Adultery: A Grounds for Divorce in Mississippi

          One of the most commonly used grounds for divorce is adultery. Adultery may be established by the defendant’s admission or by other testimony which proves the conduct. If the defendant admits to adultery then no further evidence or testimony is necessary.

Direct proof of adultery is not required to obtain a divorce based on these grounds. Adultery may be proven by evidence that the defendant behaves in a way that shows an adulterous inclination, and that the defendant had a reasonable opportunity to fulfill adulterous desires. The evidence presented must be clear and convincing. There must be no reasonable explanation for the defendant’s actions.

            One defense to adultery is condonation. If the plaintiff learned of the defendant’s adultery but resumed an intimate relationship, the court may view this as the plaintiff having forgiven the adulterous behavior and divorce may not be granted. If adultery recurs, the new instance reopens the opportunity once again for divorce based on adultery.

      For any and all additional questions, please feel free to call our Pascagoula office at 228-205-0506 to schedule a free consultation.  

Grounds for Divorce in Mississippi

 

            In Mississippi if both parties do not agree to a divorce, the party seeking a divorce must sue the other on fault-based grounds. The person seeking divorce has the job of proving that he or she is entitled to a divorce based on the applicable grounds. The current fault-based grounds recognized in Mississippi are: (1) natural impotency; (2) adultery; (3) sentenced to any penitentiary; (4) desertion for one 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 at the time of marriage; (9) bigamy; (10) pregnancy of the wife by another person at the time of marriage, if the husband did not know of the pregnancy; (11) kinship within the prohibited degree; and (12) incurable mental illness.

            For more information about each of these grounds, see Mississippi Code §93-5-1 (2004).