Reese Witherspoon’s parents, Mary Elizabeth and John Witherspoon, may have a problem. Mary Elizabeth filed a petition in Davidson county on May 9th, 2012 accusing her husband of running off to Gatlinburg, TN and marrying another woman.
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Requirements for a Valid Marriage in Tennessee
Tennessee has several requirements to form a valid marriage.
What is Alimony?
Alimony is a legal obligation of one spouse to provide support to the other spouse after a divorce or legal separation. Most often, this support is in the form of monthly payments of a set amount.
Extramarital Affairs and Dissipation of Marital Assets
A fairly common problem can arise when one spouse had previously spent a bunch of money on their new lover, leaving less money in the joint accounts to split. It doesn’t seem fair that the innocent spouse should be left with less money due to the affair, but how can the court equalize the distribution?
Changing the Name of a Child Born to Unmarried Parents
Tennessee law says that when a child is born to married parents the child will have the father’s last name, unless the parents request otherwise. However, a child born to parents who are not married will have the mother’s last name unless both parties agree on another name. An action to establish paternity or chid support will not automatically cause the child’s name to be changed.
Father Loses Custody After Repeated Frivolous Petitions
In this appellate court opinion, after the father’s repeated frivolous claims against the mother it was reasonable to give custody of the minor child to the mother.
What is the Statutory Injunction or Automatic Injunction?
Any time a divorce is filed in Tennessee the court will automatically issue an injunction against both parties preventing them from performing certain acts like canceling health insurance, closing joint accounts, or hiding the children.
What is a Parenting Plan?
A parenting plan is a document that will describe how you and your spouse will share the parenting responsibilities, as well as define who will be making certain decisions, and paying expenses, among other matters.
Conservatorships and the Proof Required to Establish Disability
When considering whether or not to appoint someone as conservator over the estate of another person (often called the “ward”), it must be shown to the court by clear and convincing evidence that the ward “is fully or partially disabled and that the [ward] is in need of assistance”. See T.C.A. § 34-1-126 If the [...]