Mississippi

All states

Luck of the Draw score: 95 out of 100

Mississippi chancellors divide marital property and set alimony by weighing court-made factor lists, and adultery or other misconduct can count against a spouse in both. Fee awards are limited to spouses who cannot afford their own lawyer. On the book’s scale, 0 is a contract you can read and 100 is one that mostly says “ask the judge.” Mississippi ranks 45 of 51, counting from the state that leaves the least to the judge. How the index works, and every state’s score.

Part	Score	The rule, and where it comes from
Property	15 / 20	The chancellor divides marital property by weighing the Ferguson factors, and there is ‘no automatic right to an equal division of jointly-accumulated property’. Ferguson v. Ferguson, 639 So. 2d 921 (Miss. 1994); Hemsley v. Hemsley, 639 So. 2d 909 (Miss. 1994) (cited in Ferguson)
Alimony	20 / 20	The court sets alimony ‘in its discretion, having regard to the circumstances of the parties and the nature of the case, as may seem equitable and just’, guided by the Armstrong factors, with no formula or durational limit. Miss. Code Ann. § 93-5-23; Armstrong v. Armstrong, 618 So. 2d 1278 (Miss. 1993)
Fault	20 / 20	‘Fault or misconduct’ is a listed alimony factor, and marital misconduct is a factor in property division when it burdens the stability and harmony of the marital and family relationship. Armstrong v. Armstrong, 618 So. 2d 1278 (Miss. 1993); Carrow v. Carrow, 642 So. 2d 901 (Miss. 1994)
Lawyers’ fees	20 / 20	Fee awards are within the chancellor’s discretion, but ‘if a party is financially able to pay an attorney, an award of attorney’s fees is not appropriate’. Gray v. Gray, 745 So. 2d 234 (Miss. 1999); Sarver v. Sarver, 687 So. 2d 749 (Miss. 1997)
Second opinion	20 / 20	Divorce, alimony and property are heard by the chancellor without a jury, and no rule was found that lets a party remove the chancellor without cause. None located (not yet checked against the source)

Getting in

No waiting period. Both applicants swear out a written application to the circuit clerk of any county, with proof of age. The waiting period and blood test ended July 1, 2012. Anyone under 21 must show parental or guardian consent. No statute read sets an expiration date, and a clerk cannot issue a license between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Miss. Code Ann. §§ 93-1-5, 93-1-11, 25-7-13(1)(i), 41-57-48(5); 2012 Miss. S.B. 2851

Who can marry you. Ordained ministers in good standing, rabbis and other spiritual leaders authorized by their religious bodies, and listed judges may officiate statewide; justice court judges and county supervisors, within their counties. A pastor may marry society members by the society’s rules. The state supreme court upheld a marriage by a Universal Life Church minister whose credentials came by mail. No statute read mentions online ordination.
Miss. Code Ann. §§ 93-1-15, 93-1-17, 93-1-19; Blackwell v. Magee, 531 So. 2d 1193 (Miss. 1988)

Common-law marriage: Closed to new couples. A marriage contracted after April 5, 1956 without a license and an authorized officiant is void, so no new common-law marriage can form in Mississippi. Earlier common-law marriages stay valid. Mississippi courts recognize a common-law marriage validly formed in a state that allows one.
Miss. Code Ann. § 93-1-15; George v. George, 389 So. 2d 1389 (Miss. 1980)

Chapter 5 of the book covers getting in, and whether you are in at all.

The property system

Mississippi is one of forty-one equitable distribution jurisdictions. Equitable distribution. Each of you owns what’s in your own name during the marriage. At a divorce a judge divides the marital property as the judge finds equitable, which is not a promise of half. Chapter 11 of the book covers what that means, and Chapter 22 covers what happens to it when you move.

What counts as marital. Marital property is anything acquired or accumulated during the marriage, and all property is presumed marital. Gifts, inheritances and premarital property are separate if the owner proves it. Growth from either spouse’s active efforts is marital; passive growth stays separate. The judge picks a cutoff between separation and divorce, and may use a temporary order.
Hemsley v. Hemsley, 639 So. 2d 909 (Miss. 1994); Rhodes v. Rhodes, 52 So. 3d 430 (Miss. Ct. App. 2011); Collins v. Collins, 112 So. 3d 428 (Miss. 2013); Hensarling v. Hensarling, 824 So. 2d 583 (Miss. 2002)

An inheritance that touches a joint account

Mixing it or using it for the family makes it marital. An inheritance kept apart stays separate. Money commingled with marital funds or used for family purposes becomes marital, and tracing it does not keep it separate, as the state supreme court held for a joint account in Sanderson. Inherited money was treated the same way in Heigle. The test is how the money was used, not the name on the account. The spouse claiming separate property must prove it.
Sanderson v. Sanderson, 170 So. 3d 430 (Miss. 2014); Heigle v. Heigle, 654 So. 2d 895 (Miss. 1995); Johnson v. Johnson, 650 So. 2d 1281 (Miss. 1994); Artz v. Artz, 848 So. 2d 897 (Miss. Ct. App. 2003); Pearson v. Pearson, 761 So. 2d 157 (Miss. 2000)

Chapter 12 explains how mine becomes ours.

Your spouse’s medical bills (Article 5)

Generally, you don’t owe your spouse’s bills. Absent an express agreement or an agency relationship, one spouse is not liable to a third party for the other spouse’s debts, including medical bills.
Govan v. Medical Credit Services, Inc., 621 So. 2d 928, 930 (Miss. 1993); McLain v. West Side Bone & Joint Center, 656 So. 2d 119, 121 (Miss. 1995)

Chapter 8 of the book explains the three ways states handle this.

