Source: http://dev.womenslaw.org/laws/ms/custody
Timestamp: 2019-11-21 04:24:50
Document Index: 164082822

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 93', '§ 93', '§ 93', '§ 93', '§ 93', '§ 93', '§ 93']

Mississippi Custody | WomensLaw.org
Mississippi Custody
Below you will find basic information about divorce laws in Mississippi.
What is physical custody? What is legal custody?
Where can I find more information on custody in Mississippi?
Physical custody refers to the periods of time when one parent is responsible for care of the child.* Legal custody means decision-making rights and responsibilities related to the child’s health, education, and welfare.**
Joint physical custody means that each parent has regular and continuing contact with the child and a significant period of time when the child is in his/her care.*** Joint legal custody means that both parents share decision-making rights and responsibilities regarding the health, education, and welfare of the child. A joint legal custody order also requires that you and the other parent consult before making decisions regarding the health, education, and welfare of the child.****
* Miss. Code § 93-5-24(5)(b)
** Miss. Code § 93-5-24(5)(d)
*** Miss. Code § 93-5-24(5)(c)
**** Miss. Code § 93-5-24(5)(e)
Judges make decisions about child custody based on whatever they think is in the best interests of the child. The judge will look at many factors to decide what is in the best interest of your child. Some of those factors include:
which parent had continuing care of the child before the parents separated;
which parent has the willingness and capacity to care for the child;
both parents’ work responsibilities;
emotional ties of the parent and child;
the child’s wishes if the child is old enough to express a preference;
stability of the home environment and of each parent’s employment; and
any other relevant factors.*
* Albright v. Albright, 437 So. 2d 1003 (Miss. 1983)
Possibly, yes. If the judge finds that a parent has a history of committing family violence, the judge should assume that it is not in the child’s best interest for the abusive parent to have sole or joint legal and physical custody (but the abusive parent can try to present evidence to change the judge’s mind). The judge may find a history of committing family violence if one incident of family violence has caused you serious bodily injury or there has been a pattern of family violence against either you your family household member or the abusive parent’s family household member.*
The judge also has to make a written statement explaining how the family violence affected his/her custody decision.* In deciding whether to grant custody to a parent who committed violence, the judge will consider whether or not the parent who committed family violence:
has shown that giving him/her sole or joint physical or legal custody of the child is in the best interest of the child because of the other parent's absence, mental illness, substance abuse or another situation that affects the best interest of the child;
has successfully finished a batterer's treatment program, an alcohol or drug abuse counseling program, or a parenting class if the judge decides any of these programs are appropriate;
is on probation or parole or has a restraining order issued against him/her, and whether or not s/he has complied with its terms and conditions; and
has committed any other acts of domestic violence.**
* Miss. Code § 93-5-24(9)(a)(i)
** Miss. Code § 93-5-24(9)(a)(iii)
Yes. Even the child’s non-custodial parent (which is the parent that the child may not live with any or a majority of the time) can still have access to records and information about the child.*
* Miss. Code § 93-5-24(8)
In the majority of cases, supervised visits are only a temporary measure. Although the exact visitation order will vary by state, county, or judge, the judge might order a professional to watch the other parent on a certain amount of visits or order a relative to supervise the visits for a certain amount of time -- and if there are no obvious problems, the visits may likely become unsupervised. Oftentimes, at the end of a case, the other parent ends up with more frequent and/ or longer visits than s/he had before you went into court or even some form of custody.
You can find more information about custody through the following links. Please note, WomensLaw.org has no relationship with this organization and does not endorse their services. We provide these links for your information only.
information on termination of parental rights;