Mississippi Divorce
Mississippi is a mixed state regarding the grounds for divorce. You can file for divorce in Mississippi using no-fault or fault grounds. The no-fault ground for divorce is irreconcilable differences. Fault grounds for Mississippi divorce include:
- Impotence
- Committing adultery
- Incarceration
- Abuse of alcohol or drugs
- Insanity for up to three years
- Wife being pregnant by another without spouse knowing it
- Willful desertion for at least one year
- Cruel and inhuman treatment
- One spouse lacking mental capacity to consent to divorce
- Incest
Mississippi requires that a person be a resident of the state for six months before they file a petition for divorce.
Custody of children in Mississippi divorces is determined by the best interest of the child standard. The court assumes that it is in the best interest of the child to maintain contact with both parents. Custody is usually given to the primary caregiver in cases involving young children; however, it is no longer true that the wife always gets custody of the children when they are older.
Mississippi like every state in the union requires that both parents provide financial support to the child. The court attempts to maintain the standard of living the child enjoyed during the marriage. This is based on the notion that the child is the innocent party during a divorce and should not suffer because the parents can no longer maintain their relationship. The amount is determined by a formula that calculates the earning potential of each spouse.
Mississippi is a title property state in determining the division of the marital estate. Each spouse is awarded all property that is in his or her name at the time of the divorce. Over recent years, this method has proven to be rather unfair, so certain judges have ruled in favor of a more equitable distribution method. On a case-by-case basis, the court may look at certain factors and divide the property in a fashion other than basing the award simply on which spouse has title.
