If you find yourself in a situation where you have racked up more debt than you can pay you may start receiving mail and phone calls from debt collectors. These calls are not only stressful, but they can be downright annoying and harassing in nature.

There are some things you can actually do to push back on debt collectors. Most debt collections laws are federal laws and are found in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Here are some helpful things you can do or say to the debt collector that you may not have known:

You are allowed to record the phone call you have with the debt collector.

You can revoke your consent to have them contact you any further and tell them they are only allowed to send you written correspondence.

You can demand that they validate the debt and prove that you are legally obligated to pay them.

You can demand to be provided the purchase agreement related to the debt to confirm that they are not trying to collect after the statute of limitations has expired.

You can demand that they provide the original written agreement with your signature on it showing that you agreed to pay them.

You can demand a copy of the last billing statement from the original creditor.

You can demand proof that the entity contacting you has their collection agency license in the state of Tennessee.

My guess is that most entities that contact you will not be able to provide you with much of these items. That is why it is incredibly important that you record phone calls with debt collectors so you have proof that you demanded they provide these various things.

Again, under federal law, you are entitled to request these things, and if the debt collector cannot provide them, you may be able to avoid paying this particular debt.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties.  He works in many areas, including family law, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.

Let’s say you are sitting at home and a stranger knocks on your door and hands you a piece of paper that says “Subpoena” on it. You might think, “Do I need a lawyer? Am I in trouble?” While it may seem intimidating, a subpoena is simply a legal document that means you are being asked—more accurately, required—to do something related to a court case.

There are two common types of subpoenas. One is a subpoena to testify, which requires you to appear in court on a certain day and time to answer questions, usually because you witnessed something or have information that might be helpful to the case. The other is a subpoena duces tecum, which is Latin for “bring with you,” and that one tells you to bring documents, records, photos, or some other type of evidence with you to court or to a lawyer’s office.

Now you might be thinking, “Can’t I just ignore this?” The answer is: not a good idea. Subpoenas are issued by a court or by an attorney acting on behalf of the court. If you fail to comply—meaning you don’t show up or don’t bring what you were told to bring—you could be held in contempt of court. That could result in fines, and in extreme cases, even jail time. So yes, take it seriously.

What if going to court or providing documents is a huge inconvenience for you? You can reach out to the lawyer who issued the subpoena and explain your concerns. Sometimes there’s room to reschedule or find a compromise. But don’t just throw the subpoena in a drawer and hope it goes away. It won’t.

Subpoenas can even show up in cases you’re not directly involved in. For example, if you’re a school administrator, you might be subpoenaed for student records. If you work at a hospital, you might have to provide medical records. You might be a witness in a car wreck that happened outside your house. Just because you aren’t being sued doesn’t mean you won’t be asked to participate in the process.

So if you receive a subpoena, don’t panic. Read it carefully. See what it asks you to do. If you’re unsure what to do next, you can always reach out to a lawyer for advice. Most importantly, don’t ignore it.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties. He works in many areas, including family law, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.

Lawyers sometimes use Latin phrases that sound mysterious but describe simple ideas. “Nunc pro tunc,” which translates to “now for then,” is one of those phrases. When a court enters an order nunc pro tunc, it is correcting the record today to reflect something that actually happened earlier but was not properly recorded at the time. The key concept is accuracy, not revision—nunc pro tunc is meant to make the paperwork match reality, not to change history or create a new ruling after the fact.

Courts use nunc pro tunc orders for clerical mistakes, omissions, and timing glitches. Maybe a judge announced a ruling from the bench in May, but the written order did not get entered until July; the nunc pro tunc order can state the judgment is effective as of the May date that the decision was actually made.

Perhaps a sentencing order forgot to include pretrial jail credit that everyone agreed on; a nunc pro tunc order can add that credit because it reflects what truly occurred. In civil cases, it might fix a typo in a name, dollar figure, or legal description that the judge already intended to enter correctly, but primarily it is meant to enter orders in this manner: “The judge made his ruling in May, we got the written order done in July, but we want this Order to show that it took effect in May.”

