Bolton v. Bolton, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 283

Tyler Bolton’s father sought modification of custody; mother previously had primary custody after 2003 divorce.
Court granted temporary extended visitation to father during custody proceedings; custody merits remained for later ruling.
Chancellor found material change in circumstances adverse to Tyler’s best interest and awarded custody to father.
Mother argued extended visitation during pending modification and lack of material change; trial court’s credit for finances disputed.
Chancellor credited or deducted various sums in child-support arrearage and found portions of payments were made during cohabitation.
This appeal followed, challenging visitation extension, material-change finding, best-interest ruling, and child-support credit.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether extended visitation pending custody modification was improper	Bolton	Bolton	Discretionary, not a permanent custody modification; affirmed
Whether there was a material change in circumstances adverse to Tyler	Bolton	Bolton	There was substantial evidence of adverse change; affirmed
Whether best interests favored father’s custody	Bolton	Bolton	Yes, after considering Albright factors; affirmed
Whether offset against arrearage was proper	Bolton	Bolton	Credit against arrearage affirmed under Smith

Haddon v. Haddon, 806 So.2d 1017 (Miss. 2000) (discretion in visitation; change-in-circumstances rule not applied to visitation)
Johnson v. Johnson, 913 So.2d 368 (Miss. Ct. App. 2005) (custody modification issues require material change in circumstances)
Ellis v. Ellis, 952 So.2d 982 (Miss. Ct. App. 2006) (appoints standard for reviewing custody awards; deference to chancellor)
Copeland v. Copeland, 904 So.2d 1066 (Miss. 2004) (Albright framework; best-interest factors)
Albright v. Albright, 437 So.2d 1003 (Miss. 1983) (enumerated Albright factors for custody decisions)
Smith v. Smith, 20 So.3d 670 (Miss. 2009) (credit/debit considerations in child-support adjustments)