In re Braxton M.

Summary

The Tennessee Court of Appeals considered a petition by a mother and stepfather to terminate a father's parental rights to his surviving child after the death of the parties' other child. The majority reversed the chancery court's determination that statutory grounds for termination and the child's best interests had not been proven by clear and convincing evidence, and remanded for further proceedings. Judge Valerie L. Smith concurred in part and dissented in part, agreeing as to abandonment but disputing the majority's factual and best-interests analysis.

Holdings

1. The evidence clearly and convincingly established abandonment by failure to support because Father provided no monetary or token support during the four-month period preceding the filing of the termination petition.
2. The evidence clearly and convincingly established that Father committed severe child abuse by knowingly failing to protect the children after recognizing that they were in distress and then leaving them unattended in the vehicle while obtaining a haircut.
3. Clear and convincing evidence established that termination of Father's parental rights was in Braxton's best interest.

Questions Presented

1. Whether clear and convincing evidence established abandonment by failure to support under Tennessee Code Annotated sections 36-1-113(g)(1) and 36-1-102(1)(A)(i).
2. Whether clear and convincing evidence established severe child abuse under Tennessee Code Annotated sections 36-1-113(g)(4) and 37-1-102(b)(27).
3. Whether clear and convincing evidence established that termination of Father's parental rights was in Braxton's best interest.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded