Category Archives: Marriage

Child Custody, Divorce, General Legal, Marriage, Opinion, Visitation

Birds Nest Custody.

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Courts usually grant custody to one parent or the other and the non-custodial parent exercises his time at places and locations he sees fit…

However, sometimes the Court needs an unusual solution to an unusual problem.

Consider the Birds Nest custody arrangement.

In a birds nest, the children stay in the “nest” aka the marital home and mom and dad take turns coming and going from the home.

During mom’s time she has custody to the children and the home, to the exclusion of dad.

During dad’s time he has exclusive custody of the kids and home and mom is excluded.

This is a good solution when the child has a unique need and having that structure of home base is in their best interest.

It’s also a viable solution when use of the home is needed by a party for work as the “home office” or tools of the trade are kept on the property.

This is not an often used remedy as it requires potentially 3 temporary residences, but can be an effective tool in the tool belt of solutions in limited circumstances.

Matthew Thompson is a child custody attorney and recommends the birds nest in unique cases.

Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce, General Legal, Marriage, Opinion

What can the Judge Order you to do in a Divorce/Custody Case?

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Getting divorced allows the Government into your life!

Getting divorced happens. It can be relatively easy or it can be one of the most difficult times of your life. However, the impact can also last a lot longer than the few months or the few years of the litigation.

The Court has the authority to make you pay child support. And in Mississippi, that can last until the child turns 21. The age is NOT 18 and it cannot be, even by agreement.

Additionally, the Court could make you pay for college, even beyond age 21.

The Court can make you pay for health insurance and non-covered medical expenses, like co-pays, prescriptions, dental, vision, and all out-of-pocket expenses.

The Court can make you pay for extracurricular activities; sports, dance, cheer and scouts. The Court can make you pay for daycare, after care, summer care and school expenses.

Cars, cell phones and private school expenses are usually not Ordered but under certain circumstances the Court could.

The Court can obligate you to hundreds and even thousands of dollars $$ per month that are to be paid or you might even go to JAIL!!

Interestingly, we really don’t contemplate any of these potential obligations when we get married…

Matthew Thompson is a child custody and child support attorney in Mississippi.

Divorce, General Legal, Marriage

Presidential Family Law & Fun Facts on President’s Day!

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It’s President’s Day –

Presidents’ Day, officially Washington’s Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February. It is often celebrated to honor all those who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879, has been the federal holiday honoring Founding Father George Washington, the first U.S. president, from 1789 to 1797. – Wikipedia.

Some Fun Presidential family law facts, include:

America has only had two divorced presidents, while two widower presidents moved on to second wives while in office. And one president never got married at all.

Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump were the two presidents who divorced prior to taking office.

John Tyler and Woodrow Wilson both lost their wives during their presidency, and remarried during their term, respectively.

John Tyler had 15 children, the most of any other US president. He had eight children with his first wife, Letitia Christian Tyler, and seven with his second wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler. 

James Buchanan was unmarried at the time he was in office.

Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi, wishing you a Happy President’s Day!

Bow Tie, Crime, Divorce, General Legal, humor, Irreconcilable differences, Marriage, Modifications, Opinion

An Open Invitation to Colab…

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Believe it or not, there are not many Mississippi Legislators that are lawyers!

Saturday Night Live compared the Mississippi Legislature to a hissing possum. It was funny…

“Whew!” you say? Not so fast. Our legislators make the laws. This may be the one instance more lawyers could help!!

There is proposed legislation with terminology, words, that do not mean what you (and our legislators) think they mean. Words matter. Legal words matter.

There’s a marked difference between May and Shall in the eyes of the law.

So, legislators, Please contact me at any time about any questions regarding proposed legislation. If i have an opinion I will share it. If I am unqualified to comment I will admit it, and if you ask that our discussion remain confidential I will honor that.

Let’s get this right the first time. Its too important to not to.

Matthew Thompson is a 20-year practicing lawyer, law school professor, author of the family law text book in Mississippi and not afraid to speak out and speak up. Contact him via email or phone. Matthew@ThompsonLaw.ms or (601)850-8000

Divorce, Irreconcilable differences, Marriage, Opinion

To Divorce or Not to Divorce; That is the Legislative Question

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At least 2 bills are pending to sort of make Mississippi Divorce Law make common sense…

Senate Bill 2018, Brice Wiggins seeks to make 2 tweaks to family law.

  1. Eliminate the willful and obstinate requirements of Desertion/Abandonment. Current law requires; a spouse’s “wilful, continued and obstinate desertion” for a period of a year is grounds for a divorce. Miss Code Ann. § 93-5-1 (2004).
  2. The New proposed law states, Fourth. * * * Continued * * * desertion for the space of one year.
  3. and adds a 13th ground
  4. 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.

an Identical House Bill also includes the above revisions. HB0496 sponsored by Representative Denton.

Why is this common sense, sort of? 48 other states have true, no fault divorce statutes. Mississippi does not. You can read why that matters here, here and here…

Why is it common sense? The law and legislature cannot make someone be a spouse or partner regardless of the status of the marriage.

Mississippi has proposed these common sense changes every year since I have been paying attention. It ain’t happened yet….

Matthew is a family law and divorce attorney in Mississippi and is in favor of some common sense changes in the law.

Child Custody, Divorce, General Legal, Marriage, Opinion

Sometimes You’re Just Not Ready…

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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.

Divorce, Irreconcilable differences, Marriage, Opinion

Somebody can always do it cheaper…is that better?

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Cheaper is NOT always better.

Everyone wants a good deal, myself included. However, often in life you get what you pay for!

We’ve all seen the advertisement for the $500 divorce. That could be a really good deal if everything is agreed, it’s just drafting papers and sending for entry.

But, is it a good deal when it doesn’t work? Is it a good deal when it does work, but you weren’t advised of your rights. You did not know about all of the financial and equitable relief you could have gotten.

I’ve seen agreements where the parties agreed to maintain a million dollar whole life insurance policies. They had no idea what that meant or what expense that really involved.

I’ve seen agreements that have not included the correct child support and included terms so onerous a Court would never order it otherwise.

My advice is this, if you spent more than $500 to get married, plan on spending more than $500 to get divorced.

Matthew Thompson is a civil litigation attorney in Mississippi.

Divorce, Irreconcilable differences, Marriage

Marriage is a Fundamental Right, Divorce is NOT.

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The United States Supreme Court has ruled that you have a fundamental right to marry the person of your choosing. See Loving v. Virginia, Zablocki v. Redhail, and Obergefell v. Hodges.

This is especially true in Mississippi, but only with regard to the right to marry.

Mississippi is 1 of only 2 states in the US that does not recognize a married person’s absolute right to a divorce. South Dakota is the other state. This means that in Mississippi your spouse has to agree to the divorce and ALL of the terms of the divorce (irreconcilable differences) OR you have to have Fault Grounds against your spouse that you can prove to the satisfaction of a Judge.

If there is no agreement by the spouses OR you do not have OR cannot prove fault grounds you will just stay unhappily married.

So, what happens if your spouse will not agree and you cannot prove grounds? You stay married or you move away. Those are your options.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in Mississippi and can help you get out of being unhappily ever after.