File for Divorce in Mississippi

The information and particulars pertaining to divorce in the state of Mississippi is given below:

Condition for Residency

At least one partner must be a resident of the state for a minimum of 6 months, and not for the purpose of divorce. If a member of armed services and spouse are stationed in Mississippi, then they will be considered residents. The divorce is to be filed in the county where either spouse lives.

Reasons for the Divorces

Two main reasons for divorce in Mississippi are no-fault and fault based. Mostly, the reasons included under these two heads include:

Principle of Child Custody

Joint custody can be awarded to both parents if they apply for it. Otherwise sole custody may be awarded to any parent, depending on the best interests of the child. However, if there is a history of domestic violence, that parent will not be awarded custody. In some cases, physical custody can be awarded to both parents, while legal custody remains with only one, or vice versa. If the child is of age 12 or older, then preference of the child will be considered first and foremost.

Rules for Property Distribution

Mississippi is a state that holds "titles" at utmost importance. In this scenario, anyone who holds title of the property will be the owner of that property. Though there are no particular legal provisions towards property division, Mississippi adopts an "equitable distribution" clause to handle assets with joint titles. Factors that are taken under consideration include each spouse's contribution towards purchase of property, emotional and market value of the property, values of separate properties, needs of each party, including their liabilities and tax consequences.

Rules for Spousal Support

If it is just and equitable, either partner may be ordered to pay alimony to the other. Factors that may be taken under consideration when deciding are as under:

Child Support Guidelines

The child support may be ordered to both parents if both have sustainable incomes and properties. Otherwise the child support may be ordered to any one parent as the court sees fit. Health insurance of the child may be covered in the child support and the courts may require that the parent who is paying child support also put up guarantees or bonds to ensure regular payment.

Mediation In Case Of Divorce

Meditation has no legal provision in the state of Mississippi, it is possible purely voluntarily.

Filing Pro Se Divorce

There is no need of a lawyer when applying for divorce in the state of Mississippi. A divorce case which is filed without any help of an attorney in any of the states is known as Pro Se Divorce.

Literally, Pro Se is a Latin phrase and it means "on her or his own". Process of getting the divorce without the help of lawyer may vary from one State to another. These types of divorces are perfectly legal and enforceable in Mississippi, and are actually very convenient. Usually, once settlements have been made regarding property distribution and custody matters among the spouses in case of a mutual divorce, Pro Se Divorces are filed.

Click Here to Begin