Category Archives: Divorce

Child Custody, Divorce, General Legal, Irreconcilable differences

Two Family Law BILLS Died in Committee

Leave a comment

Mississippi legislation kicked around 2 significant ideas for changes in Family Law. Both failed to become law in the State.

This “was the year” for Irretrievable Breakdown, Mississippi’s answer to No Fault Divorce.

In MS, you do NOT have a right to a divorce. You either have to have fault grounds that you can prove to the satisfaction of the Chancellor or have an agreement with your spouse to ALL issues. 48 other states have a No Fault Divorce process. MS does not.

Thirteenth. Upon application of either party, the court may
grant a divorce when the court finds there has been an
irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and that further attempts
at reconciliation are impractical or futile and not in the best
interests of the parties or family.

Secondly, a Joint Custody bill was proposed. There were several iterations of this legislation, but the gist of it was that the Court was to assume that Joint Physical Custody was in the best interest of the child when parents could not agree (and, even if they could) and if the Court found Joint Physical Custody was not in the best interest of the child it had to state why. (There were some issues with the proposed legislation as it was drafted, but this Bill found some traction and was discussed and bandied about for weeks…ultimately to no avail).

(2) * * * (a) There shall be a presumption, rebuttable by a
preponderance of evidence, that joint custody and equally shared
parenting time is in the best interest of the child. If the court
does not grant joint custody and/or equally shared parenting time,
the court shall construct a parenting time schedule which
maximizes the time each parent has with the child and ensuring the
best interest of the child is met.
(b) Upon petition of both parents, the court may grant
legal and/or physical custody to one parent.

Both bills failed and there are limited changes to MS Family Law. A blog for another day.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in MS and is in favor of some common sense changes in Mississippi Law.

Divorce

Kentucky Man “fakes” death to avoid Child Support…fails.

Leave a comment

Jesse Kipf thought it better to be declared dead than pay his ex-wife child support.

jesse-kipf-2

After amassing an arrearage in excess of $100,000.00 dollars, Kipf infiltrated a number of state data bases, and using stolen physician’s credentials, created a death certificate for himself.

He would have gotten away with it too, except he wasn’t dead.

Now, in addition to the back child support he will have to pay nearly another $80,000.00 in fines, fees and restitution for the damage he caused when hacking the State and other systems.

On top of all of this, he still owes child support going forward. Mississippi will also incarcerate persons for refusing to pay child support.

Kipf is scheduled to be sentenced April12 for his crimes.

Matthew Thompson is a Child Support lawyer in Mississippi and advises client’s to NOT fake their own death to avoid paying child support.

Divorce, General Legal, Opinion

Potential Change in Divorce Law?

2 Comments

Another legislative session another attempt to align MS family law with 48 other states…a change that is needed.

Pending legislation seeks to make changes to existing divorce law in Mississippi. House bill No. 1046 proposes to to amend Sec. 93-5-1 to delete the requirement of willful and obstinate from the ground of Desertion and provide a new 13th ground of Irretrievable Breakdown.

Thirteenth. Upon application of either party, the court may
grant a divorce when the court finds there has been an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and that further attempts at reconciliation are impractical or futile and not in the best interests of the parties or family.

Fourth. * * * Continued * * * desertion for the space of one (1) year.

This is needed in MS law as we are 1 of 2 states in the Country that does not recognize a person’s right to a divorce. Mississippi law has created a financial blackmail niche area of practice. This occurs when a party does not have provable grounds for divorce and the other party will not consent. It happens more than you’d think.

Also, opponents indicate this will somehow open divorce floodgates in Mississippi. I contend it will not. MS has the 13th highest divorce rate in the country despite the most stringent laws.

Similar efforts have previously failed every year. Below are just a few blogged here.

2023, 2022, 2021, 2015…

Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi and supports common sense changes in Family Law in Mississippi.

alienation, Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce, General Legal, Irreconcilable differences, Opinion

What Does it Look Like when you are Not Ready for Divorce?

Leave a comment

I have written several times on sometimes just not being ready. I have seen multiple instances of person just not being ready…

What are the signs of Not Being Ready?

Things are moving TOO Fast.

The divorce process is actually fairly slow in Mississippi. It is typically at least 60 days with the average cases taking closer to 90 days, if uncontested. If contested, the case could take 6-18 months. A few take even longer!

Things are TOO Emotional.

Of course divorce is highly emotional. In some respects you may never “get over it.” However, the best results require that you treat the financial aspects as a business transaction. If you are so focused on the emotion, getting even or some other aspect, you’ll regret it later.

It makes NO Sense.

If you are in a brain fog and cannot explain in plain terms what the lawyer has explained to you, you may not be ready. I don’t expect you to know every legal term of art, but there are some very important concepts you need to understand.

It’s TOO Hard.

Getting to simple agreements is a Herculean effort. When commonsense has left the station.

These are just a few indicators of Not being ready. Be on the lookout for these signs in your spouse and/or yourself. Recognizing these issues will allow for them to be better handled.

Matthew Thompson is a Divorce and Custody lawyer in Mississippi and warns you that negotiating a divorce when you are not ready may result in regret.