There are limits. A court cannot use nunc pro tunc to make a new decision and pretend it was made earlier, to gain jurisdiction it did not have, or to expand someone’s rights after the deadline for doing so has passed. The order must be grounded in the existing record—docket entries, transcripts, minute orders, or other reliable proof that shows what actually happened. If there is no evidence that the earlier action occurred, nunc pro tunc is not appropriate.

If you see “nunc pro tunc” in an order, it is not a trapdoor or a loophole. It is simply the court saying, “we are entering this now to reflect what should have been in the record then,” ensuring the paperwork lines up with the reality of the case.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties. He works in many areas, including family law, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com.

Many parents assume that if they share custody of their child equally—meaning each parent has the child half of the time—then no one will owe child support. That sounds logical, right? If both parents have the child the same amount of time, then both are doing their fair share.

But in Tennessee, a 50/50 parenting plan does not automatically eliminate child support obligations. That might come as a surprise, and it often does to parents going through custody cases.

In Tennessee, parenting time is typically laid out in a Permanent Parenting Plan. This plan sets the schedule and assigns “days” to each parent, which the court refers to as “days of residential parenting time”—not hours. So, if the child sleeps overnight at a parent’s house, that usually counts as a day. A 50/50 split generally means each parent has the child for 182.5 days out of the year.

Child support in Tennessee is not determined by parenting time alone. The state uses a formula-based system called the Income Shares Model, which considers the gross monthly income of both parents, the number of overnight days each parent has, the cost of health insurance premiums and work-related childcare, and whether either parent is supporting other children.

Even in a 50/50 arrangement, if one parent earns significantly more than the other, the higher-earning parent may still owe child support to the other parent. This is because Tennessee law assumes that children are entitled to benefit from the financial resources of both parents—not just the time spent with them.

Let’s say Parent A makes $90,000 a year and Parent B makes $35,000. Even with an exactly equal parenting schedule, the child’s standard of living would be very different between households if support were not adjusted. In that situation, Parent A may still be ordered to pay child support to Parent B to balance out the financial support the child receives.

If both parents make roughly the same income and the parenting time is truly 50/50, then child support may be minimal or even zero. But this is the exception, not the rule. And remember: even a small income difference can lead to a support obligation.

Do not assume that equal parenting time means zero child support. In Tennessee, child support is based on more than just time—it is about income, expenses, and ensuring the child’s needs are met in both homes. If you are considering a 50/50 parenting plan or think your current child support amount is unfair based on how much time you have with your child, speak with an attorney. A legal review of your situation using the state’s child support worksheet can help determine what is fair and lawful.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties. He works in many areas, including family law, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.

Every now and then a criminal case stirs up more than routine interest—news coverage intensifies, social media churns, courthouse steps fill with onlookers, and emotions run hot. Tennessee law recognizes that this kind of atmosphere can threaten a defendant’s right to a fair trial. Tennessee Code Annotated Section 40-14-108 gives trial judges the authority to grant a continuance—essentially, to delay proceedings—when “too great excitement” would operate to the prejudice of the defendant. Importantly, whether to pause the case rests in the sound discretion of the court, not as an automatic rule.

This provision has been on the books in some form since the nineteenth century. Earlier Tennessee law once provided for an automatic continuance in the face of community excitement, but that approach was repealed long ago. The modern statute, originating with an 1875 act, leaves it to the trial judge to weigh the circumstances and decide whether a cooling-off period is necessary to protect the fairness of the trial.

Practically speaking, a defense lawyer invoking this law will point to factors showing that immediate trial would be unfair: saturation media coverage, crowd demonstrations, or other conditions suggesting jurors could be influenced before they ever hear proper evidence in court. A judge may compare timing options, assess whether voir dire could cure potential bias, and decide if a short reset might let passions subside. Because the statute vests discretion in the trial court, the decision is highly case-specific and will generally be upheld on appeal if the judge made a reasoned call based on the record.

It is also worth noting what this law does not do. It does not change the venue of the case or move it to a different county; it merely allows a delay when local excitement risks impairing impartiality. Requests to change where a trial is held are a separate matter governed by different rules. This law is simply one tool a Tennessee judge can use to safeguard fairness when emotions are running high, ensuring that verdicts are based on evidence presented in court rather than on the swirl of public opinion outside it.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties. He works in many areas, including family law, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.

