Common Law Marriage is Not Common

03/13/2019 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Common Law Marriage was the law of the land in Mississippi until 1956.

Prior to 1956 if you lived with someone, holding yourselves out as Mr. and Mrs., for longer than a certain number of years, it made that union a valid, legal marriage.

In 1956 the Mississippi legislature ended Common Law Marriage, or at least NEW Common Law Marriages within the State. Mississippi Code § 93-1-15 was passed that required a License and solemnization for a valid marriage.

(1) No marriage contracted after April 5, 1956 shall be valid unless the contracting parties shall have obtained a marriage license … and …shall have been performed …solemniz[ation]. Failure in any case to comply with both prerequisites …shall render the purported marriage absolutely void and any children born as a result thereof illegitimate.
(2) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to affect the validity of any marriage, either ceremonial or common law, contracted prior to April 5, 1956.

Now if your Common Law Marriage was valid prior to 1956 in Mississippi and you and the Mrs. are still alive and together, then your marriage is valid. Interestingly, if you have a valid Common Law Marriage from another state Mississippi will also recognize that. 16 states still recognize Common Law Marriage according to Find Law and in the 1980’s Mississippi recognized a Common Law Marriage of a couple from Georgia. They eventually relocated to Mississippi and the wife sought and was granted a divorce. George v. George, 389 So.2d 1389 (Miss. 1980).

Don’t count on a Common Law Marriage for marital purposes, and don’t believe your “spouse” if they tell you you’re married and you have not followed the State licensure requirements.

Matthew is a family law attorney and was married using the post 1956 Mississippi methods.
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You may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@BowTielawyer.ms

Divorce, General Legal

Shhh…CONFIDENTIAL.

03/12/2019 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Keeping secrets is my business.

Attorney client confidentiality and privilege are legal terms of art. Today’s blog will deal with confidentiality and privilege will be in a follow up blog.

Confidentiality is an ethical obligation on the the attorney to keep your business, your business. That means that your identity, the fact you called, or had an appointment, and the content of the discussions are all private. It means it is kept a secret to the extent it needs to be.

Confidentiality does not mean you may not disclose some information to others. If there is a pending suit and I am hired and file on your behalf then those facts are no longer confidential. If I need to disclose some facts to have an expert evaluate them, then to that extent, the disclosure to a third party, is no longer confidential. However, confidentiality can apply to third parties, including; experts, other attorneys in the firm, and staff in the firm.

The American Bar Assoc. Model Rule 1.6, states:

“A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized in order to carry out the representation or the disclosure is permitted by paragraph (b).”

“The rule prohibits a lawyer from sharing any information learned about their client–whether learned directly from the client or not–that is related to the representation without permission from the client. This is a broad duty. However…there are a number of instances where disclosure is permitted without a client’s consent, including preventing death or substantial bodily harm, preventing the client from committing a crime or fraud that will injure another, preventing or mitigating harm that may result from a crime committed by the client, compliance with other law or a court order, securing legal advice about compliance with the rule, establishing claims and defenses in the event of a dispute between the lawyer and the client, or resolving potential conflicts of interest for the lawyer. Given these numerous exceptions, a lawyer must pay close attention to the particular facts of their situation when determining whether disclosure is permitted.” ABA, Model Rule 1.6

Matthew Thompson is a Mississippi Family Law Attorney and keeps your secrets.

alimony, Divorce, General Legal, humor

Even $273 Million reasons couldn’t bring us back together…

03/11/2019 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

5 months ago Mike got divorced.

It was a 15-year long marriage. For much of it Mike was unemployed. Eileen had had enough. Eileen had to pay Mike alimony based on their respective earnings, earning capacities and work histories.

5 months later Mike won $273 million dollars in the New Jersey lottery.

Upon learning of the win, Eileen said “He’s not appealing to me all of a sudden because he has this money.”

Mike responded, “$270 million does not make me appealing to her — that’s what she said?”

“It’s over with…I just want her to stop being in my life.”

While it appears no amount of money could salvage this relationship, Mike plans to salve his wounds with a new pickup truck, a vacation and listening to his lawyer.

Eileen has a basis to modify and possibly terminate her alimony obligations to Mike. Win, win.

Matthew Thompson is an Alimony Lawyer in Mississippi which just approved lotteries. Get ready!

General Legal, Opinion

Judging the Judge

03/08/2019 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

There are a smattering of sites devoted to ostracizing a few select judges. These usually pop up when one party feels so aggrieved that they decide to let the whole world know about it. There is nowhere online that judges are celebrated.

