Joint Custody Mississippi | (601) 850-8000 –

Joint Custody is en vogue. A law requiring equally shared parenting time is back before the Mississippi legislature…

House Bill 1662 includes the following; 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.

The Joint Custody bill also includes a Child Support formula:

(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.

Senate Bill 2027 tracks the House Bill.

This iteration was kicked around last year and was scuttled at the last minute.

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…

Mississippi Courts have not historically favored Joint Custody. A new Bill would require a presumption of Joint Custody is best for a child, that would have to be overcome if a parent doesn’t agree…

Senate Bill 2484 seeks to amend the current custody statute 93-5-24, as follows: “

(2) * * * (a) (i) 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 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 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) Upon petition of both parents, the court may grant
legal and/or physical custody to one (1) parent.”

This is an interesting Bill and in theory how Custody determinations should begin anyway. However, it goes further than current law in creating a rebuttable presumption and then requiring documenting the reasons for deviating from the presumption if the court does not grant joint physical custody and/or equally shared parenting time.

Read more about the current law and Physical Custody here.