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.

Divorce

Don’t be Cruel.

05/18/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Elvis sang it well. “Don’t be cruel…”

Mississippi law was recently changed to specifically include spousal domestic abuse as a fault ground within the already existing habitual cruel and inhuman treatment fault ground. Below is the statute.

Miss. Code Ann. § 93-5-1

§ 93-5-1. Causes allowed

Habitual cruel and inhuman treatment, including spousal domestic abuse.

Spousal domestic abuse may be established through the reliable testimony of a single credible witness, who may be the injured party, and includes, but is not limited to: That the injured party’s spouse attempted to cause, or purposely, knowingly or recklessly caused bodily injury to the injured party, or that the injured party’s spouse attempted by physical menace to put the injured party in fear of imminent serious bodily harm; or That the injured party’s spouse engaged in a pattern of behavior against the injured party of threats or intimidation, emotional or verbal abuse, forced isolation, sexual extortion or sexual abuse, or stalking or aggravated stalking as defined in Section 97-3-107, if the pattern of behavior rises above the level of unkindness or rudeness or incompatibility or want of affection.

This change is primarily significant for a few reasons. It changed the corroboration requirement. Previously it required testimony and/or evidence not only from the victim but also from another witness or source, such as a third-party or the admission of police or medical records. Now, if the Judge finds the victim/witness credible the Court may grant the award of a fault based divorce.

Additionally, the statute specifically provides for a fault based divorce to be granted based on abuse other than physical, including emotional, verbal, sexual, and stalking behavior.

These are significant and welcomed changes in Mississippi law. More info on fault grounds can be read here.

Matthew Thompson is a divorce attorney in Mississippi. Only two states in the Country still require fault grounds for a divorce if the parties cannot agree to all issues; Mississippi and South Dakota.

Divorce, Visitation

Happy Mother’s Day!

Image 05/13/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Divorce, General Legal, Opinion

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!

General Legal

Judicial Qualifying Deadlines 2018

05/07/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Circuit, Chancery and County Court Judicial Candidates

Qualifying Period Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Qualifying Period Ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:00 p.m., Friday, May 11, 2018

Current list of Candidates.

General Election Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tuesday, November 6, 2018

General Runoff Election Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in Mississippi and reminds you to learn about these candidates and vote.

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.