Divorce

Grounds are legally acceptable reasons for divorce. The judge may grant you a “no-fault” divorce based on irreconcilable differences if:

• both you and your spouse agree to get a divorce under this ground; or
• you file a divorce petition, and your spouse does not respond to the petition or does not appear in court (defaults).¹

A judge may grant you a fault-based divorce if you can prove that your spouse:

• is naturally impotent;
• cheated on you (adultery);
• deserted you for at least one year;
• is habitually drunk;
• excessively and habitually uses opium, morphine, or other similar drugs;
• habitually treats you in a cruel and inhuman way, including domestic abuse;
• had a mental illness or intellectual disability you did not know about at the time of your marriage;
• was already married to someone else when you “married” each other;
• was pregnant by someone else when you got married and you did not know about the pregnancy;
• is related to you;
• is incurably mentally ill; ² or
• has been sentenced to any Mississippi state jail or prison (penitentiary) without pardon.³

¹ Miss. Code § 93-5-2
² Miss. Code § 93-5-1
³ Daughdrill v. Daughdrill, 180 Miss. 589 (1938)