Creating a Parenting Plan in Tennessee: 2026 Complete Guide to Permanent Parenting Plans, Residential Schedules & Custody

Tennessee requires a permanent parenting plan in every divorce involving minor children under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-404. The plan must include a residential schedule, allocate decision-making authority, and serve the child's best interest under the 17 factors of Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-106, amended effective July 1, 2025. Filing fees run $200 with children.

Key Facts: Parenting Plans in Tennessee

Filing fees as of January 2026. Verify with your local circuit or chancery court clerk.

What Is a Permanent Parenting Plan in Tennessee?

A permanent parenting plan in Tennessee is a court-ordered document that governs custody, residential time, and decision-making for minor children after divorce. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-404, every final divorce decree involving a minor child must incorporate a parenting plan, a requirement in force for all divorces entered after January 1, 2001.

The parenting plan Tennessee courts require replaced older terms like "custody" and "visitation" with a structured framework centered on the child's needs. Tennessee uses a standardized statewide form, mandatory since July 1, 2005, so that every court approving plans applies a consistent format. A parenting plan must designate a Primary Residential Parent, set a detailed residential schedule, allocate decision-making for education, health care, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing, and establish a dispute-resolution process before court action. The plan also addresses child support calculated under the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines. Because the plan is a binding court order, violating its terms can result in contempt proceedings, making accuracy and clarity essential when parents draft it.

What Must a Tennessee Parenting Plan Contain?

A Tennessee parenting plan must contain a residential schedule, an allocation of decision-making authority, a dispute-resolution process, and child support provisions under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-404. The statute lists at least seven mandatory objectives the plan must accomplish to be approved by the court.

Under the statute, every plan must provide for the child's changing needs as the child matures to minimize future modifications, establish each parent's authority and responsibilities, minimize the child's exposure to harmful parental conflict, and provide a dispute-resolution process before court action. The plan must allocate decision-making authority for the child's education, health care, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing to one or both parents. Regardless of that allocation, either parent may make emergency decisions affecting the child's health or safety, and each parent makes day-to-day decisions while the child resides with them. The plan must also require a parent with an expired, suspended, or revoked driver license to arrange acceptable transportation for the child. These elements form the legal backbone of any enforceable custody agreement in Tennessee.

How Does the Residential Schedule Work?

The residential schedule in a Tennessee parenting plan specifies where the child lives on every day of the year, including school days, weekends, holidays, vacations, and birthdays. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-404 and the definitions in Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-402, the schedule must encourage each parent to maintain a loving, stable relationship with the child.

The court designates one parent as the Primary Residential Parent (PRP), the parent with whom the child resides more than 50% of the time, while the other becomes the Alternate Residential Parent. The co-parenting schedule must account for the child's developmental level and the family's economic circumstances. Tennessee law establishes no preference or presumption for joint custody, sole custody, or equal parenting time; courts retain wide discretion to craft the arrangement that serves the child's best interest. A common parenting time schedule gives the PRP majority residential time with the other parent receiving alternating weekends, a weeknight, and roughly half of holidays and summer break. Many Tennessee parents now negotiate near-equal visitation schedules, such as week-on/week-off or 5-2-2-5 rotations, when both live close to the child's school and demonstrate equal involvement in daily parenting.

What Are the 17 Best-Interest Factors?

Tennessee courts determine the residential schedule and decision-making using 17 best-interest factors under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-106, amended effective July 1, 2025. The statute previously listed 15 factors; the 2025 amendment added factors addressing prior custody restrictions and unpaid child support, plus a catch-all factor.

No single factor controls the outcome; judges weigh all relevant factors and explain how the ruling serves the child's welfare. The factors include the strength and stability of each parent's relationship with the child, each parent's willingness to facilitate a close relationship with the other parent, each parent's disposition to provide food, clothing, medical care, and education, the child's emotional needs and developmental level, and the moral, physical, mental, and emotional fitness of each parent. Factor 15 now examines whether a parent had custody or parenting time reduced in the past and the reasons why. Factor 16 addresses whether a parent failed to pay court-ordered child support. Factor 17 permits the court to consider any other relevant factor. A parent's disability alone cannot count against them unless it affects parenting ability.

Is a Child's Preference Considered in Tennessee?

Tennessee courts must consider the reasonable preference of a child age 12 or older under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-106, but the child's preference is only one of 17 factors and never controls the outcome alone. Courts may hear the preferences of younger children upon request but give those wishes less weight.

