MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2026 Regular Session

To: Judiciary, Division A

By: Senator(s) Hickman

Senate Bill 2027

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 93-5-24, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CREATE A REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION IN FAVOR OF JOINT CUSTODY WITH EQUAL PARENTING TIME IN ALL CUSTODY MATTERS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PRESUMPTION SHALL BE REBUTTABLE BY A PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE; TO PROVIDE THAT A COURT SHALL CONSIDER THE SAFETY AND WELL-BEING OF THE PARTIES AND CHILDREN; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PRESUMPTION THAT JOINT CUSTODY AND EQUALLY SHARED PARENTING TIME IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILD SHALL NOT APPLY IF A DOMESTIC ABUSE PROTECTION ORDER IS BEING OR HAS BEEN ENTERED AGAINST A PARTY BY ANOTHER PARTY OR ON BEHALF OF A CHILD AT ISSUE IN THE CUSTODY HEARING; TO REQUIRE A COURT TO DOCUMENT THE REASONS FROM DEVIATING FROM THE PRESUMPTION UNLESS BOTH PARENTS PETITION FOR A DEVIATION; TO CLARIFY THAT THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY TO ALL CUSTODY DETERMINATIONS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE CALCULATION OF CHILD SUPPORT WHERE THE COURT AWARDS JOINT CUSTODY WITH EQUALLY SHARED PARENTING TIME; TO AMEND SECTION 43-19-101, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 93-5-24, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

93-5-24. (1) Custody shall be awarded as follows according to the best interests of the child:

(a) Physical and legal custody to both parents jointly pursuant to subsections (2) through (7).

(b) Physical custody to both parents jointly pursuant to subsections (2) through (7) and legal custody to either parent.

(d) Physical and legal custody to either parent pursuant to subsections (2) through (7) of this section.

(e) Upon a finding by the court that both of the parents of the child have abandoned or deserted such child or that both such parents are mentally, morally or otherwise unfit to rear and train the child the court may award physical and legal custody to:

(i) The person in whose home the child has been living in a wholesome and stable environment; or

(ii) Physical and legal custody to any other person deemed by the court to be suitable and able to provide adequate and proper care and guidance for the child.

In making an order for custody to either parent or to both parents jointly, the court, in its discretion, may require the parents to submit to the court a plan for the implementation of the custody order.

(2) * * * (a) (i) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that joint custody and equally shared parenting time is in the best interest of the child. If the court grants joint custody and equally shared parenting time, the court shall construct a parenting time schedule which maximizes the time each parent has with the child and ensures the best interest of the child is met.

(ii) The presumption created in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be rebuttable by a preponderance of the evidence. A court that does not award joint custody with equally shared parenting time shall document the reasons for deviating from the presumption.

(iii) When determining or modifying a custody order, the court shall consider the safety and well-being of the parties and of the children. If a domestic abuse protection order is being or has been entered against a party by another party or on behalf of a child at issue in the custody hearing, the presumption that joint custody and equally shared parenting time is in the best interest of the child shall not apply as to the party against whom the domestic abuse protection order is being or has been entered.

(b) Upon petition of both parents, the court may grant legal and/or physical custody to one (1) parent without documenting a reason for deviation.

* * *

( * * *53) (a) For the purposes of this section, "joint custody" means joint physical and legal custody.

(b) For the purposes of this section, "physical custody" means those periods of time in which a child resides with or is under the care and supervision of one (1) of the parents.

(c) For the purposes of this section, "joint physical custody" means that each of the parents shall have significant periods of physical custody. Joint physical custody shall be shared by the parents in such a way so as to assure a child * * * of frequent and continuing contact with both parents.

(d) For the purposes of this section, "legal custody" means the decision-making rights, the responsibilities and the authority relating to the health, education and welfare of a child.

(e) For the purposes of this section, "joint legal custody" means that the parents or parties share the decision-making rights, the responsibilities and the authority relating to the health, education and welfare of a child. An award of joint legal custody obligates the parties to exchange information concerning the health, education and welfare of the minor child, and to confer with one another in the exercise of decision-making rights, responsibilities and authority.

