With many years of experience as a top litigator, Mississippi divorce Attorney David Waldrop provides clients with the expertise they need in the often complicated and emotional aspects of divorce, child custody, child support, paternity, pre-nuptual agreements, and other domestic relations cases.

Attorney David Waldrop serves a diverse array of clients who depend on his experience, sound reputation in the community, and steady hand to protect their rights and guide them through complex and often heart-wrenching legal issues. He represents both men and women on either side of the issues of divorce, spousal maintenance (alimony), child custody and other family law issues in Mississippi, in the areas of:

• Divorce
• Property and Debt Division
• Spousal Support (Alimony)
• Custody
• Child Visitation
• Child Support
• Jurisdictional Issues
• Paternity
• Prenuptial Agreements

What to Expect at Your First Consultation:
Your first half-hour consultation with Attorney David Waldrop is free. After-hours and weekend appointments are also available. At the initial consultation you will sit down face to face with Attorney David Waldrop and discuss the issues most important to you concerning a potential divorce, an ongoing divorce case, a child custody issue, financial disputes in your divorce case or other family law matters. David Waldrop will provide you with choices, possible alternatives and solutions to your problem along with your chances of success given any particular course of action you make take. He is committed to handling each and every case as efficiently and as economically as possible.

If you or a loved one is involved in a divorce or child custody case and you need the help of an experienced Mississippi family lawyer, call David Waldrop today at 901-759-3489, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

Divorce:
A court of law is the only way one can obtain a divorce decree, dissolution, legal separation, nullity or other form of terminating a marriage.  Other than the termination of the marital estate, the court also has jurisdiction to resolve other issues that are intertwined in the existing marriage which include, but are not limited to: custody and visitation rights, division of property of the marital estate, spousal support, child support, restraining orders, etc. 

Property and Debt Division:
Marital property attained during marriage, regardless of whose name it is under, can be divided.  Marital property can include real estate (including a home bought in contemplation of marriage), pension plans, vehicles, bank accounts, income tax refunds and/or household furnishings.  However, property that is inherited by one spouse is not considered marital property, i.e. a family business or estate.  If you are contractually bound with your ex-spouse on a debt, the creditor can require the entire payment of that debt from your share of the community property even though the divorce decree assigns the debt to your ex-spouse.  Depending on the terms of your divorce decree, you may be able to have certain support obligations under the divorce decree determined to be non-dischargeable by the bankruptcy court or in state court. 

Prenuptial Agreements:
A prenuptial, or premarital agreement (often referred to as a "pre-nup") is a written contract created by two individuals who plan to be married.  This agreement lists all individually owned property, such as homes and businesses, family assets, stocks and bonds, savings accounts as well as debts, and specifies what will and will not remain individually owned property after the legalization of marriage.  Prenuptial agreements also specify whether spousal support will be paid in the event of a divorce, and the intentions regarding distribution of individually owned property upon death. 

A factor that cannot be stipulated in a prenuptial agreement is child support.  A couple cannot lawfully agree in a prenuptial agreement that either part will in no way be responsible for child support.  Also, a few states do not allow prenuptial agreements to modify or eliminate the right of a spouse to receive court-ordered alimony at divorce, although a prenuptial agreement can facilitate in the degree of compensation. 

Child Custody:
Custody is the charge and control of a child, including the right to make all major decisions such as education, religious upbringing, training, health and welfare.  Custody usually refers to a combination of physical custody and legal custody.  Many factors influence an award of custody and the way a case is presented in court can have a large impact on the result for you and your children.  If you are awarded the children as a primary custodial parent, it has far reaching consequences both to you and to their well-being and development. 

Child Support:
Child support is a periodic payment made to a custodial parent from a non-custodial parent to help compensate a child's living expenses, i.e. food, clothes, etc., and any other related debts.  When one parent is awarded sole custody, as in the event of a divorce, the non-custodial parent is required to fulfill his or her child support obligation by making set payments, whereas the custodial parent meets his or her support obligation through the custody itself.  When parents are awarded joint custody in a divorce, however, the support obligation is shared and is based on a ratio of each parent's income and the amount of time the child spends with each parent. 

The obligation to support minor children cannot be waived by either parent and is a right enjoyed by the child, not the parent.  Each state has guidelines that factor the amount of child support, such as the amount of time spent with the child, the income of both parents and the standard of living the child is accustomed to.  The court may allow deductions for items such as catastrophic medical expenses and travel expenses for visitation. 

Jurisdictional Issues:
When faced with a relocating custodial parent, the court will generally require that parent to give the other parent a minimum amount of notice prior to the anticipated move.  This notice gives the non-custodial parent an opportunity to go to court and seek orders restraining the relocation of the child. 

These so-called move away cases have gone back and forth on allowing and disallowing a move by the custodial parent with the minor children for over 20 years.  While the best interests of the child have always been central to the decision, the uncertainty has made this area murky.  Prior to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, when parents sought an advantage in a custody tug-of-war, they would move to a "friendly" jurisdiction (that is, a region with a history of rulings favorable to their position). However, after the UCCJA was adopted by all 50 states, family law courts were forced to defer jurisdiction to the home state, and this custody battle tactic lost favor.

Spousal Support (Alimony):
Alimony is temporary or permanent financial support paid from one separated spouse to the other, either in one lump sum or in installments.  Alimony is designed to provide the lower-income spouse with money for living expenses over and above the money provided by child support.  Alimony differs from child support because it is at the discretion of the judge.  Child support is usually determined by state-sanctioned guidelines. 

There are several factors a judge considers when deciding whether to grant alimony. These differ from state to state, of course, but they usually involve things like the parties' relative ability to earn money, both now and in the future; their respective age and health; the length of the marriage; the kind of property involved, and the conduct of the parties. In general, about the only time a judge will award alimony in most states is where one spouse has been economically dependent on the other spouse for most of a lengthy marriage.

If you or a loved one is involved in a divorce or child custody case and you need the help of an experienced Mississippi family lawyer, call David Waldrop today at 901-759-3489, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

Professional Profile

David Waldrop is a leading Mississippi Divorce Attorney, an experienced litigator, active in his community, and is dedicated to providing exceptional legal representation to his clients. Prior to law school, David served as a firefighter for the City of Germantown from 1979 until 1984. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Memphis Oral School of the Deaf and as an Elder at Germantown Presbyterian Church. He has also served on the Town of Collierville Planning Commission as Chairman and Vice Chairman from 1999 to 2002, and on the Comprehensive Planning Committee to help develop Collierville's land use plan.

Committed to remaining on the forefront of the areas in which he practices, Attorney Waldrop also teaches a free family law seminar on divorce, child custody, child support and alimony.

If you or a loved one is involved in a divorce or child custody case and you need the help of an experienced Mississippi family lawyer, call David Waldrop today at 901-759-3489, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

FIRM ADDRESS:
David Waldrop
9032 Stone Walk Place
Germantown, TN 38138
Phone: 901-759-3489
Hours: M-F, 8:00AM-5:00PM
Free initial consultation.
Evening and weekend appointments available upon request.

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:
David Waldrop, Attorney

EDUCATION:

• Juris Doctorate Degree from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis, 1987
• Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from the University of Memphis, 1984

COURTS ADMITTED:

• States of Tennessee
• State of Mississippi
• United States District Courts for the Middle and Western Districts of Tennessee
• United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits

PRACTICE AREAS:

• Divorce
• Property and Debt Division
• Spousal Support (Alimony)
• Custody
• Child Visitation
• Child Support
• Jurisdictional Issues
• Paternity
• Prenuptial Agreements