Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee

Re: child emancipation

I know a case in Anderson County Chancery Court where the testimony of a 13 year old persuaded a judge to transfer custody from joint custody to 100% custody in the mother.

The relevant Tennessee statute says that the judge must consider the child's expressed wishes, but the amount of weight given to those wishes is up to the discretion of the judge. The older the child, the more weight her opinion has to carry in court.

There are appellate law precedents indicating the choice of residence preferences of a 14 year old child should be respected by the judge.

Mike Guth