Mothers and fathers going through a divorce in Mississippi are equally entitled to custody. In 1983, the Mississippi Supreme Court case Albright v. Albright overturned the maternal preference. Thus, joint custody is typically the starting point when a court hears child custody matters.
However, courts make custody decisions based on a child’s best interest. Here is what you need to know:
Factors for determining what’s in a child’s best interest
The court will consider several factors (the Albright factors) to establish what’s in a child’s best interest. Examples include:
- The child’s age, sex and health
- Which parent had continuing care of the child before separation
- Which parent has the best parenting skills
- Which parent is willing and has the capacity to provide primary child care
- The employment responsibilities of both parents
- The physical and mental health and age of the parents
- The parents’ moral fitness
Note that the parent who has the upper hand on most of these factors may not be automatically guaranteed custody. In some instances, one or two factors may be crucial enough to sway a decision.
Rebuttable presumptions
In certain circumstances, those seeking equity will need to disprove something to get that equality. For example, if a parent has a history of violence, the court may take that as a reason why they should not get equal parental rights. It will be up to that parent to prove why that should not be counted against them, such as by demonstrating that they have gone to therapy to break their tendency to resort to violence.
If you are going through a divorce with a child, it’s important to be informed about the factors that can impact your child custody case.