It happens. No matter what profession you are in, your marital or parental status, or even if you don’t have children, we have all heard the sad stories of children caught in the crossfire. That is, divorced parents or parents not in a relationship with each other, who keep information about their child from the other parent or refuse to allow the child to call the other parent, simply to hurt the other parent. A Williamson County, Franklin, Tennessee Judge has been instrumental in changing the law to hopefully reduce this behavior. Parents now have a more specific duty to share information about the child, and the child’s location, with the other parent. The disobeying parent can be punished for not following the law. This will hopefully help the children.
Thanks to Judge James G. Martin, Tennessee law has imposed new requirements on parents to share information about their child with the other parent. For example, it is now mandatory that the parent exercising visitation or parenting time provide the other parent with, among other things,
(1) a telephone number where the child may be reached, and
(2) deliver all letters, packages and other materials sent to the child by the other parent as soon as received, and
(3) notify the other parent of any hospitalization, major illness or injury or death of the child, and
(4) provide the name, address, and telephone number of the child’s school or information to the other parent that the child is being homeschooled, and
(5) if leaving the state for more than 48 hours, provide the other parent an itinerary which shall include the planned dates of departure and return, the intended destinations and mode of travel and telephone numbers.
There are other requirements contained in the new law as well. T.C.A. § 36-6-101.
So what happens if a parent still won’t abide by the law? That parent can be held in contempt, which could mean going to jail, paying a fine, and paying the other parent’s attorney fees. If you have any questions about the new parental responsibilities under the new law, the attorneys at Daugherty, Haas & Associates can help. Kelli Haas can be reached directly at (615) 567-7304 or kelli@khalawgroup.com and Christina Daugherty can be reached directly at (601) 653-0709 or christina@khalawgroup.com