Now there is a place to do this. The Robing Room. This site is a place where Judges are Judged. It reports to be operated by attorneys and is based in New York City!

The site lists Judges by Federal and State Districts. The Mississippi page, linked here, has Judges listed by County and by Circuit or Chancery District. The listings have not been updated in some time, and a number of the judges are not judges anymore due to retirement and elections.

There are only a handful of reviews for Mississippi, but other states have more. I assume the dearth of information is because this is not a commonly known site in Mississippi.

So if you love your judge or love to tell the world how bad he/she is, now is your chance. The site states the postings are anonymous, though require an email to post a rating. The rating provides for a numerical score on multiple characteristics and allows for comments.

Matthew Thompson is a Family law attorney and knows the judges may groan about this. However, the positions are non-partisan, elected and subject to public scrutiny or praise. Be the judge that gets the praise.

General Legal, humor

Go Jump off the Roof!

03/07/2019 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Your parents used to ask you “if all of the other children jumped off the roof (or bridge), would you?”

This lawyer answered in the affirmative. Adam Wirtz, an attorney in Illinois, was craving a “skybath” and jumped off of the 10-story Courthouse under construction in Will County, Illinois.

He was observed by law enforcement and arrested upon his landing. It appears the charge will be trespassing.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in Mississippi and is amazed at the length some lawyers will go to avoid Court!

Divorce, General Legal

Banned From Court…

03/06/2019 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Know the rules of your particular Courthouse before you get there.

Certain items may NOT be taken into Court, usually. Of course no firearms or weapons may be taken into Court. There have been laws and lawsuits regarding this. See Ward v. Colom, 2016-M-01072-SCT

However, depending on your jurisdiction, there are other items disallowed, and can include:

Cell Phones, Cameras, Recording Devices, Laptops, Ipads, E-Notebooks, Smart Watches, Mace, Weapon’s accessories (ie., a holster, even if empty), Purses, Hand bags, and the like.

In some jurisdiction this applies to the litigants and in some the litigants, witnesses, observers and attorneys.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney in Mississippi and reminds you to Ask your attorney the rules of what you can and cannot bring to Court.

Child Custody, Opinion

Be a Better Parent…

03/04/2019 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Protecting your child is your #1 priority…

It’s not attacking the other parent. It’s not making up false allegations. It’s not telling the same lies, time and time again. It’s not making false abuse allegations. It’s not telling anyone who will listen your “woe is me tale.”

Be there. Do what you are supposed to do, every time. Be honest. Be professional. Admit your mistakes and learn from them. Don’t double down on the same bad behaviors that got you into the fight in the first place.

Being a better parent is a lot of work and can be hard, but it’s worth it. Your child deserves it.

Matthew Thompson is a child custody lawyer, a dad, and is encouraging you to be a better parent. Start today. It’s not too late.

#ThompsonLawFirm #BowTieLawyer.MS #(601)850-8000

Child Custody, Child Support

Facebook, Friends and Your Judge…

02/21/2019 BowTieLawyer 1 Comment

In Madison, Wisconsin a Judge accepting a litigant’s friend request was enough to warrant a new trial by a different Judge.

In 2016, a mother sought sole custody and child support in a modification action against the father. After a two-day evidentiary trial, the Judge gave the parties 10 days to submit proposals on how the Court should rule. After these submissions, but prior to the Court ruling the Judge accepted the mother’s Facebook friend request. This was unknown to the father.

While awaiting a decision, the mother liked 18 of the Judge’s “Facebook posts and commented on two of them.” However, the Judge did not like or comment on any of the mother’s posts, though he did not deny reading them.

In July, the Judge ruled in favor of the mother. That same day, the guardian ad litem for the child learned that the mother had posted on Facebook that “the Honorable Judge granted everything we requested” and then discovered the mother and Judge were Facebook friends.

The father filed a motion to reconsider, arguing the Facebook frienship created the appearance of impropriety. The Court ruled that he’d made up phis mind prior to the request and denied the father’s motion.

The Wisconsin Appellate Court found that these circumstances clearly created the appearance of impropriety.

The mother’s friend request, and the Judge’s acceptance just prior to a decision “conveys the impression that [the mother] was in a special position to influence [the] Judge’s ultimate decision — a position not available to individuals that he had not ‘friended,’ such as [the father].

The appellate court did state that the “decision does not reach the merits of… [the] ultimate decision on [the mother’s] motion, and we recognize the parties will be required to relitigate their custody and physical placement issues.”

Source: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2019/02/20/judge-accepted-facebook-friend-request-woman-pending-matter/2925778002/

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney and encourages you NOT to be Facebook friends with your Judge.