Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-139

This is the official text of Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-139, part of Tennessee’s Code Ann — part of the compiled statutory law of Tennessee, published by the state as "Code Ann." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Modification of orders

Official statutory text

(a) Except as provided in § 36-1-113(q) , an order of the court shall be set aside if it appears that: (1) It was obtained by fraud or mistake sufficient to satisfy the legal requirements in any other civil action; (2) The court lacked jurisdiction over a necessary party or of the subject matter; or (3) Newly discovered evidence so requires. (b) Except for an order terminating parental rights or an order of dismissal, an order of the court may be changed or modified: (1) Upon a finding of changed circumstances and that the change or modification is in the best interest of the child; (2) If the order contains clerical mistakes; or (3) If newly discovered evidence so requires. (c) In no event shall modification of an agreed order result in a child being placed into the custody of the department of children's services without the appropriate petition having been filed with the clerk of the court alleging the child to be dependent, neglected, abused, unruly, or delinquent. This subsection (c) shall not be construed as eliminating the judicial findings required for children in state custody by §§ 37-1-166 and 37-2-409 or as otherwise required by case law and federal regulations. (d) [Deleted by 2016 amendment.] (e) [Deleted by 2016 amendment.] Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 717,s 6, eff. 7/1/2016. Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 600,Secs.s9, s10 eff. 7/1/2016. Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 600,s 8, eff. 7/1/2016. Acts 1970, ch. 600, § 38; T.C.A., § 37-238; Acts 1989, ch. 278, § 40; 1995, ch. 532, § 12; 1996, ch. 1079, § 73; 2007, ch. 199, §§ 5-8.
(a) Except as provided in § 36-1-113(q) , an order of the court shall be set aside if it appears that: (1) It was obtained by fraud or mistake sufficient to satisfy the legal requirements in any other civil action; (2) The court lacked jurisdiction over a necessary party or of the subject matter; or (3) Newly discovered evidence so requires.
(1) It was obtained by fraud or mistake sufficient to satisfy the legal requirements in any other civil action;
(2) The court lacked jurisdiction over a necessary party or of the subject matter; or
(3) Newly discovered evidence so requires.
(b) Except for an order terminating parental rights or an order of dismissal, an order of the court may be changed or modified: (1) Upon a finding of changed circumstances and that the change or modification is in the best interest of the child; (2) If the order contains clerical mistakes; or (3) If newly discovered evidence so requires.
(1) Upon a finding of changed circumstances and that the change or modification is in the best interest of the child;
(2) If the order contains clerical mistakes; or
(3) If newly discovered evidence so requires.
(c) In no event shall modification of an agreed order result in a child being placed into the custody of the department of children's services without the appropriate petition having been filed with the clerk of the court alleging the child to be dependent, neglected, abused, unruly, or delinquent. This subsection (c) shall not be construed as eliminating the judicial findings required for children in state custody by §§ 37-1-166 and 37-2-409 or as otherwise required by case law and federal regulations.
(d) [Deleted by 2016 amendment.]
(e) [Deleted by 2016 amendment.]
Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 717,s 6, eff. 7/1/2016.
Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 600,Secs.s9, s10 eff. 7/1/2016.
Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 600,s 8, eff. 7/1/2016.
Acts 1970, ch. 600, § 38; T.C.A., § 37-238; Acts 1989, ch. 278, § 40; 1995, ch. 532, § 12; 1996, ch. 1079, § 73; 2007, ch. 199, §§ 5-8.

Status: in_force

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.