A parent has a moral and legal duty to promote a healthy, affectionate relationship between the child and the other parent!
What? You justify your conduct by saying, “I am not bad-mouthing him.” But, just not bad-mouthing him is not enough. You have an affirmative duty to promote a good relationship. (with rare exceptions for the health and safety of the child.)
Encourage, promote and truly desire a good relationship between your child and the other parent. Your child will benefit!
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law & Divorce Attorney and reminds you that a child with two parents that get along and are involved is better than the alternative.
Follow the blog: BowTieLawyerVisit the website: Thompson Law Firm. You may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms
It may sound rude, but the question is nonetheless valid, “Have you even read your divorce papers?”
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The very first step in determining your rights, answering your questions and determining whether you may get in trouble, all start with the same thing; Reading your papers. They define the type of custody, what you owe and the time you get for custody/visitation periods.
Agreements can be very difficult to remember. It is easy to get confused and is easy to forget. Read them. Is it MY Christmas? Read the papers. Do I owe for the car tags? Read the papers. Is it MY weekend or is it suspended due to an intervening holiday? Read the papers.
If you do not know how much support you owe, read the papers. If you wonder if you have a claim for contempt because so-and-so did not have them back by 5:00 pm, you guessed it, read the papers.
“Read your Papers!” – Matthew Thompson
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney and reads lots of papers and will read yours too.
Follow the blog: BowTieLawyerVisit the website: Thompson Law FirmYou may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms
In my profession I get to see a lot of what not to do almost, every day; from videos, texts, and emails to actions and sometimes inaction.
So, I have compiled a list of what terrible people do. If you want to be terrible do these things, in no particular order.
Curse and scream at your spouse, as loud as you can, as often as you can.
Curse and scream at your children.
Make false abuse claims.
Lie about the false abuse claims even when it’s clear they are false.
Bad-mouth your child’s other parent to the child. (Hey, it’s the truth, right!)
Interfere with their time with the child. Just do it. Sure it hurts your child too, that’s what makes it even more terrible.
Abuse your spouse or child. (Any form – all are terrible, some more-so than others.)
Refuse to support your family.
File suit when your ex paid 5 days late, even though they told you. It’s the principal, right?
Threaten to make public private images. (and mean it when you say it, at least in the moment.)
Refuse Christmas visitation. Just because.
There you have it, 11 mean, hate-filled things that you can do to be terrible.
“Oh, and if you don’t want to be terrible don’t do these things.” – Matthew Thompson
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in Mississippi and tries not to do terrible things or give terrible advice.
Follow the blog: BowTieLawyer. You may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms
In Court there are a lot of forces against you. Your spouse or ex-spouse, their attorney, sometimes the Judge, at least seemingly, the GAL, the Court appointed expert all are not looking out for your best interests. But, who is your own worst enemy? Your lawyer? NO!
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It’s YOU!
More often than not, when there is a disaster it is due to your own making or at least you are a major contributor. Not following the advice of your lawyer is one of the main factors in you making your case worse. Doing what you want or feel like is another. Deliberately defying a Court Order is never smart either.
So, how do you avoid disaster. Listen. Heed the advice given. Do NOT do things contrary to that advice. If in doubt don’t act, but ask. That alone is worth the price of this blog.
“If in doubt ASK, don’t ACT!” – Matthew Thompson
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney and gives lots of advice on a daily basis.
Follow the blog: BowTieLawyerVisit the website: Thompson Law FirmYou may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms
One aspect of my practice that is important to me is the protection of client valuables (assets), but also just as important, if not more so, and often overlooked is protecting client’s values.
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Values you say? What kind of divorce attorney cares about values? Well, they do seem to be fewer and far between, but they do exist. An attorney that values a client’s values is a good attorney to have. There are lots of tricks and subterfuge possible in family law. Financial disclosure are by and large based on the oath of the party completing it. Sure there are account statements, but it would be easy to fudge on. One recent case where values succumbed to valuables, the husband “forgot” to disclose he won the lottery 2 months before the divorce was final. Oops. Another, the husband did not disclose multiple houses and a subdivision that were acquired during the marriage. He figured nobody would find out.
So, why are values important? Valuables come and go. You can’t take them with you and all the other materialism clichés apply here. The bottom line is that Values, how you handle yourself in the divorce, how your children see you treating your ex, and how you parent in a divorce situation, matter more than stuff.
Matthew Thompson is an Asset Protection and Family Law Attorney in the Hospitality State and knows that values can be worth far more than valuables.
