In re Anna H.
| Decision Date | 09 June 2021 |
| Docket Number | No. E2020-01206-COA-R3-PT,E2020-01206-COA-R3-PT |
| Parties | IN RE ANNA H., ET AL |
| Court | Tennessee Court of Appeals |
Appeal from the Chancery Court for Anderson County
M. Nichole Cantrell, Chancellor
This case involves a petition to terminate parental rights. The petition was filed by the children's biological father and stepmother against the biological mother. The trial court terminated the mother's rights, finding that the mother abandoned the children under Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-1-113(g)(1) and -102(1)(A)(iv) and that termination was in the best interest of the children. We affirm the trial court's decision and remand.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court Affirmed and Remanded.
CARMA DENNIS MCGEE, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which J. STEVEN STAFFORD, P.J., W.S., and ARNOLD B. GOLDIN, J., joined.
L. Rosillo Mulligan, Harriman, Tennessee, for the appellant, Meagan H.1
Henry Daniel Forrester, Clinton, Tennessee, for the appellees, Jessica H., and Wayne H.
OPINIONMeagan H. ("Mother") and Wayne H. ("Father") are the biological parents of Anna H. and Mason H. (collectively "the children"). Anna was born in January 2006, and Mason was born in July 2012. The children were born during Mother and Father's marriage, but the parties divorced in June 2014. Father remarried to Jessica H. ("Stepmother")(collectively "Petitioners") in September 2017. This appeal involves a petition to terminate Mother's parental rights to the children.
When Mother and Father divorced in 2014, Mother agreed that Father should be designated as the primary residential parent of the children. At the time, Mother was addicted to illicit drugs and admitted that she could not provide adequate care for the children. Since Mother and Father separated, the children have lived exclusively with Father in Tennessee. Under the permanent parenting plan that was entered upon their divorce, Mother was granted visitation with the children every other weekend. However, Mother has not seen the children since 2015.
After Mother and Father's divorce, Mother began incurring numerous criminal charges in Kentucky, where she resided. In January 2017, Mother pled guilty to numerous drug-related charges that she committed in 2015. As a result of her guilty plea, Mother was sentenced to 12 months of incarceration and 24 months of probation. Mother also pled guilty to multiple DUI charges after driving under the influence in 2014 and 2016. Due to her criminal charges and convictions, Mother was incarcerated from November 24, 2016 to January 20, 2017 and again from March 20, 2017 to January 19, 2018. Prior to trial in this case, the last time she saw the children was in the fall of 2015.
On October 20, 2017, while Mother was incarcerated, Petitioners filed a petition to terminate Mother's parental rights and for Stepmother to adopt the children. As grounds for termination, Petitioners alleged that Mother abandoned the children by failing to visit and by failing to provide support during the four months that preceded the filing of the petition.
On February 19, 2018, Mother answered the petition. In her answer, Mother argued that Petitioners failed to comply with the requirements of Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-1-113. Specifically, Mother asserted that she was incarcerated at the time the petition was filed and that the petition failed to state grounds for termination of the rights of an incarcerated parent. Based on the deficiency in the petition, Mother moved to dismiss the petition. Shortly after Mother filed her initial answer, in May 2018, she moved to enforce the visitation schedule contained in the parties' permanent parenting plan. This was the first time since the parties' divorce in 2014 that Mother attempted to formally enforce the visitation schedule.
After a hearing on Mother's motion to dismiss, the trial court agreed that Petitioners failed to adequately plead a ground for termination. However, the court allowed Petitioners to amend the petition to include the requisite four-month period and instructed Mother to provide Petitioners her dates of incarceration prior to the filing of the petition.
On February 22, 2019, Petitioners filed an amended petition. In the amended petition, Petitioners again alleged that Mother abandoned the children by failing to supportand by failing to visit. Petitioners stated that Mother's relevant periods of incarceration were from November 24, 2016 to January 20, 2017, and again from March 20, 2017 to January 19, 2018. Accordingly, Petitioners argued that, excluding those periods of incarceration, Mother abandoned the children during an aggregated four months prior to Petitioners filing the original petition.
