Mississippi SENATE BILL NO. 2644 proposed common sense changes to divorce laws. The legislation met a common fate of most proposed changes to bring MS in line with 48 other states. IT DIED.
Description: Divorce; authorize where marriage is irretrievably broken. Disposition: Dead
The proposal would have allowed for a basis for divorce if parties had been actually separated for over 1-year and would have allowed the Chancellor to grant a divorce if he/she was convinced that the marriage was irretrievably broken.
That is all that was proposed. It failed. Again.
Matthew Thompson is a divorce/family law attorney and still supports common sense changes to family law in Mississippi, as he has for 18-years.
Mississippi considers legislation to make common sense changes to Family Law.
Pending before the Senate is an Act to amend MCA SECTION 93-5-1, to delete the requirement of “WILLFUL AND OBSTINATE” from the ground of desertion and to provide an additional ground when the “COURT FINDS THERE HAS BEEN AN IRRETRIEVABLE BREAKDOWN OF THE MARRIAGE AND THAT FURTHER ATTEMPTS AT RECONCILIATION ARE IMPRACTICAL OR FUTILE AND NOT IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE PARTIES OR FAMILY…”
This proposal is significant because it would allow for a divorce if the parties have been separated for over a year, regardless of the reason and additionally would allow the Court to divorce a couple if the Court was convinced the marriage was over and beyond repair, regardless if other fault grounds existed. These are just common sense changes.
These changes would bring Mississippi closer in line with 48 other states with regards to divorce. While still not a true no-fault provision, this allows for the possibility of relief in most cases when it was previously not. What do you mean by that, you ask? Financial/divorce blackmail is legal in Mississippi under its current law.
This is especially true in Mississippi, but only with regard to the right to marry.
Mississippi is 1 of only 2 states in the US that does not recognize a married person’s absolute right to a divorce. South Dakota is the other state. This means that in Mississippi your spouse has to agree to the divorce and ALL of the terms of the divorce (irreconcilable differences) OR you have to have Fault Grounds against your spouse that you can prove to the satisfaction of a Judge.
If there is no agreement by the spouses OR you do not have OR cannot prove fault grounds you will just stay unhappily married.
So, what happens if your spouse will not agree and you cannot prove grounds? You stay married or you move away. Those are your options.
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in Mississippi and can help you get out of being unhappily ever after.
(601) 850-8000 - - BowTieLawyer.MS 