Child Support

Do not “sit” on your right to enforce or collect on a divorce judgment. Let me repeat that: DO NOT wait too long to enforce a divorce judgment or any incorporated alimony, property settlement, or child support judgment. I give this counsel to all prospective clients that contact me asking whether they should bring their ex-spouse back to court to enforce alimony, property settlement, and/or child support agreements/provisions associated with a divorce judgment (collectively “divorce judgment”). If a person does not timely seek to enforce a divorce judgment, the law can and will bar enforcement of that judgment by way of the statute of limitations.In assessing any case, one of the very first things an attorney does is determines whether the statute of limitations has ran on a client’s claim. The statute of limitations sets a particular time period for claims and causes of action to be filed so as to ensure that such claims are “ripe” for judicial determination. If a person files a claim or seeks to enforce a judgment outside the statute of limitations–after the legally prescribed time to bring the claim has ran or expired–then the person’s otherwise viable claim will be barred by the statute of limitations because it is considered untimely, or “stale.” Despite very few narrow exceptions where the doctrine of laches or equitable estoppel applies, if the statute of limitations has expired on a given claim or right to enforce, then recovery or relief cannot be had on such a claim. See e.g., Nicholas v. Nicholas, 841 So. 2d 1208, 1212-13 (Miss. Ct. App. 2003). This concept equally applies to divorce judgments, including alimony, property settlement, and child support provisions/judgments included in, or attached to, a final judgment of divorce.
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In this post I have decided to write about a non-custodial parent’s obligation to support his or her child in the State of Mississippi. Mississippi courts take the obligation of a parent to support a child very seriously. In Mississippi, child support is routinely awarded during a divorce, paternity, separate maintenance or custody action and the Mississippi child support guidelines provide that a “noncustodial” parent should pay the following percentage of his or her Adjusted Gross Income (“AGI”) (gross income minus mandatory deductions) in support of children:

[1] 14% for one child;
[2] 20% for two children;
[3] 22% for three children;
[4] 24% for four children; and,
[5] 26% for five or more children.

The statute also provides that the guidelines are presumptively correct for individuals with an adjusted gross yearly income between $5,000 and $50,000. While the court may award an upward or downward adjustment from the guidelines based on expenses of the parents, the needs of the children, or other particular facts of the case, there are also situations where the guidelines may not apply at all. For example, the guidelines may not apply in a situation where joint physical custody is awarded, as the guidelines contemplate a situation where there is one custodial parent who spends the majority of time with the child.
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Articles Posted in Child Support

You Snooze You Lose: Do Not Wait to Enforce or Collect on Divorce Judgments

Child Support Guidelines in Mississippi