(a)

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 36-2-307

  • Child born out of wedlock: means a child born to parents who are not married to each other when the child was born. See Tennessee Code 36-2-302
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Court: means the juvenile court or any trial court with general jurisdiction. See Tennessee Code 36-2-302
  • Father: means the biological father of a child born out of wedlock. See Tennessee Code 36-2-302
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Mother: means the biological mother of a child born out of wedlock. See Tennessee Code 36-2-302
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(1) The juvenile court or any trial court with general jurisdiction shall have jurisdiction of an action brought under this chapter; provided, that, in any county having a population not less than eight hundred twenty-five thousand (825,000) nor more than eight hundred thirty thousand (830,000), according to the 1990 federal census or any subsequent federal census, only the juvenile court shall have jurisdiction of an action brought under this chapter.
(2) The court shall have statewide jurisdiction over the parties involved in the case.
(b) Any minimum contact relevant to a child’s being born out of wedlock that meets constitutional standards shall be sufficient to establish the jurisdiction of the courts of Tennessee over the parents for an action under this chapter. Any conduct in Tennessee that results in conception of a child born out of wedlock shall be deemed sufficient contact to submit the parents to the jurisdiction of the courts of Tennessee for action under this chapter.
(c)

(1) The complaint may be filed in the county where the father resides or is found, the county where the mother resides or is found, or the county in which the child resides or is present when the application is made. However, a man who seeks to establish parentage of a child who is the subject of a pending petition for adoption pursuant to chapter 1, part 1 of this title, must file this petition in the court where the adoption petition is filed.
(2) Any complaint to establish parentage that may be filed or that is pending in any court subsequent to the filing of an adoption petition involving the same child shall be transferred for any further proceedings to the court where the adoption proceedings are pending on motion of any party to the paternity complaint or the adoption petition, on the court’s own motion, or upon the request of the court in which an adoption petition is pending.
(3) The adoption court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine the issues relating to the parentage of the child.
(4) Any order of parentage entered by any court other than the adoption court subsequent to the date of the adoption petition is filed shall be void, unless the adoption petition is denied or dismissed.
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