How Do Tennessee Courts Decide What Is in a Child’s Best Interest?

When parents cannot agree on custody or a parenting schedule in Tennessee, the court's primary concern is not necessarily what either parent believes is fair. The court must determine what arrangement is in the best interest of the child.

Tennessee law provides a list of factors courts consider when making custody and parenting-time decisions. These factors are found primarily in Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-6-106. Although the factors provide a framework, a best-interest determination is highly dependent on the facts of each family.

What Does “Best Interest of the Child” Mean?

There is no simple formula for determining a child's best interest. A judge considers the circumstances of the child and the parents and applies the statutory factors that are relevant to the particular case.

Some of the most important considerations include the strength and stability of the child's relationship with each parent, each parent's history of performing parenting responsibilities, the willingness of each parent to encourage a healthy relationship between the child and the other parent, and which parent has historically taken greater responsibility for the child's daily needs.

Courts may also consider each parent's ability to provide necessities such as food, clothing, medical care, and education; the child's emotional and developmental needs; the stability of the child's existing environment; the child's relationships with siblings and other important people; and each parent's work schedule.

Evidence of physical or emotional abuse is also an important consideration.

When appropriate, the court can consider a child's preference. Tennessee law specifically provides for consideration of the reasonable preference of a child who is twelve years old or older, and a court may hear the preference of a younger child upon request. A child's preference, however, does not automatically determine the outcome.

The Court Does Not Simply Count the Factors

One common misconception is that a custody case can be decided by counting how many statutory factors favor each parent.

That is not how the analysis works.

Tennessee appellate courts have repeatedly explained that determining a child's best interest requires more than mechanically tallying the factors. Some factors may have little relevance in a particular case, while another factor may be extremely important.

For example, both parents may have suitable homes and good relationships with the child. But if one parent has repeatedly interfered with the other parent's court-ordered parenting time, that conduct may become particularly significant. Tennessee law specifically directs courts to consider a parent's willingness and ability to facilitate a close and continuing relationship between the child and the other parent.

For that reason, the evidence presented to the court matters considerably.

Tennessee's Best-Interest Law Changed in 2026

Tennessee made an important change to its child-custody law effective July 1, 2026.

Under the amended law, courts must consider the extent to which the parenting schedule provides each parent with meaningful opportunities to participate in the child's life, consistent with the child's best interest.

The amendment does not create a presumption that parents are entitled to equal or 50/50 parenting time. Instead, the child's best interest remains paramount.

The practical effect is that courts can look beyond simply counting residential days. A proposed parenting schedule should make sense for the child's actual life, including school, extracurricular activities, transportation, medical needs, the parents' work schedules, and the distance between the parents' homes.

Does Being the Primary Caregiver Matter?

Yes.

Tennessee law specifically allows the court to consider the degree to which a parent has been the child's primary caregiver and has taken greater responsibility for parenting duties.

That does not mean the parent who historically performed more parenting duties automatically receives more parenting time. It is one consideration within the overall best-interest analysis.

Evidence about who takes the child to school, attends medical appointments, communicates with teachers, handles extracurricular activities, helps with homework, and manages the child's ordinary routine can therefore become relevant in a contested custody case.

Does a Parent Have to Cooperate With the Other Parent?

A parent's ability and willingness to facilitate the child's relationship with the other parent can be very important.

Courts can consider whether a parent has honored parenting arrangements and whether that parent has previously denied court-ordered parenting time. Communications between the parents—including text messages and emails—can consequently become important evidence.

Parents involved in a custody dispute should remember that communications made during the dispute may eventually be presented to a judge.

What Evidence Can Be Important in a Custody Case?

Every case is different, but evidence commonly relevant to a best-interest analysis can include school and attendance records, medical records, work schedules, calendars showing parenting time, text messages and emails between the parents, photographs, records concerning extracurricular activities, and testimony from people familiar with the child's circumstances.

The quality of the evidence is generally more important than simply producing a large volume of documents.

Modifying an Existing Parenting Plan Is Different

When a court has already entered a permanent parenting plan, a parent generally cannot obtain a modification simply by arguing that a different arrangement would now be better.

Tennessee law imposes an additional threshold requirement for modification. Depending upon the change requested, the parent seeking modification generally must first establish the legally required material change of circumstances. If that threshold is satisfied, the court then considers whether the proposed modification is in the child's best interest.

This distinction is important because an initial custody determination and a request to modify an existing parenting plan do not necessarily present the same legal questions.

Every Custody Case Is Fact-Specific

Two families can have similar parenting schedules but very different legal outcomes because Tennessee's best-interest analysis depends upon the particular child, parents, and circumstances before the court.

Parents involved in a contested divorce, child-custody case, or parenting-plan dispute should understand both the statutory factors and the evidence necessary to establish the facts relevant to those factors.

An experienced Tennessee family-law attorney can evaluate the circumstances of the case, identify the best-interest factors that are likely to be important, and help present the evidence necessary for the court to make a custody determination.

This article is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. The application of Tennessee custody law depends upon the facts of each case.