Mississippi Family Law Blog

Kosciusko man going to jail for not paying child support

A Kosciusko, Mississippi man was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $68,215.87 in back child support. According to the article, he will serve 2 of the 10 years in prison for failing to pay the child support. The Mississippi attorney general's office prosecuted the case. It is good to see Mississippi in the news prosecuting those who fail to uphold their financial responsibilities to their children.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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The old saying is that "Hell Hath no Fury like a Woman Scorned." Well, it appears it applies to men as well. In South Carolina, a man is running his own ad campaign against a local politician he claims had an affair with his ex-wife. According to the article, the man was granted a divorce based on charges of adultery between the wife and the politician. It appears the ex-husband is not over the divorce and is ensuring everyone in the community knows about the affair.

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Bernie Ebbers' wife files for divorce in Madison County, Mississippi

Bernie Ebbers' wife filed for divorce from her imprisoned husband in Madison County, Mississippi this last week. Ebbers was sent to prison in 2006 after his conviction for securities fraud and conspiracy while head of WorldCom. He is not expected to be released from prison until 2028. According to the Clarion-Ledger article, the couple married in 1999 and Ms. Ebbers still resides in their Bridgewater home in Ridgeland, Mississippi.

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Posted In: Family Law News , Hodgepodge

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YouTube video of wife upset at husband

Tricia Walsh-Smith is now the poster child of what not to do when going through a divorce. Unhappy with how her husband is treating her in the divorce and unhappy with the prenuptial agreement she signed, this wife decided to make a video where she talks about how she is being mistreated, how her sex life with her husband (or lack thereof), and other various complaints. Then she posted the video to YouTube for everyone to see. While it can make fascinating video for our voyeuristic society, it will do little to advance her cause in court. In fact, it will most likely hurt her case.

Maybe she was after her 15 minutes of fame. If so, she definitely got it as the video has been viewed over 150,000 times and stories surrounding the video are everywhere. The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, CNN, People Magazine, and London Daily Mail have all run stories on the video. However, if she was attempting to help her case, I suspect the judge will be less than pleased with her starring role in her version of the War of the Roses.

Word of advice. Don't make a video lashing out at your ex or soon to be ex--it will not be well received in court.

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Posted In: Family Law News

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Internal Revenue Service auditing more returns

Given this is the tax season, we are reminded by a number of news reports that the Internal Revenue Service is stepping up its audits of small businesses and individuals. According to a recent article, one of the areas which gets divorced couples in trouble is the non-reporting of alimony as income as well as those paying child support seeking to deduct those payments from their taxes. As discussed in a previous post, the general rule is recipients of alimony must report it as income and child support payments are neither included as income or as a deduction. However, if you have a question regarding your taxes, consult a tax professional.

Remember, tomorrow is the deadline to either file your return or your request for an extension.

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Posted In: Family Law News

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Nacogdoches district clerk arrested

Similar to the case previously reported out of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, a district clerk in Nacogdoches, Texas has been arrested and charged with theft by a public servant. She also resigned her position the same day and apologized for her "wrongdoings." The clerk is accused of taking over $15,000 in child support payments which she is responsible for depositing in the bank. The clerk bonded out and awaits trial.

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Posted In: Family Law News

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Good Morning America doing story on men receiving alimony

In a follow-up to my post yesterday about the Wall Street Journal article on men receiving alimony, Good Morning America is now seeking men who are receiving alimony. Here's your chance for 15 minutes of fame. So if you are a man and receiving alimony from your ex-wife, click here for details on contacting GMA.

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Posted In: Alimony , Family Law News

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More women paying their ex-husbands alimony

The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting article this morning about the rise in men receiving alimony. According to the article, the number of men receiving alimony from their former wives rose from 2.4% to 3.6% in a five year period ending 2006. Today, females make more money than their spouses in 33% of all families.

And it also appears the distaste some have for paying alimony crosses gender lines. As one woman said, "I feel financially raped" while another woman said she would spit on the alimony checks she wrote each month to her ex-husband.

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Posted In: Alimony , Family Law News

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Covenant Marriage re-introduced in new Senate amendment

During this legislative session, the idea of a new form of marriage, “covenant marriage,” was introduced. In the “covenant marriage,” the couple agrees to undergo premartial counseling before applying for a marriage license. O.K., not a bad idea so far. But here is the kicker. By entering into a “covenant marriage,” you agree to modify your rights to get divorced.

As currently proposed, if you entered into a covenant marriage and then later chose to divorce, your complaint for divorce must be on file for one year before you can get divorced as opposed to the normal sixty-day waiting period. Further, during this one-year waiting period, you and your spouse are required to attend marriage counseling in an attempt to resurrect your marriage. Again, nothing wrong with marriage counseling as long as both parties believe there is a chance to make their marriage survive. The problem is forcing couples to undergo one-year of marriage counseling before they divorce.

