Tennessee adds parenting-schedule consideration to best-interest statute

Tennessee Public Chapter 683 adds a consideration concerning each parent’s meaningful opportunity to participate in a child’s life to the statutory best-interest factors used in custody determinations. The act says the consideration does not create a presumption as to parenting time. It was signed April 16, 2026, and states that it took effect July 1, 2026.

The act amends Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-6-106(a). Its new subdivision directs consideration of the extent to which the proposed or ordered parenting schedule provides each parent meaningful opportunities to participate in the child’s life, consistent with the child’s best interest. The opening words expressly state that the provision creates no presumption as to parenting time. The measure does not prescribe equal parenting time or a fixed division of time.

The same act revises the introductory language of section 36-6-106(a) to say that the court shall consider all relevant factors with the child’s best interest always paramount, including the listed factors where applicable. It also updates statutory cross-references in that section and in section 36-6-404(b), which concerns parenting plans. The session law directs that the existing subdivision be redesignated; the complete current code and later legislation should be consulted before relying on a particular numbering of every factor.

The distinction between a factor and a presumption matters. The act directs consideration of the proposed or ordered schedule in the context of the child’s best interest. It does not say that the factor alone controls the result, or that a particular parenting schedule follows automatically.

The act’s effective date is separate from its enactment. The enrolled chapter provides July 1, 2026; the General Assembly’s bill history identifies the April 16 approval and the later assignment of the chapter number.