Category Archives: Child Custody

Child Custody, Crime, Divorce, General Legal

Don’t take your Gun to Court.

06/22/2018 BowTieLawyer 1 Comment

The Mississippi Supreme Court has reversed a Lowndes County Chancery Court Judge’s Order which essentially banned firearms from all areas of the courthouse.

The Judge- by Taurus, a revolver capable of firing a .45 long colt or .410 shotgun shell. It is legal for Judges to carry guns, even on the bench in Mississippi.

This is somewhat controversially in light of several recent MS law clarifications on where one could and could not carry a firearm. A resident of the local community challenged the Court Order, alleging it contradicted state statutory law which limited broader restrictions to the wisdom of the legislature.

The law currently provides that if you have a concealed carry license and enhanced carry license endorsement you may carry in most public places, including Courthouses, so long as it is not in the Courtroom while Court is in session.

The Family law judges thought that did not go far enough and entered an Order, declaring the entire Courthouse a Courtroom, effectively banning firearms from the entire building.

The challenge was successful in having the Judge’s Order reversed. The Mississippi Supreme Court declared the Order an unconstitutional infringement on the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms.

“One of the clearest delegations of legislative power in our Constitution is found in
Article 3, Section 12. It provides: “The right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in
defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but the Legislature may regulate or forbid carrying concealed weapons.” (Emphasis in original.) Without equivocation, the Legislature is the branch of government that the citizens of Mississippi chose to regulate or forbid concealed weapons.”

Justice Mike Randolph, Mississippi Supreme Court

The Lowndes County Chancellors have filed for a Rehearing and made several compelling arguments on why the Mississippi Supreme Court may have gotten this one wrong. Stay tuned for more.

Also, you may be wondering why the title says Don’t take your Gun to the Courthouse, even though the Supreme Court says you can, well, it’s just good advice.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney, gun enthusiast and practices in Lowndes Chancery Court and does not think family law litigants having guns at all times is a great idea.

Child Custody, Divorce

Depressing Depression.

05/22/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.

Depression symptoms include:

Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
Loss of energy or increased fatigue
Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., hand-wringing or pacing) or slowed movements and speech (actions observable by others)
Feeling worthless or guilty
Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
Thoughts of death or suicide

Depression affects an estimated one in 15 adults (6.7%) in any given year. And one in six people (16.6%) will experience depression at some time in their life. Depression can strike at any time, but on average, first appears during the late teens to mid-20s. Women are more likely than men to experience depression. Some studies show that one-third of women will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime.

Citing: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression

Depression is a common side effect of being involved in a family law case. Experiencing depression as part of a divorce and/or custody case is normal. It does not mean that you are crazy, weak or broken. Also, being a part of a case can exacerbate symptoms of depression.

Below is a simple “test” that is available online. It is the Beck Depression Inventory. It is the standard in helping diagnosing depression.

http://treat-depression.com/depression-test

The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, BDI-1A, BDI-II), created by Aaron T. Beck, is a 21-question multiple-choice self-report inventory, one of the most widely used psychometric tests for measuring the severity of depression.

Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney and reminds you that an online test is no replacement for an evaluation by your physician, counselor or healthcare professional.

Child Custody, Divorce

Get a Checkup.

05/21/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Going to the Dr. is not what we most look forward to.

However, it is a good idea. Getting a check up is a part of a healthy life and if you are dealing with the stress and anxiety of a Family Law matter it is all the more important to live a healthy life.

In custody cases your physical and mental health matters. It is one of the Albright factors that the Court must consider in determining custody of children. It is one of the Armstrong factors; health and earning capacity are used to determine whether or not to award Alimony and these factors impact how much and how long the award may be for.

Health insurance coverage and expenses is an issue in almost every case. Pre-existing conditions, insurability and availability of health coverage matter.

Get a check up and get checked out.

Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi and recommends that you get a medical health check up.

Child Custody, Divorce, General Legal, Opinion

Don’t Put Private Info on FaceBook

03/26/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Your information is not safe, protected or private.

Regardless of your settings on FaceBook, someone has access to it. I’ve posted numerous times about what NOT to put on FaceBook and warned against oversharing. Now, it turns out that much of our data has been mined, sold and then used to trick us into believing things we saw on FaceBook. It allowed Russians to infiltrate the American Dream, somehow. It likely is still occurring.