An award of joint physical and legal custody obligates the parties to exchange information concerning the health, education and welfare of the minor child, and unless allocated, apportioned or decreed, the parents or parties shall confer with one another in the exercise of decision-making rights, responsibilities and authority.

( * * *64) Any order for joint custody may be modified or terminated upon the petition of both parents, upon a petition under Section 2(6), or upon the petition of one (1) parent showing that a material change in circumstances has occurred.

( * * *75) There shall be no presumption that it is in the best interest of a child that a mother be awarded either legal or physical custody.

( * * *86) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, access to records and information pertaining to a minor child, including, but not limited to, medical, dental and school records, shall not be denied to a parent because the parent is not the child's custodial parent.

( * * *97) (a) (i) In every proceeding where the custody of a child is in dispute, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that it is detrimental to the child and not in the best interest of the child to be placed in sole custody, joint legal custody or joint physical custody of a parent who has a history of perpetrating family violence. The court may find a history of perpetrating family violence if the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, one (1) incident of family violence that has resulted in serious bodily injury to, or a pattern of family violence against, the party making the allegation or a family household member of either party. The court shall make written findings to document how and why the presumption was or was not triggered.

(ii) This presumption may only be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence.

(iii) In determining whether the presumption set forth in this subsection * * * ~~(9)~~ has been overcome, the court shall consider all of the following factors:

1. Whether the perpetrator of family violence has demonstrated that giving sole or joint physical or legal custody of a child to the perpetrator is in the best interest of the child because of the other parent's absence, mental illness, substance abuse or such other circumstances which affect the best interest of the child or children;

2. Whether the perpetrator has successfully completed a batterer's treatment program;

3. Whether the perpetrator has successfully completed a program of alcohol or drug abuse counseling if the court determines that counseling is appropriate;

4. Whether the perpetrator has successfully completed a parenting class if the court determines the class to be appropriate;

5. If the perpetrator is on probation or parole, whether he or she is restrained by a protective order granted after a hearing, and whether he or she has complied with its terms and conditions; and

6. Whether the perpetrator of domestic violence has committed any further acts of domestic violence.

(iv) The court shall make written findings to document how and why the presumption was or was not rebutted.

(b) (i) If custody is awarded to a suitable third person, it shall not be until the natural grandparents of the child have been excluded and such person shall not allow access to a violent parent except as ordered by the court.

(ii) If the court finds that both parents have a history of perpetrating family violence, but the court finds that parental custody would be in the best interest of the child, custody may be awarded solely to the parent less likely to continue to perpetrate family violence. In such a case, the court may mandate completion of a treatment program by the custodial parent.

(c) If the court finds that the allegations of domestic violence are completely unfounded, the chancery court shall order the alleging party to pay all court costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the defending party in responding to such allegations.

(d) (i) A court may award visitation by a parent who committed domestic or family violence only if the court finds that adequate provision for the safety of the child and the parent who is a victim of domestic or family violence can be made.

(ii) In a visitation order, a court may take any of the following actions:

1. Order an exchange of the child to occur in a protected setting;

2. Order visitation supervised in a manner to be determined by the court;

3. Order the perpetrator of domestic or family violence to attend and complete to the satisfaction of the court a program of intervention for perpetrators or other designated counseling as a condition of visitation;

4. Order the perpetrator of domestic or family violence to abstain from possession or consumption of alcohol or controlled substances during the visitation and for twenty-four (24) hours preceding the visitation;

5. Order the perpetrator of domestic or family violence to pay a fee to defray the cost of supervised visitation;

6. Prohibit overnight visitation;

7. Require a bond from the perpetrator of domestic or family violence for the return and safety of the child; or

8. Impose any other condition that is deemed necessary to provide for the safety of the child, the victim of family or domestic violence, or other family or household member.

(iii) Whether or not visitation is allowed, the court may order the address of the child or the victim of family or domestic violence to be kept confidential.

(e) The court may refer but shall not order an adult who is a victim of family or domestic violence to attend counseling relating to the victim's status or behavior as a victim, individually or with the perpetrator of domestic or family violence, as a condition of receiving custody of a child or as a condition of visitation.

