TENNESSEE Part 28

What does it mean to be the primary residential parent?

Technically, the primary residential parent is the parent with whom the child resides more than half of the time. In most cases, however, the primary residential parent has the child most of the time, except for every other weekend, holidays, and special events. Most parenting plans read: "Each parent will make decisions regarding the day-to-day care and control of each child while the child is residing with that parent." Because most parenting decisions fall under the "day-to-day" designation, the determination of primary residential parent is most important.