There’s even a trend of deleting FaceBook going around, or at least threats of deleting it. However, a lesser position is to just to continue posting pics of your dinners, dog and artistic black and white shots of inanimate objects. Doing this will not allow the Russians to gain the upper hand.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney in Mississippi and reminds you, Blizok lokotok, da ne ukusish!

Child Custody, Pets

Happy National Puppy Day!

Image 03/23/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Child Custody, Divorce, Opinion

Have a Goal.

03/13/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Hoping against hope is not good enough.

I’m not trying to be all Tony Robbins-sy, but he has a point. Setting a specific Goal will better enable you to achieve it.

Having a vague idea of success is not that helpful. Routinely, I ask my clients “What is your goal?” They are stunned. It is met with silence. Then a “well, I guess…” We don’t guess, or at least we try to not to.

Have a Goal. Make it specific. Identify what you can do to try to achieve that goal. Work the plan. Set a deadline.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney in Mississippi and encourages you to reach for your Goals!

Child Custody, Divorce, General Legal

Hinds Chancery Judge Race

03/05/2018 BowTieLawyer 1 Comment

Hinds County has four full-time Family Law Judges. The qualifying deadline is May for those persons seeking to become the next Chancellor. Qualifiers, so far, include;

Dewayne Thomas Chancery Court Judge 5 Sub 5-1

Judge Thomas is a shoe-in to win. Not only because he is unopposed currently, though that helps, but also because he has a reputation for fair rulings, a good judicial temperament and willingness to listen.

Subdistrict 2 is the race to watch right now.(primarily because it is the only contested race).

Patricia Wise Chancery Court Judge 5 Sub 5-2

Judge Wise is the incumbent. She has served as a Chancellor since being elected in 1989. Judge Wise has reputation for being tough and insisting that attorneys and litigants respect the Court and follow the required procedures. The rumor was Judge Wise considered retirement, but she has qualified and is seeking another four years.

Reginald Harrion Chancery Court Judge 5 Sub 5-2

Reginald Harrion is challenging Judge Wise for the District 2 seat. Harrion, an associate with Schwartz & Associates, P.A., is admitted to practice in Mississippi, Arizona and Georgia. He has been practicing for nearly 20 years.

Denise Owens Chancery Court Judge 5 Sub 5-3

Judge Owens is the Senior Chancellor, meaning she has been the longest-serving Chancellor of the current Judges. Rumors swirled about Judge Owens possibly retiring as well. However, Judge Owens qualified to run again. Judge Owens has a good reputation and is known for thoughtful, fair rulings.

Steven P. Nixon Chancery Court Judge 5 Sub 5-4

Subdistrict 4 will be lead by a new Chancellor in 2019, with the retirement of Judge Singletary. So far, only one candidate has qualified for this seat, Steven Nixon. Nixon has been in private practice since 2004 and has also served as Municipal Court Judge in Clinton. Nixon has a good reputation as an attorney and will make a good jurist.

The rumor-mill has at least another attorney qualifying for this seat, but has not as of the time of this posting.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in Mississippi and limits his practice to almost exclusively Chancery Court in the State.

Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce, General Legal, Opinion, Property Division, Visitation

When an “Agreement” is Not an Agreement.

02/21/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Let’s agree to disagree.

Parties in a lawsuit have a lot of latitude to agree to settlement terms. This is certainly true in divorce. Virtually everything is negotiable and if an agreement can be reached, usually it will be approved by the Court.

However, to be an enforceable agreement it must be approved by the Court. Until such time as your agreement is reduced to writing, signed and approved by the Court, it is on iffy ground as to enforceability issues. While some issues may be contracted without Court approval in a family law case, such as property division and alimony, some issues can not be enforced absent Court approval, such as child custody related terms.

Likewise, “changing” your Court papers without Court approval is dicey. Swapping out a holiday here or a week there is not usually a big deal, but changing payment terms, amounts, or duration can lead to serious consequences if done without Court approval. Child support vests as it comes due and absent exigent circumstances cannot be forgiven.

An agreement to agree is no agreement at all.

Matthew Thompson is a Divorce Attorney and reminds you to have your Agreement approved by the Court in an Order.