Child Custody (Part I)—What will happen to the children in a Mississippi divorce?
What happens to the children?
Divorce is bad enough on both parties when there are no children. However, if you have children and are contemplating a divorce, many more issues arise. How will we tell the kids? Who will tell the kids? Where will the children live? Do we split them up? What are we going to do if one of the parents moves out of town? How often will they visit the other parent who does not have custody? Who is going to make the decisions regarding the child? These are just a few of the multitude of issues which arise in the context of child custody. There are no easy answers, but if you and your spouse can not come to an agreement in the best interest of the child, then a Mississippi judge will provide those answers.
When deciding child custody, the children’s welfare is paramount. With that said, you and your spouse should attempt to agree on child custody issues. A child needs both parents in their life. If you and your spouse can not agree, then plan on spending money on attorney’s fees and expert fees in order for a chancellor to determine what is in the “best interest and welfare” of the child—the litmus test of child custody.
In Mississippi, it is presumed that both parents are equally entitled to custody of the child. In fact, if both parents request joint custody, the Court presumes that it is in the best interest of the child. Child custody includes legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody is the right of a parent to make decisions regarding the child. Physical custody is time a child lives with a parent.
When a court grants custody of a child, it can be done in a number of manners according to the statute. It can award joint physical and legal custody to both parents—the child shares time living with each parent and the parents jointly have a right in the decisions concerning the child. Depending on the circumstances, the chancellor could award joint physical custody to both parents and legal custody to one parent; joint legal custody to both parents and physical custody to one parent with visitation rights to the other parent; or legal and physical custody to only one parent with the other parent have visitation rights.
In my next post on this topic, I will talk about the factors courts consider in determining child custody.
