Tag Archives: child custody

Child Custody, Divorce, General Legal, Irreconcilable differences

Two Family Law BILLS Died in Committee

Leave a comment

Mississippi legislation kicked around 2 significant ideas for changes in Family Law. Both failed to become law in the State.

This “was the year” for Irretrievable Breakdown, Mississippi’s answer to No Fault Divorce.

In MS, you do NOT have a right to a divorce. You either have to have fault grounds that you can prove to the satisfaction of the Chancellor or have an agreement with your spouse to ALL issues. 48 other states have a No Fault Divorce process. MS does not.

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.

Secondly, a Joint Custody bill was proposed. There were several iterations of this legislation, but the gist of it was that the Court was to assume that Joint Physical Custody was in the best interest of the child when parents could not agree (and, even if they could) and if the Court found Joint Physical Custody was not in the best interest of the child it had to state why. (There were some issues with the proposed legislation as it was drafted, but this Bill found some traction and was discussed and bandied about for weeks…ultimately to no avail).

(2) * * * (a) There shall be a presumption, rebuttable by a
preponderance of evidence, that joint custody and equally shared
parenting time is in the best interest of the child. If the court
does not grant joint custody and/or equally shared parenting time,
the court shall construct a parenting time schedule which
maximizes the time each parent has with the child and ensuring the
best interest of the child is met.
(b) Upon petition of both parents, the court may grant
legal and/or physical custody to one parent.

Both bills failed and there are limited changes to MS Family Law. A blog for another day.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in MS and is in favor of some common sense changes in Mississippi Law.

Child Custody, Divorce, Opinion, Visitation

Child Testimony 101 & Updates

Leave a comment

Whether a child should testify is a decision that hopefully you as a parent will never face. The Mississippi Supreme Court, in a 1990 Opinion, held “We reiterate that parents in a divorce proceeding should …refrain from calling any of the children of their marriage, of tender years at least, as witnesses, and counsel should advise their clients against doing so except in the most exigent cases.”- Jethrow vs. Jethrow, 571 So.2d 270 (Miss. 1990). 

For testimony purposes a child witness of “tender years” is 12 and under and testifying is subject to the discretion of the Judge.

However, a recent Court of Appeals case requires ALL children be interviewed by the Judge in every custody case if a parent calls the child as a witness. It is now mandatory regardless of the age of the child, regardless of who has custody, and regardless even when the other parent objects believing same will result in harm, emotional or otherwise, due to the very young age of the child and even over the objection of the Guardian Ad Litem appointed for the child.  Daly v. Raines, No. 2022-CA-00600-COA

This is a scary proposition for most parents and something to consider when you are litigating. In divorce/custody/family law litigation your children will now be forced to participate if either parent so decides.

Be careful who you have a child with…

Matthew Thompson is a child custody and divorce lawyer in Mississippi and believes that only in exigent circumstance should child custody even be considered . However, the “law” doesn’t always allow for common sense to prevail…

Child Custody, Divorce, Visitation

SHELTER-IN-Place; Mississippi Custody & Visitation

1 Comment

Essential Travel includes, “Travel required by…court order, including to transport children pursuant to a custody agreement.

We are operating in uncharted waters as far as what to do and when to do it regarding getting out of the house. However, generally speaking the Court expects you to abide by its Order unless it is unsafe to so do. The Court then expects parents to act reasonably, communicate and make reasonable accommodations.

COVID-19 is NOT an excuse to be a terrible parent.

There are a lot of ways to interact safely; in-person, ( so long as it is safe to do so), Facetime, Zoom, telephone, email, text, video and other electronic means.

Matthew Thompson is a Child Custody lawyer and encourages parents to be reasonable and not try to take advantage of these circumstances. Do what you believe is in the best interests of your child.

Child Custody, Visitation

Child Custody & COVID-19

Leave a comment

We are getting many questions concerning Custody and Visitation schedules and exchanges of children during this time.
The first advice to give is to use common sense and follow the recommendations of authorities.  


From the CDC, The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person. Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.  
If the necessary precautions have been taken, no one in either home is sick or showing symptoms, and no one in the home is in the vulnerable class, visitation exchanges should take place as ordered.  

If someone has been exposed to the virus or showing symptoms or is traveling from an infected area, be SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE! Try to avoid travel and exposing other individuals to the virus. While children are resilient and may be asymptomatic, they can still spread the virus to vulnerable persons.  

