Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee

Re: About Visitation over 100 Miles

Dear Inquirer:

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http://www.CaliforniaDivorceAttorney.com

The site contains quite a bit of general information about California Family Law, Tenants' Rights, and Juvenile Dependencies, as well as information about me (education, experience, et cetera) and my office (location, hours, fees, policies).

NOW, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR INQUIRY --

If the child still resides in TN, the court there retains jurisdiction per the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (presuming TN has adopted the Act). If you and you ex can agree on a modification of visitation terms, it probably can be accomplished by a stipulation without a court appearance. Otherwise you will need to "go to court" in TN. And, "no", you cannot keep the child longer in the summer without the consent of your ex or the court.

Thanks for sharing your interesting inquiry with us on LawGuru, and good luck with your case.

Re: About Visitation over 100 Miles

There are no set guidelines about visitation in these circumstances. To get the visitation you want, you would have to file a motion with the court, and it will be up to a judge to decide what visitation you get. (Most such cases are settled before they get to court, however).

You would be likely to get some time during school breaks as well as summers.

If the divorce was filed in California, you could file the motion for increased visitation in California. Otherwise, it would have to be filed in Tennassee, or whichever other state the divorce was originally filed in.

Re: About Visitation over 100 Miles

While I generally agree with the response posted by attorney Crowder, there is one important point on which I disagree. The issue of where you can ask a court to modify the visitation schedule is more complicated than simply looking at the state where the divorce decree was entered. The real question will be where the child has been living for the six months immediately prior to filing the petition to mofify the visitation schedule. If the child has been living in TN for the last six months, that is where you would need to ask a court to change things. Call me at 423-267-4391 if you would care to discuss it further.