To get a divorce in Mississippi, spouses must either agree on a divorce on the ground of irreconcilable differences or prove that one of the causes for divorce that are specified in Miss. Code Section 93-5-1 exist.  The causes for divorce listed in Section 93-5-1 are:

1.  Natural Impotency

2.  Adultery

3. Being sentenced to any penitentiary, and not pardoned before being sent there

4.  Willful, continued and obstinate desertion for the space of one (1) year

5. Habitual drunkenness

6. Habitual and excessive use of opium, morphine or other like drug

7. Habitual cruel and inhuman treatment

8. Mental illness or mental retardation at the time of marriage, if the party complaining did not know of that infirmity

9. Marriage to some other person at the time of the pretended marriage between the parties

10. Pregnancy of the wife by another person at the time of the marriage, if the husband did not know of the pregnancy

11. Either party may have a divorce if they are related to each other within the degrees of kindred whom marriage is prohibited by law

12. Incurable mental illness

Obviously, some of the divorce grounds are going to be more frequently used than others.  For example, adultery and habitual, cruel and inhuman treatment are the most commonly asserted grounds for divorce while others like natural impotency and being related to one another are very seldomly asserted.

In later posts, we’ll discuss in more detail the individual grounds for divorce and what constitutes each ground.  If you are considering a divorce, a quick review of the allowable divorce grounds should provide an overview of what circumstances need to exist in order to get a divorce without the consent of your spouse.