the agreement. However, lawyers and judges speak almost our own language. There are little phrases a judge will use that the lawyers know mean x and y, even though no person said x or y. Most judges take their own notes and will sign orders only if they are correct, in the judge's view. If the judge thinks an Order is correct and a person disagrees, there are Motions that can be filed but that's an uphill battle... Read More

In Tennessee being on the birth certificate is actually not the same thing as being the legal father. It's sort of like being halfway there. You'd have to file an action in the juvenile court, and probably go through DNA testing to exclude him as the father. I don't know what kind of hassle he is causing you, but just being on the birth certificate doesn't give him any rights. You can just ignore him. If he is the biological father than that's all sort of different.... Read More

Signing the birth certificate may be difficult for him, but there's a document called a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, VAP, which is a notarized form which he could sign in jail. All jails have a notary for inmates even though it may be a little bit of a hassle to sign up. With that vap you could get the state to issue a new birth certificate. Certainly, at the hospital you can try to get them to put him on but even if they do you should still get a Vap.... Read More

You will have to evict him. Courts are not processing evictions right now. if he becomes physically abusive or extremely threatening you could perhaps file a petition for an order of protection from domestic violence, but you can tell from the name it's not exactly designed for your situation. You probably can remove his things from everywhere except his living space, in other words I think you can remove his items from your pavilion. He could probably turn around and put them back. Although cops will sometimes get involved with things like this they really shouldn't because they are well-intentioned but often don't really know the law. I think you can keep a careful watch on the news and see when eviction petitions are being heard again and file one that day... Read More

Thank you will have better success if you will re-post this question under criminal law, but since nobody has answered I will tell you what I think. Again, I suggest you verify this with a criminal attorney who practices in your county. I think once a warrant is issued, she is going to have to surrender herself on the warrant. If you time it right, say first thing in the morning, you should be able to get in front of a judge to confirm the fine is paid and deal with that bench warrant without the individual having to spend the night in jail, but I don't think you're going to be able to avoid an arrest and booking at this point. Judges don't play with people not coming to court. I think they will put her in jail just for a minute... Read More

Property acquired during a marriage is marital property. Title does not matter. Those cars are joint legal property. The police won't arrest you, and if they do, your lawsuit against them will be a good one. Take whatever car you need to work, or wherever else. The same goes for any other property, money, etc.   If he threatens you with police, tell him to ask the officer/deputy to call you. Explain you are married, and the car was purchased during the marraige, and that's about the end of it. ... Read More

I would say the law says support cannot be waived. I would also say it happens. In certain counties, there is no chance a judge would approve the waiver, but the parents might, possibly, be able to make a legal agreement that would have the same effect. As you likely know, there are a number of financial inputs that go into the child support calculation.... Read More

Your first step would be to file a petition to establish paternity and set child support with a court in order to get child support from your ex.  Paternity will be established by either a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity or a DNA test. However, once your ex is determined to be the child's father, he can then file for visitation and/or custody.  Although, if he is truly a registered sex offender, that seems unlikely but still a possibility.... Read More

Yes and no. You will not be able to do so at birth. As a married woman, your child is legally a child of the marriage. As part of a divorce you can provide proof (dna) that husband is not the father, and the Divorce court can order that child not to be of the marriage Then you can ask the juvenile court for a parentage order showing bio dad as father. When you have ... Read More

It’s not quite as simple as what you want to do, and it is not as simple as what he is threatening to do. As married individuals, you have joint and equal legal custody at this time.  If you don’t get the court involved, and just move out, he probably will make good on his threat to go to a judge and get an order. You need to  take it to a Judge first.  There are a lot of issues that go into custody.  Especially if he has a history of acting on the anger management problem you mentioned, the judge needs to know all of that as well. This doesn’t mean you won’t get custody of your girls, but you do need to do it the right way. ... Read More

The mediation agreement is a contract, but until it is approved by the Court, it is not a Court Order. That means that there may be defenses to approving it. You mentioned having a lawyer, you really need to take this up with him or her. If you have an attorney, you cannot go to court and argue anything to the judge. If you don't have a lawyer, then you absolutely should not try to go to court and argue anything to the judge. I don't want to put 'you have to have a lawyer' as an answer, it seems you know that, but again, with a signed agreement, and your husband has an attorney, you will not like your results if you go to court and argue your case. That is because you will be bound by court rules that take years to learn. The best baseball player in the world may be a terrible boxer, we all have our skills. You need to speak with your lawyer about what you want, and what is possible for you.... Read More

Anyone that has some sort of positive contact with the child has some sorts of rights available to them. Just because he only come when its convenient for him, even for 30 minutes establishes a parent-child relationship, not a good one but it does. By the way, you posted the question I feel that you want nothing to do with him since he doesn't do much for the child. So you have quite a few possible options. One you can pursue child support, and try to get him to be involved with the child and or you can look to terminate his parental rights. We can certainly try to help you evaluate your options. Feel free to give us a call or text for a free consultation. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 Ahsan Syed, Case Manager... Read More

You need to view all assets as either marital (property accumulated during marriage) as well as separate (property brought into the marriage, inherited or received by gift). Each party will typically keep their separate property unless commingled. Marital property typically will be split as equitably and/or equally as possible. Every case is different and there may be circumstances that do not allow for equal division of the marital property.... Read More

It will depend on what court maintains jurisdiction in this matter. Did you mother obtain the guardianship through a Tennessee Court, Michigan court or some other jurisdiction? Once you determine the state and court that maintains jurisdiction then you can move forward. "Nothing in this communication is meant to establish an attorney-client relationship. The information is provided for educational purposes only."... Read More