(a) Solely for the purpose of all other state and federal statutes and any applicable policies of insurance that require a designation or determination of custody, a parenting plan must designate the parent with whom the child is scheduled to reside a majority of the time as the primary residential parent of the child; provided, that this designation shall not affect either parent’s rights and responsibilities under the parenting plan. In the absence of such a designation, the parent with whom the child is scheduled to reside a majority of the time is deemed to be the primary residential parent for the purposes of such federal and state statutes.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 36-6-410
Primary residential parent: means the parent with whom the child resides more than fifty percent (50%) of the time. See Tennessee Code 36-6-402
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, when the child is scheduled to reside an equal amount of time with both parents, the parents may agree to a designation as joint primary residential parents or to waive the designation of a primary residential parent. In the absence of an agreement between the parties, a single primary residential parent must be designated; provided, that this designation shall not affect either parent’s rights and responsibilities under the parenting plan.
