Tennessee Parenting Plan
A Tennessee permanent parenting plan sets out the residential schedule, the primary residential parent, and decision-making that the court must approve under the best interest of the child standard. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
A parenting plan is a written plan that sets out how two parents will share time with and responsibility for their children, and it is used by parents who are divorcing, by parents who were never married, and by parents who need to modify an existing arrangement. Tennessee uses its own vocabulary. Instead of custody, Tennessee law speaks of a permanent parenting plan, a primary residential parent, a residential parent, and a residential schedule (Tennessee Code Section 36-6-402). Tennessee is a state that requires a permanent parenting plan: any final decree or decree of modification in an action for absolute divorce, legal separation, annulment, or separate maintenance involving a minor child shall incorporate a permanent parenting plan (Tennessee Code Section 36-6-404). The plan allocates decision-making authority over the child's education, health care, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing, sets out a residential schedule that designates a primary residential parent (the parent with whom the child resides more than fifty percent of the time), provides a process for resolving disputes, and is designed to minimize the child's exposure to harmful parental conflict. A Tennessee court approves the plan by the best interest of the child under the factors in Tennessee Code Section 36-6-106. DocDraft builds your Tennessee permanent parenting plan from your family's schedule, with attorney review available before you file it with the court.
Key Things to Know
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A parenting plan is a written plan in which two parents set out the residential schedule and decision-making for their children, whether the parents are divorcing, were never married, or are changing an existing arrangement.
- 2
Tennessee uses a permanent parenting plan, a primary residential parent, a residential parent, and a residential schedule rather than the word custody (Tennessee Code Section 36-6-402).
- 3
Tennessee requires a permanent parenting plan: any final decree involving a minor child shall incorporate one (Tennessee Code Section 36-6-404).
- 4
A Tennessee permanent parenting plan allocates decision-making authority over the child's education, health care, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing, and includes a residential schedule (Section 36-6-404).
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The residential schedule designates a primary residential parent, the parent with whom the child resides more than fifty percent of the time (Tennessee Code Section 36-6-402).
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A Tennessee permanent parenting plan must also provide a process for resolving disputes before court action and is designed to minimize the child's exposure to harmful parental conflict (Section 36-6-404).
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A Tennessee court approves the plan by the best interest of the child under the factors in Tennessee Code Section 36-6-106, and any parenting-class requirement is set by the court.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Parenting Plan in Tennessee, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Parenting Plan guide walks through them.
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Tennessee Requirements for Parenting Plan
Permanent Parenting Plan Required
Tennessee requires a permanent parenting plan. Any final decree or decree of modification in an action for absolute divorce, legal separation, annulment, or separate maintenance involving a minor child shall incorporate a permanent parenting plan (Tennessee Code Section 36-6-404). It is a required part of the decree, not an optional document.
Residential Parent Terminology
Tennessee uses a permanent parenting plan, a primary residential parent, a residential parent, and a residential schedule rather than the word custody (Tennessee Code Section 36-6-402). The primary residential parent is the parent with whom the child resides more than fifty percent of the time.
Decision-Making Authority
A Tennessee permanent parenting plan allocates decision-making authority to one or both parents over the child's education, health care, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing, and provides that each parent may make day-to-day decisions while the child is residing with that parent (Tennessee Code Section 36-6-404).
Residential Schedule
The plan must include a residential schedule, the schedule of when the child is in each parent's physical care, and it designates a primary residential parent when the child resides with one parent more than fifty percent of the time (Tennessee Code Section 36-6-402). The schedule should cover the weekday, weekend, holiday, and summer routine.
Dispute Resolution and Low Conflict
A Tennessee permanent parenting plan must provide a process for resolving disputes before court action and is designed to minimize the child's exposure to harmful parental conflict and to provide for the child's changing needs as the child grows (Tennessee Code Section 36-6-404).
Best Interest of the Child
A Tennessee court approves the permanent parenting plan by the best interest of the child, weighing the factors in Tennessee Code Section 36-6-106, which include each parent's caregiving role, the strength of the child's relationship with each parent, the stability of each home, and each parent's willingness to encourage a relationship with the other parent.
Plan Becomes the Order
Because Tennessee incorporates the permanent parenting plan into the final decree, the approved plan is the binding order that governs the parents (Tennessee Code Section 36-6-404). Building a complete, clear Tennessee plan therefore directly shapes the order the court enters.
Parenting Seminar Set by the Court
Many Tennessee courts require parents in a case involving children to complete a parent-education seminar, but the requirement is administered by the court rather than set as a single fixed statewide class in the statute. Check with the Tennessee court where your case is filed.