Protecting Yourself at Bonnaroo This Year
We are only a few short months away from Bonnaroo 2015, and the line-up looks incredible. Ticket sales have been non-stop since the Manchester festival was announced, and it is likely that this year’s festival numbers will be higher than ever. That means that at least 70,000 people (and potentially even more) will all convene…
Read MoreThe Future of Sonya McCaul
When David and Kim Hodgins agreed to foster a one-year old Sonya McCaul back in 2005, they could not have known how long she would stay. After all, young Sonya had been brought across state lines from Nebraska by her babysitter, and her father was in and out of jail. But even though the Hodgins…
Read MoreThe Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act and Relocation
Families with children face some different legal challenges, especially when one parent no longer resides in the same state. To help make the process easier for parents and for the courts, Tennessee (along with 48 other states) adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which grants exclusive jurisdiction rights to the home…
Read MoreTennessee Given a “D” for Child Custody Laws by National Parents Organization
The National Parents Organization is a 501(3)(c) dedicated to promoting shared parenting throughout the country. Every year, the organization issues a Report Card that assesses the states’ laws as they relate to parenting plans in child custody. In the group’s 2014 Report Card, issued this November, Tennessee and 22 other states earned a “D.” The…
Read MoreGet Your Tickets TO Bonnaroo, Not AT Bonnaroo
The lineup for Bonnaroo 2015 is going to be announced soon, and people from all over the country will be planning their visit to the 700 acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee to enjoy the festival. Four day long concerts like Bonnaroo feature more than just music, because they celebrate the arts in general. If this…
Read MoreJanuary is Considered National Divorce Month
Deciding to divorce is difficult enough for couple, especially those with children. For this reason, many couples choose to postpone their divorce until after the holidays have passed, which makes January a month with some of the highest divorce rates in Tennessee, according to ABC News. But getting divorced in January may not be the…
Read MoreThe Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act and Relocation
Families with children face some different legal challenges, especially when one parent no longer resides in the same state. To help make the process easier for parents and for the courts, Tennessee (along with 48 other states) adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which grants exclusive jurisdiction rights to the home…
Read MoreDon’t Leave Your End of Life Decisions for the End of Your Life
The world has shared the agony of Nelson Mandela’s family members as they struggle with the difficult choices that accompany the end of life. Any decision they make will come under the public spotlight, and absent written instructions, the choice is theirs to make. Although not much is known about Mandela’s condition, the media is…
Read MoreWhat Is Collaborative Law?
Generally speaking, collaborative law is a form of alternative dispute resolution, and is a relatively new way of protecting legal clients’ needs. Instead of fighting a battle in a courtroom, two parties agree not to litigate, and instead allow their lawyers to serve as advocate partners. Its success in resolving conflicts in the areas of…
Read MoreCollege Funds and Divorce: The 529 Investment Plan
Divorce can often be hardest on your children. When you are drafting your divorce settlement, it is a good idea to provide for your children’s educational future in order to avoid conflict and confusion further down the road. In Tennessee, contributions to a college fund must be specified by a court order and voluntarily agreed…
Read MoreA New Tennessee Law Criminalizes Mothers who Abuse Drugs During Pregnancy
A Tennessee law that went into effect on July 1, 2014, would allow a woman to be charged with assault for the harm her drug use has inflicted on her child. State officials thought that this was the best course of action to stem the tide of infants born dependent on drugs. On July 8th,…
Read MoreCan You Really Be Charged with DUI When You are Not Driving Your Car?
In Tennessee, the short answer is yes. Let’s say, for example, you are riding as a passenger in your car while someone else is driving, and that person has had too much to drink. If the police pull the car over because the driver has been swerving or driving erratically, and they charge the driver…
Read MoreNew Texting Gun Would Catch Drivers Texting Behind the Wheel
Texting while driving is a threat to safety on the road that is growing more and more significant as more people think that they can get away with texting behind the wheel, according to the National Highway & Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA website distraction.gov. Texting behind the wheel causes more impairment than drinking and driving.…
Read MoreParental Relocation after Divorce in Tennessee — How to Do it Right
Sometimes after a divorce you want to shake off the drama and pain and make a fresh start in a new place. You might have received a promising job offer in another state that requires you to move more than 50 miles away from your ex-spouse or co-parent. Under Tennessee law, you must inform the…
Read MoreOctober is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
The news has been inundated with stories regarding famous athletes, celebrities and politicians committing acts of domestic violence on their partners, spouses and children. There is no excuse for violence, but acts committed against loved ones seem especially heinous. In the hopes of spreading awareness about the horrific nature of domestic violence, we share with…
Read MoreWhat Does “Contempt of Court” Actually Mean?
If you watch police procedurals or legal-based TV shows, you’ve probably heard a judge say “You’re out of order, Counselor” (or something along those lines) and then fine the attorney or the client for being in “contempt.” As a general rule, however, these types of shows don’t get the nuances of legal proceedings right, so…
Read MoreTennessee Judge Declares Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Constitutional – and Does So through Divorce Ruling
The same-sex marriage ban has been hotly contested not only in Tennessee, but throughout the country. A recent court case brought the constitutionality of the law back into the spotlight when Judge Russell E. Simmons, Jr., of the Roane County Circuit, denied a same-sex couple’s right to get divorced. The couple was married in Iowa…
Read MoreModernizing the Parenting Plan
Are you divorced with children? There’s an app for that. Actually, there are several apps for that. While divorce can be a difficult time for a family, technology makes it a little more simple. Modern technology can help minimize conflict and make it easy to communicate ― critical concepts after a divorce involving children. Establishing…
Read More“Hands Across the Border” and the DUI Checkpoint
Tennessee took steps last month to pass the DUI Recidivism Act, which allows judges to assign mandatory drug and alcohol counseling and treatment for repeat offenders. But the newest campaign, “Hands Across the Border” (or “Hands Across Borders,” depending on who you ask) shows us a crackdown on DUIs that seems more in style with…
Read MoreSeparate Sovereignty and Double Jeopardy: Investigating Darren Wilson
You can’t turn on the news these days without hearing about Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, MO who was killed by a police officer. The evidence is currently being presented to a grand jury in St. Louis, and we expect that this particular case will be taking up a lot more air time.…
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