Even a teenager cannot unilaterally decide where to live; the court retains full authority to order the arrangement that serves the child's best interest regardless of stated preference. Judges typically interview an older child privately, often in chambers rather than open court, to reduce the pressure of choosing between parents. The court weighs the maturity behind the preference and whether it reflects genuine well-being or short-term factors like lenient rules at one home. A child's stated wish to live with the parent who imposes fewer responsibilities, for example, carries less weight than a preference grounded in stability, school continuity, and emotional security. Parents should never coach a child to express a preference, as courts view manipulation as evidence weighing against the coaching parent under the willingness-to-co-parent factors.

What Is the Parent Education Seminar Requirement?

Tennessee requires every parent in a case involving a permanent parenting plan to attend a parent education seminar of at least four hours under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-408, to be completed as soon as possible after the complaint is filed. Minor children are excluded from attending the seminar.

The seminar is educational, not therapeutic, and teaches parents how to protect the child's emotional development and navigate the legal process. The curriculum must include at least one 30-minute video on adverse childhood experiences produced through the Building Strong Brains Tennessee campaign, plus discussion of alternative dispute resolution, the judicial process, and common conduct involving domestic violence. Parent education providers are certified by each individual judicial district, and the seminar may be split into sessions totaling no fewer than four hours. Crucially, a parent's willful refusal to attend the court-ordered seminar may be treated by the court as evidence of that parent's lack of good faith, which can influence the division of parenting time and decision-making authority. Most counties offer in-person and approved online options, and completion certificates must be filed with the court before the final decree.

What Happens If Parents Cannot Agree?

If parents cannot agree on a parenting plan, each must file and serve a proposed permanent parenting plan no later than 45 days before the trial date under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-404(c)(3). Failure to file a proposed plan may result in the court adopting the opposing parent's plan if it serves the child's best interest.

Each proposed plan must attach a verified statement of income under the child support guidelines and a verified statement that the plan is proposed in good faith. Before trial, the court may order alternative dispute resolution under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31, directing the parents to mediation to resolve their differences. Mediation is generally optional unless a local rule requires it, but in practice most Tennessee courts order it when parents reach an impasse after completing the parent education seminar. A Rule 31 mediator helps the parties negotiate a custody agreement without a contested trial, saving time and expense. If a court has entered an order of protection or found domestic violence, the victim is exempt from mandatory dispute resolution under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-409, and the case proceeds directly toward judicial determination of the parenting plan.

How Do You Modify a Tennessee Parenting Plan?

To modify a Tennessee parenting plan, a parent files a petition for modification with a proposed parenting plan attached, served with both the petition and the response, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-405. The moving parent must prove a material change in circumstances and that modification serves the child's best interest.

A proposed plan is not required if the modification concerns only child support. Pending a final ruling, the existing residential schedule remains in place unless both parents agree to change it or the court finds the child faces a likelihood of substantial harm without an immediate change. Tennessee distinguishes between modifying the residential schedule and modifying the designation of the Primary Residential Parent, applying different thresholds. A change to the residential schedule requires a less demanding showing of a material change than a change in the PRP designation, which courts treat as a more significant disruption. Common grounds for modification include a parent's relocation, a substantial change in work schedules, a child's evolving developmental needs, or one parent's repeated failure to follow the existing co-parenting schedule. Parents who attend the court-ordered seminar and document specific changes strengthen their modification petition substantially.

What Does a Parenting Plan Cost in Tennessee?

The statutory base filing fee for a Tennessee divorce with minor children is $200 under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-21-401, but total costs reach $184 to $381 once county litigation taxes and service fees are added. Davidson County (Nashville) charges $259.50 to $301.50 for cases with children; Shelby County charges up to $381.50.

These fees cover filing the complaint and parenting plan but not attorney fees, mediation, or the parent education seminar, which typically costs $25 to $75. Court fees increased statewide in January 2026, so confirm the exact amount with your local circuit or chancery court clerk before filing. Low-income parents earning at or below 125% of the federal poverty level, roughly $19,506 annually for a single person, may request a fee waiver by submitting the Uniform Civil Affidavit of Indigency under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 29 and Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-12-127. When parents agree on a parenting plan through an uncontested divorce, total costs often stay under $1,500 including the filing fee and seminar; contested custody disputes requiring mediation, evaluations, and trial can exceed $15,000 to $30,000 per parent.

Costs as of January 2026. Verify with your local clerk.