Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee

Child Support and Custody

My girlfriend of 1 year has a 4 year old girl 305 days out of the year. Her ex husband has the child the remaining 60. They are both good parents. We have recently found out that we are going to have a child together. Her 2nd, my first. We are not ready for marriage. We fight a lot and have a strained relationship. She feels that there is no way to raise the baby together if we are not married... stating that if we co-habitate out of wedlock she has the potential of losing custody of the 4 year old. I do not want to jeopordize that arrangment, so I have become stuck. I live 5 minutes away now... but I am willing to live with her to help raise my child, which I feel is the best thing to do. I want to be a good father and I love her daughter as my own... but I don't see any way out of this without marriage, which I feel, without much needed therapy or counseling, could just make the problem worse in the long run. Is there anything we could do... or something we are missing that could possibly ease our situation? Is it true that the father can sue for custody because I am living there... even though we are doing it to raise our other child? Thank you for any help.


Asked on 1/08/08, 7:38 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jes Beard Jes Beard, Attorney at Law

Re: Child Support and Custody

I know the advice is late, but it is best not to do that which can result in a child with anyone you would not be happy to raise the child with. Oh, well. That horse appears to be out of the barn and running down the road.

You can file a petition in Juvenile Court to get an order addressing your parenting time and the mother's parenting time, but if her final decree with her ex does not prohibit cohamitation, Tennessee law does not allow changing custody ONLY because the parent with the children most of the time has a live-in. But the fighting and arguing you describe certainly would allow a change.

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Answered on 1/09/08, 7:31 pm


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