Category Archives: Divorce

The Race is ON! Electing Judges Mississippi style.

05/11/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

In Mississippi we pick our judges like we pick class favorites. The winner is whoever gets the most votes. The qualifying deadline passed, just minutes ago, and below are your candidates.

This post is focused on certain Family Law Judge races primarily, because that is what I primarily do. I will expound on other judicial races in future posts. This link will take you to all of the candidates.

Races to Watch.

HINDS COUNTY

Chancery Court Judge Sub 5-1

Dewayne Thomas

Unopposed. Congratulations Judge Thomas.

Chancery Court Judge Sub 5-2

Patricia Wise – Current Chancellor – Withdrawn

The rumor mill had her retiring effective the end of this year and that appears true as she is not listed among the candidates.

Reginald Harrion

Qualified early and is in it to win it.

Crystal Wise Martin

Recently qualified. Interestingly, this is Judge Wise’s daughter. She was technically running against her mother for a few weeks.

Chancery Court Judge Sub 5-3

Denise Owens

Unopposed. The current Senior Chancellor is signing up for 4 more years. Congratulations Judge Owens

Chancery Court Judge Sub 5-4

Steven P. Nixon

Qualified early and was hoping to be the only candidate in the field. However, three additional candidates qualified to run for this spot this week. This is an Open seat due to Judge Singletary’s announced retirement.

Tiffany Grove

Qualified this week.

Monique Brown-Barrett

Qualified this week.

Ottawa Carter, Jr.

Qualified this week.

RANKIN COUNTY

Chancery Court Judge 20, 1

John C. McLaurin, Jr.

Unopposed. Congratulations Judge McLaurin.

Chancery Court Judge 20, 1

Tamekia Cooper Bennett

Mel Coxwell

Troy Odom

Place 2 is the race to watch in Rankin. Judicial stalwart John Grant is retiring.

Chancery Court Judge 20, 3

Haydn J. Roberts

Unopposed. Congratulations Judge Roberts

LAUDERDALE COUNTY

Chancery Court Judge 12 – 1 (includes other areas)

Charles E. “Charlie” Smith
Frances Smith Stephenson

This should be a tight race. This is an open seat due to Judge Mason’s retirement. The winner will have big shoes to fill with Mason’s retirement, but will have perhaps the best asset possible across the hall for all things Chancery, their colleague Judge Larry Primeaux.

LEFLORE COUNTY

Chancery Court Judge 7, Sub 7-2 (includes additional Delta counties)

Katherine Tackett Mills
Willie J. Perkins, Sr.
Richard W. Ryals, II

This is an open seat due to Judge Barnwell’s retirement.

SIMPSON COUNTY

Chancery Court Judge 13, 1

David Shoemake

Allen Buffington

Judge Shoemake had an opponent early on who withdrew to run for Andy Gipson’s position once Gipson was elevated (removed) from the legislature. Buffington is a familiar name, but it is NOT the previous Judge Buffington, that was Larry. This will be an interesting race to watch. Shoemake has some weak spots…

THE COAST

Chancery Court Judge 8, 3

Margaret Alfonso
Diane Herman Ellis
Sanford R. (Sandy) Steckler

This race is exciting because of the candidates. Judge Steckler is the incumbent. Judge Alfonso is a former Chancellor who left Chancery for Youth Court (County Court) and is now running. This makes a very recent former Chancellor against a current Chancellor and they actually served together.

Attorney Ellis, a practitioner, has some acclaim for a case of first impression in Mississippi that ultimately made law that a child born of the marriage, of a same-sex marriage is of the marriage, even though genetic material may have come from a different source.

There are other hotly contested races in Starkville, Hattiesburg, the Coast and other judicial positions. Stay tuned for the 411!

Matthew Thompson is a lawyer and will likely run for judge in 15-25 years. It’s never too early to start campaigning!

Divorce, humor

Friday Fun

05/04/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

joke 3.jpg

joke 2.jpg

Just some humor to brighten your Friday.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney and reminds you to find the humor when and where you can…

Divorce, General Legal, Opinion

Where to Get a Divorce…When you Cannot Get a Divorce in Mississippi.

04/26/2018 BowTieLawyer 1 Comment

It could be IMPOSSIBLE to get a divorce in Mississippi!

Mississippi is one of two States that requires either an Agreement to all issues to get a divorce or absent that complete agreement, requires corroborated proof of fault grounds against your spouse.

So, if your spouse does not agree for any reasons you must have fault grounds. However, all is not lost. Lots of conduct, bad conduct, could be considered fault grounds…

Additionally, you can leave the state. While not always a great option it can work and in a few circumstances, Mississippi law would “require” it if you had to have a divorce.

48 other states essentially provide if you want a divorce you can get a divorce, but they also have certain jurisdictional/residency requirements to be able to seek relief from those Courts.

Mississippi requires you be a resident for 6 months, with the intent to remain and you may not move here for the purpose of seeking a divorce, not that any sane person would.

Washington State: No minimum in-state residency requirement.
Wyoming: None if the marriage occurred in the state and the filing spouse has lived in Wyoming since the marriage date. Otherwise, 60 days.

Nevada: 45 days
Spouse filing for divorce must plan to live in state indefinitely.
Must file sworn affidavit from a Nevada resident having personal knowledge of the filing spouse meeting the minimum residency requirement.

Alabama: No in-state minimum if both spouses live in state. 180 days if only one spouse lives in state.

I have included other states for informational purposes only. I am only licensed in Mississippi and cannot give advice regarding other state laws. The link provided was found on the internet! Caveat emptor!

Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi and supports a “walking around sense” change to Mississippi law.

Appeal, Crime, Divorce, General Legal, Opinion

How to Pick a Candidate…

04/18/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

It’s election season. Candidates are coming out of the woodwork for senate, congress, and judicial seats. Here’s a primer on picking a candidate.

Do they have Experience?
- This does not mean that they must have served in the position being sought, but does their work experience, life experience, education and training lend itself to the seat?
Are they Competent?
- Experience is good, but it needs to be good experience. We all know that person that received opportunities because of connections, or who their uncle knew. Merely having experience may not be enough if you are merely a figurehead or placeholder.
- The candidate should know what the position requires and should possess the needed traits to fill the spot.
Do they meet the Requirements?
- For may positions there is age, residency and education requirements. It is fair to inquire if the bare minimums are met.
Why are they Running?
- Is it for prestige or ego? Is it because they can make a difference.
- Ask the candidate, ” Why are you Running?”
Are they a Good Person?
- You can have plenty of experience, meet the requirements, be competent and still not be the best candidate. There is an intangible, hard to measure judgment of candidates. This is about their honesty, integrity and is the person they portray really the person that they are?

These are just some of the criteria that should be considered when choosing a candidate. We all have an obligation to meet the candidates, engage the process, ask questions and care. These elections impact our lives whether we realize it or not.

Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney and is excited about the campaign season and if all else fails you can still “eeny, meeny, miney, moe” to pick your slate.

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, 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.