Follow the blog: BowTieLawyerVisit the website: Thompson Law FirmYou may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms
Many service members deal with serious family law issues which seem exacerbated by their military service. As if just working full-time and trying to balance life were not enough, being subject to deployment, frequent moves and dangerous activities add to making a bad circumstance worse. But, recently Mississippi has tried to make custody issues for military members a little easier.
Mississippi recently enacted a statute dealing with child custody when a parent receives temporary duty, deployment or mobilization orders. MCA 93-5-34, provides a fair, efficient and swift process to resolve custody matters when dealing with a military parent. Upon such circumstances of a custodial parent being “called up” the statute provides that the other parent will have custody, but that custody ends within 10 days of the former custodial parent returning from service.
Additionally, it provides that the deployed parent shall have reasonable access for phone and video visits. The deployed member may also delegate visitation to their own family members. These types of military custody cases receive priority by the Courts to be heard and the deployed parent may “attend” via affidavit or electronic means where possible.
Lastly, a parent’s deployment and subsequent custody change cannot be used against that parent upon their return. Mississippi has enacted sensible, fair custody legislation that protects military service members and their families.
Matthew Thompson is a Military Divorce Attorney in Mississippi. Happy Veteran’s Day and thank you to all you have served.
Follow the blog: BowTieLawyer. You may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms
If I had a nickel for every time a parent has said,
“Well, Jr. is (insert age) so I reckon he picks where he lives, right?”…
I’d have a wheel barrow full of nickels.
It’s true that a child may express a custodial preference if they are 12 years old or older, however that preference alone will not carry the custody issue. It is but one factor that the Court must consider when performing an Albright Analysis. Albright is the case that lists the factors the judge must consider when determining custody.
Said another way a 12-year-old does not get to pick and that be the end of the story. There are a myriad of cases where a child has stated a preference for one parent and the Court determined that the best interests of the child favored the other parent. One famous case involved a 14-year-old that wanted to live with Dad. Dad purchased him a 4-wheeler, let him have a TV in his bedroom and kept his “Adult” magazines around, easily accessible. Mom, on the other hand, made him eat his vegetables, do his homework, no TV in his room and forbade inappropriate materials. If you’re a 14-year-old male teen, who would you pick? The Court determined, after a factual analysis, that mom was better suited for the teen, despite his stated preference. This case was upheld by the appellate court as well.
So, a child 12 or older can state a preference, but it may not carry the day. The better course would be for mom and dad to resolve the custody visitation issues and prevent the child from being in that position. However, that advice is easy to say and very difficult to follow in certain circumstances.
Matthew Thompson is a Child Custody Attorney in Mississippi. While child preferences in a custody case matter, that alone will not support an initial custody decision, nor is the sole basis for a modification.
Follow the blog: BowTieLawyerVisit the website: Thompson Law FirmYou may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms
An affair plays a significant role in a large number of divorces. It is a train wreck to a relationship.
Beezqp- “Big Bad Locomotive”
A sure-fire way to wreak havoc in a marriage is to have an affair. Mississippi law defines an affair or adultery as sexual intercourse, with a person of the opposite sex, not your spouse. However, due to the secretive nature of affairs you do not have to have an admission of guilt or pictures, though it helps. The ground can be proven through circumstantial evidence.
Upon a satisfactory showing of 1) inclination or infatuation, which can consist of cards, notes, emails, love letters, texts and phone records showing many calls; and 2) opportunity, which is the spouse and that other person alone together, be it in a car, house, motel, hotel, park or back alley, a Court can find that fault grounds exist. Due to this, even the whole “it’s only an emotional affair” and the “we didn’t have sex” may not be enough to stop the Adultery train from running over you.
So, why do people have affairs? They can be exciting, fun and pleasurable, at least for a little while. What leads to this? Sometimes the person is unhappy, dissatisfied, over-stressed, unloved, under-appreciated, or at least believe that they are.
The problem is the affair does not fix the problem. It only serves to make things worse. Because along with an affair comes new baggage. Guilt, secrecy, and the emotions of a third person are now commingled in your personal life. An affair not only hurts your spouse, but also you, your children and the other party. It has emotional consequences, financial consequences, custody consequences and legal consequences.
An affair is a Train wreck in the making.
Matthew Thompson is a semi-part-time Family Law Professor at MC Law and a Divorce Attorney encouraging you to avoid train wrecks!
Follow the blog: BowTieLawyerVisit the website: Thompson Law FirmYou may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms
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