Legal Question in Family Law in Mississippi

Re: Contempt of Court Because of School Grades??

In Mississippi, if the father can show that he has made a good faith effort to comply with the court's order, the court should not find him in contempt of court. Evidence of good faith would be counseling with the boy's teachers and coaches, verbal encouragements, appropriate discipline, possibly formal family counseling, and medical examination to ensure your son does not have problems with his hearing, eyesight, attention or other physical problem.

Also, speaking as one parent to another, the change in your son's grades could be a signal that his attention is being diverted from school and wholesome extracurriculars to drugs, alcohol, or whatever and you need to get to the root cause as soon as possible.

Re: Contempt of Court Because of School Grades??

In Tennessee, probably no. Your husband has encourage his son to make B's, and from what you tell me, I see nothing to indicate that he would be in contempt. In situations like this, the court usually will not find a parent in contempt because his son's grades were not perfect if everyone tried their best. Usually, phrases like ''must encourage son to make B's in school'' in Marital Dissolution Agreements and Parenting Plans are there as guidelines for the parents that take no interest in their children's academic career and are rarely litigated unless the case is extreme. Unless your husband's ex-wife actually files a petition for contempt, I would ignore her statements and let your husband raise his son as he sees fit.