In an amended answer, Mother admitted to the alleged periods of incarceration. Mother also claimed that Petitioners thwarted her attempts to visit and provide support during the requisite four-month period.
On July 28, 2020, the trial court conducted a final hearing on the petition. Several witnesses testified at the hearing, including Father, Stepmother, Anna, and Mother. At the outset of the hearing, the parties agreed to an aggregate four-month period under Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-1-102(1)(A)(iv). The parties agreed that, excluding Mother's periods of incarceration, the relevant four-month period of non-incarceration was from September 24 to November 24, 2016 and January 20 to March 20, 2017.
Father testified that he and the children reside with Stepmother and her biological son. Father stated that the children are established in the home and are doing exceptionally well. He testified that Anna is involved in various activities, such as soccer and cheerleading, and is receiving high grades in school. When asked about Anna's relationship with Stepmother, Father stated that, at times, they bicker like a normal daughter and mother, but they have a positive relationship overall. Similarly, Father stated that Mason plays several sports and gets along well with Stepmother. In contrast to the children's relationship with Stepmother, Father testified that Mother did not visit or attempt to contact the children during the relevant four-month period. He further stated that between the parties' divorce in 2014 and the filing of the petition in 2017, Mother attempted to contact the children approximately five times. Until the petition was filed, Father did not receive any letters, cards, or gifts from Mother to the children. However, Father stated that after Mother was released from incarceration in January 2018, he began receiving cards from Mother addressed to the children. According to Father, Mason, who was two years old when he last saw Mother, had no relationship with Mother.
Stepmother also testified to her relationship with the children. Stepmother had experienced previous legal issues similar to that of Mother in her past. Prior to marrying Father, Stepmother had been incarcerated for various drug-related charges. Although she used drugs in the past, Stepmother testified that she has not used drugs since she was released from incarceration in December 2014. Stepmother verified that she and her biological son have lived with Father and the children since 2016. She testified that she raises Anna and Mason as if they are her biological children and that they refer to her as "Mom." Stepmother stated that she helps perform parenting responsibilities such as transporting the children to their activities, cooking for the family, and putting the children to bed at night. Similar to Father's testimony, Stepmother also stated that the family didnot receive any mail from Mother until after the petition was filed.
Anna, who was fourteen years old at the time of trial, also testified. Anna confirmed that she refers to Stepmother as "Mom" because she views her as her mother. She also referred to Stepmother's biological son as her "brother." Anna stated that she understood that the trial court was being asked to terminate Mother's parental rights and that she wanted Stepmother to be her legal mother.
In regards to her relationship with Mother, Anna testified that, even if Mother is no longer using drugs, she does not want to have contact with her. When asked about Mother's recent efforts to make contact, Anna stated that she remembered receiving cards and letters on holidays. However, she received the majority of these correspondences after the termination petition was filed. Anna was aware that there were instances when Mother attempted to contact her through Father but said that she would inform Father that she did not want to speak with Mother. Anna's previous interactions with Mother were tumultuous and sporadic. In particular, Anna described instances where she would find needles in Mother's purse or under her bed. She also stated that Mother was "in and out of our lives." Anna estimated that she last saw Mother approximately six years prior to trial when she and Mason were visiting their maternal grandmother. Anna testified that during the visit, Mother arrived and began fighting with the grandmother, which resulted in law enforcement being called to the scene. Anna also stated that because Mason was "really young" when he last saw Mother, he does not have a relationship with Mother.
Mother testified on her criminal history, her efforts to change her lifestyle, and her recent efforts to contact the children. Mother admitted to her prior drug use that resulted in multiple periods of incarceration. Initially, Mother claimed that she began using drugs "around 2015." However, she later admitted meeting Stepmother when she was using drugs, which was prior to her divorce from Father in 2014. Despite her prior drug use, Mother asserted that she has been "clean" since she was incarcerated in March 2017. Mother testified that since she was last released from incarceration, she has obtained employment, had earned an...
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