Terri Ann Kelly v. Willard Reed Kelly, 445 S.W.3d 685

Terri Ann Kelly filed for divorce from Willard R. Kelly and sought custody of their son W.K. and daughter; daughter lived with Terri, son with Willard.
Trial in Hamilton County Circuit Court (July 12–13, 2012) designated Terri as primary residential parent for both children.
The first witness, W.K.'s Brentwood High School guidance counselor, testified by telephone without objection and described W.K.'s academics and behavior.
Court of Appeals reversed the custody ruling, deeming the telephonic testimony less credible and criticizing the counselor's bias toward mothers.
Tennessee Supreme Court held telephonic testimony should be reviewed with the same deference as live testimony; affirmed trial court’s custody designation for Terri; alimony and fees remained as appellate court decided

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Standard of review for telephonic testimony credibility	Telephonic testimony is like live testimony; trial court’s credibility finding should be given deference.	Appellate de novo weighing of telephonic testimony is appropriate when credibility is at issue.	Telephonic testimony reviewed with deference; trial court’s credibility weight upheld.
Custody decision based on best interests standard	Trial court properly applied best interests factors to keep siblings together with Terri.	Weight of factors undermines trial court’s conclusion favoring Terri.	No abuse of discretion; custody awarded to Terri within best interests framework.
Effect of 'tender years' doctrine on decision	Doctrine should not predetermine maternal custody.	N/A	Tennessee law no longer favors maternal custody by presumption; no tender years basis found to invalidate judgment.
Weight given to sibling placement and stability	Maintaining siblings together and Terri’s support network supports Terri’s custody.	Stability with father could benefit W.K. despite past concerns.	Trial court’s emphasis on keeping siblings together and Terri’s stability was within discretion.

Armbrister v. Armbrister, 414 S.W.3d 685 (Tenn. 2013) (estate standard: best interests govern custody; deference to trial court)
Eldridge v. Eldridge, 42 S.W.3d 82 (Tenn. 2001) (abuse of discretion standard for custody decisions)
State v. Banks, 271 S.W.3d 90 (Tenn. 2008) (abuse of discretion defined in custody context)
Wells v. Tennessee Bd. of Regents, 9 S.W.3d 779 (Tenn. 1999) (credible live witness deference principle)
Mitchell v. Fayetteville Pub. Utils., 368 S.W.3d 447 (Tenn. 2012) (documentary evidence credibility assessment mirrors trial court)