(f) If a court allows a family or household member to supervise visitation, the court shall establish conditions to be followed during visitation.

(8) This section shall apply to all custody determinations regardless of whether or not the parents of the child or children involved have ever been married.

SECTION 2. (1) As used in this section, "day" means more than twelve (12) consecutive hours in a twenty-four (24) hour period under the care, control, or direct supervision of one (1) parent or caretaker, or as the court determines based on findings of substantially equivalent care or expense. Unless the context requires otherwise, "day" shall include housing, entertaining, feeding, transporting the child, attending to school work, athletic events, extracurricular activities, or other activities that transfer with the child as the child moves from one (1) parent to the other.

(2) (a) The parenting time for either parent shall begin at the time of exchange of the child or children from one (1) parent to the other.

(b) Unless otherwise ordered, if the exchange occurs at school or with a care provider, the receiving parent's time shall begin and the other parent's time shall end at the time the child is picked up from school or from the care provider.

(3) (a) In order to receive a shared parenting time credit, a parent shall maintain care, custody, and control over the child for a minimum of eighty-eight (88) days per year regardless of the age of the child.

(b) The shared parenting time credit shall only be applicable for parenting time that is court-ordered or parenting time that is exercised by consent of the parties.

(4) Except as provided in subsection (7) of this section or otherwise provided in this chapter, the child support obligation determined under Section 43-19-101 shall be subject to further adjustment upon motion of the parent seeking credit as follows:

(a) For parents who share parenting time under an order that is court-ordered or exercised by consent of the parties, the court shall:

(i) 1. Calculate the child support obligation set forth in Section 43-19-101 using the combined gross adjusted income of the parties.

2. Deem the parent with the higher monthly amount of adjusted gross income as the obligor;

(ii) Determine the number of days for both parents on an annual basis based upon an order that is court-ordered or approved and exercised;

(iii) Using the days a child spends with the obligated parent, determine the adjustment percentage using the shared parenting time credit chart in subsection (5) of this section;

(iv) Determine the shared parenting time credit adjustment by multiplying the obligated parent's adjustment percentage by the total support obligation found on the child support obligation worksheet to establish the shared parenting expense adjustment for the obligated parent, as determined in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph; and

(v) Subtract the amount calculated in subparagraph (iv) of this paragraph from the obligated parent's monthly obligation, found on the child support obligation worksheet, as determined in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph; and

(b) The court may use its discretion in adjusting each parent's child support obligation under this subsection after consideration of the following:

1. The obligated parent's income and ability to maintain the basic necessities of the home for the child;

2. Whether either parent has consistently exercised, or is likely to consistently exercise, the court-ordered time-sharing schedule or time-sharing agreement between the parents;

3. Whether all of the children are subject to the same time-sharing schedule;

4. Whether the time-sharing plan results in fewer overnights due to a significant geographical distance between the parties that may affect the child support obligation;

5. The military deployment or extended service obligations of the parties; and

6. The health insurance or medical care provided by either parent.

(5) The shared parenting time credit chart is as follows:

Parenting Time Days Adjustment Percentage

88-115 15%

116-129 20.5%

130-142 25%

143-152 30.5%

153-162 36%

163-172 42%

173-181 48.5%

182-182.5 50%

(6) (a) Failure by one (1) party to consistently exercise the court-ordered time-sharing schedule or time-sharing agreement between the parents shall be grounds for the other party to seek modification from the court.

(b) A party may seek modification following a fifteen percent (15%) change in the number of timesharing days and shall have the burden of proving a material change in timesharing circumstances.

(7) The court shall have discretion in awarding a shared parenting time credit if the obligee receives:

(a) Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP);

(b) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF);

(d) Medicaid.

SECTION 3. Section 43-19-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

43-19-101. (1) The following child-support award guidelines shall be a rebuttable presumption in all judicial or administrative proceedings regarding the awarding or modifying of child-support awards in this state:

Number Of Children Percentage Of Adjusted Gross Income

Due Support That Should Be Awarded For Support

1 14%

2 20%

3 22%

4 24%

5 or more 26%

(2) The guidelines provided for in subsection (1) of this section apply unless the judicial or administrative body awarding or modifying the child-support award makes a written finding or specific finding on the record that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case as determined under the criteria specified in Section 43-19-103.

