Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee
Reconciliation
I am on 18mo. assignment with my company in Japan. My wife and I are separated. She came to Japan for 2 months and returned to USA. She left my child and I in Japan to cohabitate with another man in USA. She has asked for a no-fault irreconcilable divorce. I believe the affair is almost over and that she will attempt to return. I want to accept her back, but I want to have a legal, binding contract that if she is unfaithful again, that she will relinquish her rights to parental custody of our son, and alimony. It seems like a Pre-Nuptual agreement. Is it possible to have this sort of contract and would it be legally binding in the event that the affair was not over and we did decide to abandon the reconciliation? I want to protect my child and our financial interests in the event that the reconciliation cannot work.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Reconciliation
Under Tennessee, if you and your wife resume co-habitation, you forfeit the adultry grounds for divorce. This is called "condonation". An agreement could be drawn up which states that she waives the condonation, however, I am not aware of any case where such a waiver has gone before the courts so I cannot say with certainty that the waiver will work. But, that is not the real problem here. If your wife comes back and leaves you again, you would have grounds for inappropriate marital conduct/cruel and inhuman treatment and you could go forward with a divorce on those grounds. The child custody issue is more difficult. The fact that your wife is asked to sign an agreement relinquishing custody on the condition that she comes back to live with you will not, in my opinion, hold water. Too much duress for the agreement to stand plus the best interests of the child control in custody cases.
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