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Judge orders temporary weekend visitation schedule for Scarlett, appoints guardian ad litem
Summary
The court declined to name a primary residential parent and issued a temporary schedule allowing weekend and overnight visitation for Michael Thomas starting in August; the judge also appointed a guardian ad litem and instructed child‑support be calculated under state guidelines.
A Dixon County court on a custody motion declined on a temporary basis to assign primary residential custody and instead ordered a phased visitation schedule for Scarlett, the couple’s young daughter, while appointing a guardian ad litem to investigate and advise the court.
During a full‑day evidentiary hearing, the judge said he was troubled by competing accounts but concluded a temporary plan that preserves contact with both parents best served the child’s interests. The order sets weekend visits in West Virginia (9 a.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Sunday) on specified August weekends and then transitions to alternating month‑long custody periods beginning September 4, with exchanges to be facilitated by third parties if the parents cannot meet without violating protection orders. The judge also appointed a local attorney to serve as guardian ad litem and directed that child support be calculated under Tennessee guidelines, with the mother’s income imputed because she currently has no reported wages. The judge stated that the father will continue to pay the car payment and insurance temporarily as part of spousal support arrangements.
"This court declines to determine that either of these parents should be the primary residential parent on a temporary basis," the judge said when announcing the schedule, and he emphasized the need to avoid further disruptions to the children's lives pending additional proceedings. The order will be revisited after interlocutory appeal(s) and further hearings.
