Guidance Through A Difficult Time

The decision to file for divorce can come at an emotionally charged time when you must make crucial legal decisions. Everything important in your life is at stake. This includes your home, property, retirement accounts and the raising of your children. Often, this process brings up complex legal questions and difficult personal questions, leading to a contested divorce case.

Residents of Tupelo and the surrounding areas come to Robbie Byers, PLLC, unsure of the process or what type of divorce they need. Lawyer Robbie Byers spends time getting to know the clients she represents. She helps them understand the legal process while she gathers the information she needs to protect their personal and financial interests and to move forward with their case.

When Do You Need A Contested Divorce?

Anytime a divorcing couple has an issue that they cannot agree on, they will have to file a contested divorce. Mississippi law allows for a no-fault divorce when the couple agrees on all matters. This can be an efficient process for those couples, but in many situations, one person will need to sue for divorce, naming the grounds for the divorce. Grounds might include, among others, abandonment, habitual substance abuse, adultery, cruelty or incarceration.

In a contested divorce, the court may need to decide on issues regarding:

• Child support: Both parents are expected to financially support a child. The noncustodial parent does this by paying child support based on a formula set by the state.
• Child custody and visitation: The judge will create a custody and visitation order they feel is in the best interests of the child.
• Property division: Every divorce must address property division, regardless of how many assets you have.
• Alimony: The court often decides alimony after it divides the marital property and determines if one spouse needs the extra support, either temporarily or permanently.

You and your ex-spouse may continue to negotiate throughout your case. If you come to an agreement on one aspect, you can present that to the court for consideration.

Property Division In A Mississippi Divorce

Mississippi is an “equitable distribution” state, which means that the court will consider most of the property you acquired during your marriage as marital property and will distribute it between the two of you. This does not mean a 50/50 division but rather a fair split based on a number of factors. The court will consider some property as separate if it was owned outright by one of you before marriage or was a gift or inheritance during the marriage. Even then, if you comingled that separate property with the marital property, the court could consider it marital property.

Some assets can be particularly complicated to divide, such as retirement assets, investments and business ownerships. You can rely on attorney Byers to guide you through the complex issues involved in property division as it applies to your case.

Here To Help

We offer free 15-minute consultations so that you can find out how Ms. Byers can help you with your divorce. To schedule your appointment, please call 662-205-6112 or reach out online. Our office is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Robbie Byers, PLLC offers payment plans, when necessary, and accepts Visa, MasterCard and Discover.