Hamilton v. Houston

MAXWELL, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. The ultimate goal in child-custody cases is the best interest of the child. While Mississippi law presumes a child’s best interests are served by living with his natural parents, when a natural parent abandons or deserts the child, the natural-parent presumption goes away. At that point, the chancellor must determine whether it is in the child’s best interest to award custody to the parent or a third party.

¶ 2. Here, the chancellor found that both Jerrica Hamilton and Edward Houston had deserted their son, Jaquavion. With the natural-parent presumption gone, the…