(3) The amount of "adjusted gross income" as that term is used in subsection (1) of this section shall be calculated as follows:

(a) Determine gross income from all potential sources that may reasonably be expected to be available to the absent parent including, but not limited to, the following: wages and salary income; income from self-employment; income from commissions; income from investments, including dividends, interest income and income on any trust account or property; absent parent's portion of any joint income of both parents; workers' compensation, disability, unemployment, annuity and retirement benefits, including an Individual Retirement Account (IRA); any other payments made by any person, private entity, federal or state government or any unit of local government; alimony; any income earned from an interest in or from inherited property; any other form of earned income; and gross income shall exclude any monetary benefits derived from a second household, such as income of the absent parent's current spouse;

(b) Subtract the following legally mandated deductions:

(i) Federal, state and local taxes. Contributions to the payment of taxes over and beyond the actual liability for the taxable year shall not be considered a mandatory deduction;

(ii) Social security contributions;

(iii) Retirement and disability contributions except any voluntary retirement and disability contributions;

(c) If the obligated parent is subject to an existing court order for another child or children, subtract the amount of that court-ordered support;

(d) If the absent parent is also the parent of another child or other children residing with him, then the court may subtract an amount that it deems appropriate to account for the needs of said child or children;

(e) Compute the total annual amount of adjusted gross income based on paragraphs (a) through (d) of this subsection, then divide this amount by twelve (12) to obtain the monthly amount of adjusted gross income.

Upon conclusion of the calculation of paragraphs (a) through (e) of this subsection, multiply the monthly amount of adjusted gross income by the appropriate percentage designated in subsection (1) of this section to arrive at the amount of the monthly child-support award unless a court grants a parent's motion for a shared parenting time credit under Section 2 of this act.

(4) In cases in which the adjusted gross income as defined in this section is more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) or less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), the court shall make a written finding in the record as to whether or not the application of the guidelines established in this section is reasonable. The court shall take into account the basic subsistence needs of the obligated parent who has a limited ability to pay.

(5) Imputation of income shall not be based upon a standard amount in lieu of fact-gathering. In the absence of specific sufficient evidence of past earnings and employment history to use as the measure of an obligated parent's ability to pay, the recommended child-support obligation amount should be based on available information about the specific circumstances of the obligated parent. This can include, but is not limited to, such factors as assets, residence, job skills, educational attainment, literacy, age, health, criminal record and other employment barriers, and record of seeking work, as well as the local job market, the availability of employers willing to hire the obligated parent, prevailing earnings level in the local community, and other relevant factors in the case.

(6) Unless extended or waived, the Department of Human Services shall review the appropriateness of these guidelines beginning January 1, 1994, and every four (4) years thereafter and report its findings to the Legislature no later than the first day of the regular legislative session of that year. The Legislature shall thereafter amend these guidelines when it finds that amendment is necessary to ensure that equitable support is being awarded in all cases involving the support of minor children.

(7) All orders involving support of minor children, as a matter of law, shall include reasonable medical support. Notice to the obligated parent's employer that medical support has been ordered shall be on a form as prescribed by the Department of Human Services. In any case in which the support of any child is involved, the court shall make the following findings either on the record or in the judgment:

(a) The availability to all parties of health insurance coverage for the child(ren);

(b) The cost of health insurance coverage to all parties.

The court shall then make appropriate provisions in the judgment for the provision of health insurance coverage for the child(ren) in the manner that is in the best interests of the child(ren). If the court requires the custodial parent to obtain the coverage then its cost shall be taken into account in establishing the child-support award. If the court determines that health insurance coverage is not available to any party or that it is not available to either party at a cost that is reasonable as compared to the income of the parties, then the court shall make specific findings as to such either on the record or in the judgment. In that event, the court shall make appropriate provisions in the judgment for the payment of medical expenses of the child(ren) in the absence of health insurance coverage.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.