By Jedidiah McKeehan

Lawyers sometimes use Latin phrases that sound mysterious but describe simple ideas. “Nunc pro tunc,” which translates to “now for then,” is one of those phrases. When a court enters an order nunc pro tunc, it is correcting the record today to reflect something that actually happened earlier but was not properly recorded at the time. The key concept is accuracy, not revision—nunc pro tunc is meant to make the paperwork match reality, not to change history or create a new ruling after the fact.

Courts use nunc pro tunc orders for clerical mistakes, omissions, and timing glitches. Maybe a judge announced a ruling from the bench in May, but the written order did not get entered until July; the nunc pro tunc order can state the judgment is effective as of the May date that the decision was actually made.

Perhaps a sentencing order forgot to include pretrial jail-credit that everyone agreed on; a nunc pro tunc order can add that credit because it reflects what truly occurred. In civil cases, it might fix a typo in a name, dollar figure, or legal description that the judge already intended to enter correctly, but primarily it is meant to enter orders in this manner, “The judge made his ruling in May, we got the written order done in July, but we want this Order to show that it took effect in May.”

There are limits. A court cannot use nunc pro tunc to make a new decision and pretend it was made earlier, to gain jurisdiction it did not have, or to expand someone’s rights after the deadline for doing so has passed. The order must be grounded in the existing record—docket entries, transcripts, minute orders, or other reliable proof that shows what actually happened. If there is no evidence that the earlier action occurred, nunc pro tunc is not appropriate.

If you see “nunc pro tunc” in an order, it is not a trapdoor or a loophole. It is simply the court saying, “we are entering this now to reflect what should have been in the record then,” ensuring the paperwork lines up with the reality of the case.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties. He works in many areas, including family law, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.

By Jedidiah McKeehan

In Tennessee, there are very specific rules about how old someone must be to legally get married. These rules are found in Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-3-105, and they set firm age requirements that everyone must follow—no exceptions.

As of the most recent update to the law, no one under the age of seventeen can get married in Tennessee under any circumstances. That means even if someone is sixteen and has the permission of both parents, the law still does not allow them to legally marry. The state legislature made this change to protect minors from being pressured into early marriages and to prevent situations that could lead to abuse or exploitation.

If someone is seventeen years old, they can get married, but only under very strict conditions. The older person in the relationship cannot be more than four years older than the seventeen-year-old. So, for example, if a seventeen-year-old wants to marry someone who is twenty-two, that is allowed. But if the other person is twenty-three or older, then the marriage is not allowed under Tennessee law. In addition to the age difference restriction, the seventeen-year-old must also have written permission from a parent or legal guardian, and a judge has to approve the marriage.

Once both individuals are eighteen or older, they can marry without needing parental consent or court approval. At that point, they are considered legal adults and free to make that decision on their own.

These rules are in place for good reason. Tennessee, like many other states, has tightened its marriage laws in response to concerns about child marriage and its potential consequences. The goal is to make sure that young people are not pushed into adult relationships before they are emotionally or legally ready to handle them.

So, if you are considering marriage or know someone who is under the age of eighteen and thinking about it, know that Tennessee law draws a clear line. No one under seventeen may marry at all. And for those who are seventeen, the law adds layers of protection to ensure the decision is appropriate, lawful, and carefully reviewed.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties. He works in many areas, including family law, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.

By Jedidah McKeehan

You may have seen a courtroom scene in a movie or TV show where a lawyer suddenly yells, “Objection!” and the judge responds with, “Sustained!” or “Overruled!” While those moments make for good drama, a lot of what determines what evidence is allowed at trial actually happens before the trial even begins. One of the main tools lawyers use to handle this is called a motion in limine.

A motion in limine (pronounced lim-in-ee) is a legal request made to the judge before a trial starts, asking the judge to decide ahead of time whether certain evidence can or cannot be mentioned in front of the jury. The goal is to prevent the jury from ever hearing something that could unfairly influence them—something that, even if objected to later, might still leave an impression.