Divorce, General Legal, Opinion

Christmas & Divorce

Leave a comment

These things do not go together, but are a reality for many…

Divorce situations at Christmas time add another level of stress to an already stressful time. Forced family togetherness can bring out short tempers and hard feelings. Games, one-upmanship and fake platitudes are an easy trap to fall into. So, what can you do? Don’t.

Make Christmas about something bigger than the infighting. As a person of faith, make it about that. Not super religious? Make it about maximizing the quality time you get to spend with your loved ones. Make it about a time of peace and reconciliation. If that isn’t possible due to your ex-spouse, disengage, step back and just be.

Holiday stress and depression is a real thing. It is something that needs to be handled as such.

Matthew Thompson is a divorce lawyer in Mississippi and wishes you a safe and Merry Christmas.

Child Custody, Divorce, Opinion, Visitation

Child Testimony 101 & Updates

Leave a comment

Whether a child should testify is a decision that hopefully you as a parent will never face. The Mississippi Supreme Court, in a 1990 Opinion, held “We reiterate that parents in a divorce proceeding should …refrain from calling any of the children of their marriage, of tender years at least, as witnesses, and counsel should advise their clients against doing so except in the most exigent cases.”- Jethrow vs. Jethrow, 571 So.2d 270 (Miss. 1990). 

For testimony purposes a child witness of “tender years” is 12 and under and testifying is subject to the discretion of the Judge.

However, a recent Court of Appeals case requires ALL children be interviewed by the Judge in every custody case if a parent calls the child as a witness. It is now mandatory regardless of the age of the child, regardless of who has custody, and regardless even when the other parent objects believing same will result in harm, emotional or otherwise, due to the very young age of the child and even over the objection of the Guardian Ad Litem appointed for the child.  Daly v. Raines, No. 2022-CA-00600-COA

This is a scary proposition for most parents and something to consider when you are litigating. In divorce/custody/family law litigation your children will now be forced to participate if either parent so decides.

Be careful who you have a child with…

Matthew Thompson is a child custody and divorce lawyer in Mississippi and believes that only in exigent circumstance should child custody even be considered . However, the “law” doesn’t always allow for common sense to prevail…

Appeal, Child Custody, Child Support, Crime, Divorce, General Legal, Opinion

What Can You Do When the Judge Violates the Law?

Leave a comment

Judges swear an oath to uphold the Constitution, to follow the law, and apply it without prejudice or bias. Most do this very difficult task with tact and professionalism. Some do not. The Code of Judicial Conduct is intended to establish standards for ethical conduct
of judges.

So what do you do when your Judge violates the law? Sometimes it’s a judgment call and not a violation of the law. In these circumstances you can file a Motion for New Trial and/or an Appeal.

But what about when the judge clearly violates the law? Can you sue the Judge? Usually, no. Judges enjoy what is known as Judicial Immunity that protects them from civil liability for violating the law. If the actions are criminal there could be penalties, but typically not for civil violations.

What else can be done? Contact Mississippi Judicial Performance. Judicial performance is an entity created by the Mississippi Constitution that seeks;

To enforce the standards of judicial conduct,
To inquire into judicial liability and conduct,
To protect the public from judicial misconduct and disabled judges, and
To protect the judiciary from unfounded allegations.


All proceedings before the Commission are of a civil nature, not criminal, as the​ purpose of the Commission is to be rehabilitative and educational as well as disciplinary.

Judicial Complaint Form

Any citizen, litigant, attorney, law enforcement official, judge, public official, or other individual who has knowledge of possible judicial misconduct may file a complaint with the Commission. Complaints may also be filed anonymously. Additionally, the Commission may file a complaint on its own motion based upon matters it learns of in other ways, such as from mass media and information obtained during the course of an investigation.

All complaints must be submitted to the Commission in writing. The Commission does not accept oral complaints. You may use a complaint form or write a letter to the Commission. A complaint form filed with the Commission should be typewritten or printed so that it is easily readable.

Matthew Thompson is an attorney in Mississippi and knows most Judges try to do it right…

Child Custody, Divorce, General Legal, Marriage, Opinion

Sometimes You’re Just Not Ready…

1 Comment

Family law is tough. It is tough to go through, deal with, and be involved in.

It can also be unfair. But wait, the Judge has to be fair, right? Yes, but the Judge’s definition of fair and yours will be different.

Also, the whole circumstance may be unfair. You can live your best life and still find yourself in the divorce attorney’s office.

The handful of times that I have seen even good results feel bad is when one party is just not ready. They did not want a divorce. They did not want to be in my office. And, they did not do anything (or any one thing) to result in needing a divorce.

These are often the hardest circumstances. The client may be right. This may all be unfair, but it nonetheless is happening.

So what do you do if you realize it’s too soon and you’re not ready? Get an experienced lawyer. Confer with experts; a counselor, a CPA or financial planner, your pastor, your trusted family and friends.

Get prepared and be intentional, even if you don’t want to.

Matthew Thompson is a child custody and divorce lawyer in Mississippi and knows when it’s too soon. However, the law doesn’t always allow for the mental processing necessary for all clients.