by Sophia Paffenroth March 25, 2026
See Sophia Paffenroth’s article in Mississippi Today about a proposed Joint Custody Bill.
Paffenroth conferred with multiple attorneys, professors and persons/clients who all wrestled with custody issues…
Paffenroth’s article, in full, is linked above and the proposed Bill, in full is linked below.
Matthew Thompson is a child custody attorney in Mississippi and does think Joint Custody could be in the best interest of the child in certain circumstances…
At 18 you can vote; Join the military without parental consent and buy a rifle or shotgun…but you are not an Adult for Mississippi law purposes.
MS Code § 1-3-21 (2025), defines [t]he term “infant,” when used in any statute, shall include any person, male or female, under twenty-one years of age.
Recent legislation died in committee trying to bring Mississippi in-line with every other state. Most states consider a child an adult when they attain the age of 18 or 19 if still attending high school.
In Mississippi, that age is 21. That means child support is until 21.
There are some exceptions where a child can lose that status by joining the military, getting married, going to prison, or moving from home and working full-time. This is called emancipation.
So, Mississippi is unique for reasons that may not make us so special…
Matthew Thompson is a family law and child welfare attorney and has supported common sense changes in Mississippi family law and is still holding out hope that some may come to fruition…one day.
Hinds County Attorney, Bridgett Clayton, has qualified to run for Hinds County Chancery Judge!
“After much prayer and consideration, I am honored and excited to announce that I qualified for Hinds County Chancery Court Judge, District 5-3, on today.”
“I am ready to serve the citizens of Hinds County with God serving as a Lamp unto my feet and the Light unto my path as I seek election for this judicial seat to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before my God. Micah 6:8”
I am requesting your prayers and support during the campaign as well as on Election Day which is November 3.
Please be on the lookout for future campaign information. Thank You!
Matthew Thompson is a Chancery practitioner and knows-well the power, authority and responsibility that Chancellor’s have and the knowledge and wisdom they should possess. Attorney Bridgett Clayton has all of those qualities and then-some!
Please support Bridgett Clayton for Hinds County Chancellor!
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.
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…
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.
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.
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
(601) 850-8000 - - BowTieLawyer.MS 