If visitation exchanges are not possible, utilize FaceTime or video chats to maintain daily contact with your children. Parents need to work together for the safety and well being of everyone, which calls for flexibility and access, whether direct or remotely through technology.

Chad King is a Child Custody lawyer in Mississippi and reminds parents that being reasonable is not a weakness.

Child Custody, Child Support, Visitation

How Do I Recover Back CHild Support?

Leave a comment

Below is a short clip from my most recent appearance on Law Call with Rocky Wilkins of Morgan & Morgan. The caller wanted to know about recovering unpaid child support and her facts allowed for a few more opportunities to educate the public on Mississippi Law.

Matthew Thompson is a Child Custody and Child Support Lawyer in Mississippi and reminds you that in Family Law, you can never go wrong if you do what is Right!

(601)850-8000 Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms

Child Custody, Opinion

Be a Better Parent…

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, Divorce, General Legal

Don’t place your child in the middle.

Leave a comment

Children CAN testify, even if they shouldn’t. Children DO GET a SAY in their custody if they are 12 or older and choose to.

However, the child does not get to “pick” where he or she will live.  They get a vote that is to be considered, but does not have to be absolutely followed by the Court. Additionally, as a parent, you should avoid putting the child in that situation when/if possible.

In fact, you should avoid placing your child in the middle of any disputes between you and the other parent. It is not good for the child and not good for your relationship with them.

Matthew Thompson is a Mississippi Child Custody lawyer and reminds you to be a parent first.

Child Custody, Divorce, General Legal, Visitation

Child Custody In Mississippi

3 Comments

There are 2 types of custody in Mississippi Chancery Courts.download.jpg

  1. Legal custody refers to the decision-making rights regarding your child’s health, education and general welfare.

Legal custody, most commonly awarded as “Joint Legal Custody,” requires that each parent keep the other parent reasonably informed of the child’s goings on. This includes not only health, education, and general welfare, but also school and activity schedules, medical appointments and any major matter regarding the child’s life

It requires that parents communicate and cooperate when it comes to making decision about the well-being of the child. It certainly includes informing the other parent if a move is anticipated.

Legal custody includes sharing the status of the child’s well-being and location in emergency situations.

If there is going to be a fight in a custody case it will be over Physical Custody.

2.) Physical Custody is different than Legal custody. Physical custody concerns which parent has actual, physical possession of the child.

Within Physical custody there are officially only 2 types;

1) Joint Physical custody which by statute means each parent spends a significant portion of time with the child (though it does not have to be 50/50); and much more common is the second type

2) (Sole) Physical custody to one parent, subject to the other parent’s visitation. This is far more common in Mississippi.  A lot of your Agreements may have the term “primary” in the physical custody language and some Judges even insist that it be specified, but “primary” has no statutory significance, meaning it is not a term that carries legal meaning.  Lawyers, including myself, still use the term however.

If the parents cannot agree on Custody the Court will conduct what is known as an “Albright Analysis.”  Albright v. Albright, 437 So. 2d 1003 (Miss. 1983), is a Mississippi case from the early 1980’s that lists 13 factors that the Court must consider when making an initial custody determination.  The specific facts of your case are considered as they relate to each factor and the Court makes a determination as to which factor favors which parent. The Court also determines how to weigh each factor. For instance, the sex of the child while considered, will likely not count as much as the continuity of care for the child. The paramount consideration is “the best interests of the child.”

A court determines that by looking at the following factors:

1.       Age of the child.

2.       Health of the child.

3.       Sex of the child.

4.       Continuity of care prior to the separation.

5.    Which parent has the better parenting skills and the willingness and capacity to provide primary child care.

6.       The employment of the parent and the responsibilities of that employment.

7.       Physical and mental health and age of the parents.

8.       Emotional ties of parent and child.

9.       Moral fitness of the parents.

10.     The home, community and school record of the child.

11.     The preference of the child at the age sufficient to express a preference by law. (Must be at least 12, and it’s ONLY a preference)

12.     Stability of home environment and employment of each parent.

13.     Other factors relevant to the parent-child  relationship.

For additional information please click Dads Have Rights Too!

**Note, marital fault should not be used as a sanction in custody awards. Relative financial situations should not control since the duty to support is independent of the right to custody.  Differences in religion, personal values and lifestyles should not be the sole basis for custody decisions.

Matthew Thompson is a Child Custody attorney in Mississippi and will fight for your custody and visitation rights.

img_6390