Easley v. Easley, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 326

Matthew and Beverly Easley obtained an irreconcilable differences divorce in Calhoun County Chancery Court, with two sons, Jacob and Jonathan.
The chancellor found joint custody would be in the children's best interest but concluded the statute prevented awarding joint custody absent both parties’ consent.
Ultimately, the chancellor awarded custody to Matthew with generous visitation for Beverly.
The parties appealed; the Mississippi Supreme Court had addressed whether both parties must explicitly request joint custody under the statute.
The court conducted a de novo review of the law and held the trial court erred, reversing and remanding for proper application of the standard.
On remand, if joint custody remains in the children’s best interest, the chancery court should award it.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the statute requires both parties to request joint custody	Easley: statute requires both parties’ explicit request	Easley: joint custody may be awarded if in best interest and consent is implicit	Joint custody can be awarded; law requires proper analysis, not a strict exclusion by wording

Crider v. Crider, 904 So.2d 142 (Miss. 2005) (allows court to determine custody if both parties consent to evaluation)
Albright v. Albright, 437 So.2d 1003 (Miss. 1983) (establishes Albright factors guiding custody decisions)
Jackson v. Jackson, 82 So.3d 644 (Miss. Ct. App. 2011) (joint custody not precluded by slight parental advantage in Albright factors)
Phillips v. Phillips, 45 So.3d 684 (Miss. Ct. App. 2010) (Albright factors are a guide, not a mathematical formula)
Lawrence v. Lawrence, 956 So.2d 251 (Miss. Ct. App. 2006) (reiterates non-formulaic use of Albright factors in custody determinations)