Andrew K. Armbrister v. Melissa H. Armbrister

Summary

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-6-101(a)(2)(C), enacted in 2004, supplies the governing standard for modifying a residential parenting schedule and abrogated any prior decision that could be read as requiring proof that a material change in circumstances could not reasonably have been anticipated; statutorily listed changes such as a child's aging or a parent's altered living or working conditions may qualify even if foreseeable. Applying that lower threshold, the Court found the evidence did not preponderate against the trial court's findings that the father's remarriage, relocation, changed work schedule, and the children's natural aging constituted a material change affecting the children's best interest, and that increasing his parenting time from 85 to 143 days was not an abuse of discretion. The Court reversed the divided Court of Appeals judgment and reinstated the trial court's modified parenting plan.