Divorce
If both parties are in agreement to the divorce, they can file a complaint for a no-fault divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. Typically, both parties enter into property settlement agreement dividing the marital estate. If children are involved, the provisions regarding the custody, support, and maintenance of the children are included in this agreement. The complaint must be on file for sixty days before the divorce will be granted.
If one of the parties is not in agreement to the divorce, then his or her spouse will have to pursue a divorce on fault-based grounds. There are twelve fault-based grounds for divorce in Mississippi:
Natural impotency
Adultery
Being sentenced to any penitentiary, and not pardoned before being sent there
Willful, continued and obstinate desertion for the space of one (1) year
Habitual drunkenness
Habitual and excessive use of opium, morphine or other like drug.
Habitual cruel and inhuman treatment, including spousal domestic abuse.
Having mental illness or an intellectual disability at the time of marriage, if the party complaining did not know of that infirmity.
Marriage to some other person at the time of the pretended marriage between the parties.
Pregnancy of the wife by another person at the time of the marriage, if the husband did not know of the pregnancy.
Either party may have a divorce if they are related to each other within the degrees of kindred between whom marriage is prohibited by law.
Incurable mental illness.
When a fault-based divorce is sought, the offending party is typically served with a complaint for divorce along with a motion for temporary relief. Due to the fact that litigation can take a very long time, this motion is asking the court to temporary decide matters regarding marital property and debt, child custody and support, and temporary alimony. The hearing on the motion is typically the first court hearing in a divorce.
After matters have temporary been decided by either the court, the parties must then conclude a stage of litigation known as discovery. At this stage the parties are essentially exchanging all the evidence they intend to introduce at trial on the divorce. Once discovery is complete, the parties are ready to proceed to trial where the Court will hear the evidence and determine whether a divorce should be granted, and if so, the court will decide the disposition of the marital property and debt, child custody and support, and alimony.
