A new bill in Mississippi will require Joint Physical Custody & EQUAL Parenting TIME, unless the Court finds a compelling reason not too…

Senate Bill 2484 requires that, “There shall be a rebuttable presumption that joint custody and equally shared parenting time is in the best interest of the child. If the court grants joint custody and equally shared parenting time, the court shall construct a parenting time schedule which maximizes the time each parent has with the child and ensures the best interest of the child is met.“

(ii) The presumption created in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be rebuttable by a preponderance of the evidence. A court that does not award joint custody with equally shared parenting time shall document the reasons for deviating from the presumption.

(b) To calculate child support for joint custody with equally shared parenting time, unless the court determines a deviation from this paragraph is in the best interest of the child, the court shall:

(i) Calculate a child-support award under the guidelines of Section 43-19-101 for each parent as if each parent was the obligor;

(ii) Calculate the difference in the two (2) awards by subtracting the lesser award from the larger award; and

(iii) Order the difference in the two (2) awards to be paid by the parent who has the higher adjusted gross income to the parent with the lower adjusted gross income.

(c) Upon petition of both parents, the court may grant legal and/or physical custody to one (1) parent without documenting a reason for deviation.

This is a potential monumental change in child custody law, primarily the requirement for equal parenting time. If signed into law this does away with the every other weekend visitation schedule…

Additionally, it drastically changes the child support landscape and can have “mom” paying “dad” dependent upon the math.

This made its way through the legislature with little fanfare and virtually zero input from practitioners and judges.

Matthew Thompson is child custody attorney and believes children do best with both parents as involved as possible.