These motions often involve issues like: keeping out evidence about someone’s criminal history, excluding references to past lawsuits, preventing mention of things that might be irrelevant or overly prejudicial, or deciding whether expert testimony meets legal standards

Here is how it works. Suppose someone is being sued for a car accident. The defendant was in another accident years ago, but it has nothing to do with this one. The lawyer might file a motion in limine asking the judge to forbid any mention of that old accident during the trial. If the judge agrees, then the other side is not allowed to bring it up in front of the jury at all.

Why does this matter? Because trials are supposed to be fair. The rules of evidence are designed to make sure that the jury makes decisions based on relevant facts, not on emotional reactions or unfair assumptions. A motion in limine helps make that happen by stopping the train before it ever leaves the station.

Unlike objections during trial, which can draw attention to the issue in front of the jury, a motion in limine happens quietly behind the scenes. If granted, it prevents problems from popping up in the first place.

In Tennessee courts, you will see these motions filed in both civil and criminal cases. Judges often address them at a pretrial hearing before jury selection begins. Lawyers may file several motions in limine in a single case, covering multiple topics they want to keep out of the trial.

If you are involved in a case that is going to trial, you may never hear the term “motion in limine” mentioned out loud, but it could play a big part in shaping what the jury hears—and what it does not.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties.  He works in many areas, including divorce, custody, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.

By Jedidah McKeehan

When someone refuses to follow a court order in Tennessee, one of the tools available to address that issue is filing a motion for contempt. But what exactly does that mean, and how does it work?

Being held in contempt of court means that a judge has found that a person has intentionally disobeyed a lawful court order. Contempt is a serious matter, and it is one of the few ways courts have to make sure that their orders are respected.

There are two main types of contempt: civil contempt and criminal contempt. Most cases involving people refusing to pay child support or not following a custody order fall under civil contempt. The goal of civil contempt is not to punish someone, but to make them comply with the order. A person can even be jailed until they do what the judge ordered them to do.

To prove contempt, the person filing the motion must show four things: 1) there was a clear and specific court order in place, 2) the other person knew about the order, 3) the other person had the ability to comply, and 4) they chose not to comply. That last part—ability to comply—is very important. A judge will not hold someone in contempt if they truly could not do what the order required.

Contempt hearings are held in front of a judge, not a jury. The judge will hear both sides, look at the evidence, and decide whether the other party should be held in contempt. If they are, the judge can order them to pay money, correct their behavior, or in some cases, serve jail time.

Filing for contempt is not something to be taken lightly, but sometimes it is the only way to get the other side to take a court order seriously. If you think someone is ignoring a court order that affects you, speak with your attorney about whether contempt is the right next step.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.

By Jedidiah McKeehan

You may hear a lawyer or judge use the word “bifurcation” during a court case and think it sounds like something out of a science textbook. But in the legal world, bifurcation is actually a pretty straightforward concept.

Bifurcation simply means splitting a case into two parts so that one issue is decided before moving on to the next. The word itself comes from the Latin “bi,” meaning two, and “furcare,” meaning to fork—so think of it like the case taking two separate paths instead of one big road.

Why would someone want to do this? Well, sometimes there’s one part of a case that’s a lot easier to resolve than the rest. By handling that part first, the court might be able to avoid a long, expensive, and unnecessary trial on the other issues.

A common example of bifurcation happens in divorce cases. Let’s say a couple agrees they want to be divorced, but they’re still fighting over things like alimony, child custody, or property division. The judge might grant the divorce itself right away—bifurcating the divorce from the other issues—and then take more time to sort out the rest. That way, the couple is legally divorced while the remaining details are still being resolved.

Bifurcation can also be used in civil cases involving things like car accidents or contract disputes. For example, a court might first hold a trial to determine whether someone is liable (at fault), and then later hold a separate trial to decide how much money should be awarded in damages. This can make things more efficient—if the court decides someone wasn’t at fault at all, then there’s no need to spend time figuring out how much money they would have owed.

Of course, not all judges are willing to bifurcate a case. It’s a decision that the judge makes after weighing whether it will actually save time and resources or whether it might confuse things even more. Lawyers will often request bifurcation as a strategic move, depending on which issues they want the judge to hear first.

So while the word “bifurcation” may sound intimidating, it’s really just about breaking a case into manageable parts. Sometimes, tackling a case one piece at a time is the best way to get to the finish line.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties. He works in many areas, including family law, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.