Legal Question in Family Law in Mississippi

The matter would involve an adjudication of paternity and custody. The Mississippi county where the child lives is proper venue for custody and in this case for paternity and child support. However, based on the provided information, Mississippi would not have personal jurisdiction over the father unless he is served a summons while in the State. Texas has personal jurisdiction over the father and it can adjudge child support and paternity if the child and you voluntarily submit to its jurisdiction.

The Mississippi Department of Human Services (DHS) can handle child support and the underlying the paternity determination in Mississippi and Texas. On the other hand, DHS cannot represent you regarding child custody and visitation issues. To learn about their services go to http://www.mdhs.state.ms.us/csemdhs.html.

Mississippi courts have often included custody and visitation adjudications in patermity cases. However, the Mississippi Supreme Court recently wrote in Griffith v. Pell, 881 So.2d 184 (Miss. 2004)(en banc), "We affirm the Court of Appeals' holding that paternity suits should properly decide only issues of biology and support. We further affirm the Court of Appeals' holding that a best interest determination is inappropriate for paternity suits." The Pell case therefore suggests that a chancellor should transfer child custody matters on the basis of forum non convens to a chancery court where the child resides.

It seems that the most defensive approach would be confer with a DHS child support enforcement about seeking an adjudication of paternity and child support in the county where the child resides and arranging for service of papers on the father if he can be found in Mississippi without trickery. If the father cannot be found in Mississippi, he can still be served in Texas, and he may submit to the court's jurisdiction over him by failing to raise a defense of lack of personal jurisdiction. If he raises the defenses, the custody matters can still be heard in the child's county of residence because the Court has jurisdiction over the child, and the remaining issues can later be decided in a separate proceeding in Texas where they have personal jurisdiction over the father.

For custody matters, the Court considers the Albright factors:

(1) age, health, and sex of the child.

(2) Parent who had the continuity of care prior to the separation

(3) Which parent has the best parenting skills

(4) Which has the willingness and capacity to provide primary childcare

(5) The employment of the parent and the responsibilities of that employment

(6) The physical and mental health and age of the parents

(7) The emotional ties of parent and child

(8) Moral fitness of the parents

(9) The home, school, and community record of the child

(10) The stability of the home environment

(11) Other factors relevant to the parent-child relationship

For any Texas litigation, a Texas attorney who practices where the father resides can provide prospective.