Continue reading "Covenant Marriage not yet dead in Mississippi Legislature" »

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Posted In: Family Law News , Marriage

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Mississippi Mom runs to Hawaii to escape child support obligations

Last night the local NBC affiliate here in Jackson, Mississippi (WLBT) ran a story about a woman who moved to Hawaii in order to escape her child support obligations. The story raises a couple of issues. The first being there are men, as well as women, who neglect their child support obligations. In fact, the story points out that 11% of the people who are behind on child support payments are women. The second point is that despite an order from the Rankin County Chancery Court holding her in contempt, it will be difficult to bring the woman to justice given the costs associated with sending sheriff deputies to Hawaii to arrest her.

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Buying her a drink may lead to divorce in Mississippi

A word of caution for those married folks with wandering eyes. Next time you are away on business and the person next to you at the bar becomes friendly, you might think twice about responding. According to a recent article, some spouses are hiring an attractive private investigator in an attempt to seduce an unsuspecting, but disloyal, spouse. In those cases where the P.I. is successful in luring their victim, the matter ends up in divorce court.

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Posted In: Divorce , Family Law News

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In a story out of Florida, a Florida man stopped paying his alimony payments to his ex-wife who is terminally ill with ovarian cancer. According to the story, when she asked him why he stopped paying, he stated, "Aren't you dead yet." To add to the situation, he is over $11,000 behind in his payments. Hopefully, the woman will get her ex-husband in front of a judge quickly and the man can be made to answer for his cold-hearted actions.

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Posted In: Alimony , Family Law News

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Take out the Trash or else!

As a Mississippi Divorce lawyer, I wish more couples gave serious thought to having a prenuptial agreement, especially when it is not the first marriage for both. Unfortunately, many get caught up in the romance of the relationship and fail to look at the realities of marriage. Well, it seems some folks are giving more thought to their marital expectations and entering into prenuptial agreements with "lifestyle clauses."

According to a fellow blogger, "lifestyle clauses" are popping up in many modern prenuptial agreements. Although properly executed prenuptial agreements are enforceable in Mississippi, I'm not sure our courts are willing to enforce some of these "lifestyle clauses." Here are some examples.

Continue reading "Are Prenuptial Agreements going overboard?" »

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Posted In: Family Law News , Marriage , Prenuptial Agreements

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Child support ordered upheld for man not biological father

According to the article, a New Jersey man and woman married in 1991, separated briefly in 1994, and reconciled in late 1996. In 1997, their second daughter was born. Two years later the couple divorced and the father was ordered to pay child support.

When the child was seven, the father had DNA testing done on the child because the mother "started making statements" he was not the father. The DNA results showed there was 0% chance he was the biological father. When the results were brought to the attention of the court, the court ruled that it was not in the best interest of the child for the paternity issue to be pursued as the man was the only father the child ever knew. The parents were prohibited from discussing the paternity issue with their daughter and the man was ordered to continue paying child support. The judge's ruling was recently upheld by the appellate court.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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Hefty fine affirmed against employer for untimely child support payments

In Illinois, you can be fined $100 per days for each child support payment not made timely. And this penalty can be assessed against an employer who fails to withhold and timely pay child support out of an employee's paycheck. According to a recent article, that is exactly what happened to an Illinois employer who failed to withhold and timely pay the child support payments a father owed. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld a child support penalty of $1.2 million dollars against the employer--who just happened to be the father of the man owing the support. The amazing part of the story is that the amount of child support owed was only $12,382.00. Talk about a penalty! I imagine other Illinois employer's will be careful about timely withholding and paying child support payments.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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It's all in the middle name

Here is a crazy story out of Tennessee in which the state is pursuing a man for $50,000.00 back child support. The problem is the state has the wrong man. According to the article, Dennis K. Brannon is being sent letters demanding payment of back child support; however, the real dad is Dennis Joe Brannon. You would think a call to the child support office would rectify the matter, but the wrongly accused Brannon said the state requested him to take a DNA test to prove he is not the father. And we wonder why some folks grow tired of the whole process.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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Can we learn from Britney?

Up until now, I've stayed away from commenting about Britney Spears and all her sensational behavior following her divorce. However, a recent article shows us that lessons can be learned from her. Check out the article. Hopefully, for the sake of her children and for her own well being, she will seek out professional help and turn her life around.

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Posted In: Family Law News

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Mom's will wins over 19 year-old son

An Iowan mother laid down the ground rules when she bought her son a car. Well, two rules. No alcohol in the car and keep the car locked. I guess in an attempt to test Mom's will, the son took only 3 weeks to violate rule #1. Mom, being a Mom, went snooping in the car and found liquor under the seat. So Mom put the following ad in the local newspaper. It is priceless.

"OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet."

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Posted In: Family Law News

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Here is a story found by renowned Mississippi Clarion Ledger editorial cartoonist, Marshall Ramsey. The story tells of a couple who married in England only to find out that they were twins separated at birth and were required to annul their marriage. Neither were ever told they had a twin, were adopted by separate parents, then met and fell in love as adults.

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Mississippi Lt. Governor Phil Bryant and some lawmakers are looking to propose legislation to discourage divorce. According to the Clarion-Ledger, Bryant and other lawmakers debated the issue at a recent meeting prior to the legislative session. While some lawmakers saw the benefit of such legislation, others felt that the government should not be involved in discouraging divorce. Stay tuned for more news as the legislative session begins Tuesday.

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Posted In: Divorce , Family Law News

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