If one of you dies (Article 9)

A spouse who renounces the will (or is left nothing) takes the intestate share, which is a child’s share if the decedent left descendants, capped at one-half of the estate; the right is lost, fully or proportionally, to the extent the survivor’s own separate property equals the value of that share; the share is computed on the probate estate.
Miss. Code Ann. §§ 91-5-25, 91-5-27, 91-5-29, 91-1-7

Chapter 9 covers what a will can and can’t take away from a spouse.

Prenups and postnups (Article 12)

One look, under case law only (Hensley 1988; Mabus 2003; Sanderson 2014). A prenuptial agreement is enforceable like any other contract if it was fair in its execution with full disclosure (procedural conscionability); courts also review substantive unconscionability, measured by the circumstances existing when the agreement was made, and do not relieve a party of a provision that became more onerous than anticipated because of later events.
Sanderson v. Sanderson, 170 So. 3d 430 (Miss. 2014); Sanderson v. Sanderson, 245 So. 3d 421 (Miss. 2018); Mabus v. Mabus, 890 So. 2d 806 (Miss. 2003); Estate of Hensley v. Estate of Hensley, 524 So. 2d 325 (Miss. 1988)

What an agreement needs. An agreement made upon consideration of marriage must be in writing and signed (statute of frauds); there is no notarization, witness, or waiting-period requirement, full financial disclosure (or independent knowledge) is required, and independent counsel is not required though the opportunity to consult counsel weighs in the procedural analysis. No statute limits alimony waivers.
Miss. Code Ann. § 15-3-1(b); Sanderson v. Sanderson, 170 So. 3d 430 (Miss. 2014); Smith v. Smith, 656 So. 2d 1143, 1147 (Miss. 1995)

Chapter 29 explains one look and two, and what makes agreements stick.

Children (Article 8)

Child support: percentage of income. The paying parent owes a set percentage of adjusted gross income: 14% for one child, rising to 26% for five or more. With equal parenting time since July 1, 2026, each parent’s award is figured and the higher earner pays the difference. Support ends at 21, or earlier on events such as marriage. A judge may order college costs if a parent can afford them and the child shows aptitude.
Miss. Code Ann. §§ 43-19-101, 93-11-65(8); 2026 Miss. H.B. 1662 (amending § 93-5-24); Evans v. Evans, 994 So. 2d 765 (Miss. 2008)

Moving away with a child. Case law controls, and no notice period appears in the sources read, though a decree can restrict moves. A move by the parent with physical custody is not by itself a material change, and the other parent must show harm beyond the distance. A move by one joint custodian almost always is a material change, so the judge re-decides custody on the child’s best interests.
Spain v. Holland, 483 So. 2d 318 (Miss. 1986); Bell v. Bell, 572 So. 2d 841 (Miss. 1990); Lambert v. Lambert, 872 So. 2d 679 (Miss. Ct. App. 2003); Scott v. Le, No. 2022-CA-00887-COA (Miss. Ct. App. Nov. 14, 2023); 2026 Miss. H.B. 1662

Chapter 17 covers the children.

Getting out (Article 2)

How long you must live here before filing: six months. One spouse must have been an actual, good-faith resident of Mississippi for 6 months just before filing. If the proof shows the residence was acquired to get a divorce, the court must dismiss. A service member stationed and living in the state with a spouse at separation counts as a resident. Where the marriage took place or the grounds arose makes no difference.
Miss. Code Ann. §§ 93-5-5, 93-5-11

One spouse alone has to prove fault, or the other has to agree. The only no-fault ground, irreconcilable differences, needs both spouses: a judge cannot grant it over a contest or denial, and the complaint must be on file 60 days. A spouse acting alone must prove one of 12 fault grounds, such as adultery, habitual cruel and inhuman treatment, or a year’s desertion. No default judgment is available on fault grounds, and no ground rests on living apart.
Miss. Code Ann. §§ 93-5-1, 93-5-2, 93-5-5, 93-5-7; Miss. R. Civ. P. 12(a); Unif. Chancery Ct. R. 8.03

For a spouse who moves here alone, on a fault ground that can be proved at once, the legal minimum is about 180 days from arrival to a final decree (180 days of residence on a fault ground such as adultery or cruelty; fault must be proved). Without proof of fault or the other spouse’s agreement, a spouse can’t get a divorce here. Courts often take longer than the minimum.

If you moved here from another state

Mississippi’s law applies, with an exception for military pensions. In 1995 Mississippi’s Supreme Court, over dissents, applied Mississippi law to a New Orleans fire department pension after a couple had lived about 30 years in Louisiana and three here. It has let spouses claim military pensions earned while living in a community property state, and it declined to go further.
Savelle v. Savelle, 650 So. 2d 476 (Miss. 1995)

Chapter 22 covers what changes when you move.

Each entry on this page comes from the statute, rule or case it cites, read in September or November 2026, except where the entry says it has not been checked. A rule can change after that, and a rule on paper can play out differently in a particular courthouse. No lawyer reviews these pages.

If you practice family law in Mississippi and would like to correct or contribute to this page, write to me.

Meanwhile

• The default contract, with the options states choose among. Read it with a Mississippi lawyer, or paste it into a chatbot along with “I live in Mississippi” and treat what comes back as a list of questions, not answers.
• Three contracts you could sign instead.
• A worksheet for reading it together, and every state’s Luck of the Draw score.
• Corrections, including changes in the law since the book went to press.
• About the book.