Mississippi Divorce Steps

Divorce Papers > Divorce Steps > Mississippi Divorce Steps

Mississippi is a southern state in the United states having a mixed cultural influence. A divorce in Mississippi is a common reality nowadays reflecting changing attitudes of a society towards the institution of marriage. The dissolution of marriage is not a simple process as it is a legal matter to be handled by the family law of a respective state.

Mississippi requires the applicant of a divorce to complete the residency condition of six months. Also, a divorce must be filed in the county court where a partner resides if the other spouse is not a resident of this state. If both spouses are resident of the Mississippi state, then a divorce can be filed in the county where either of the partners resides. Some other details regarding this provision are as follows.

A divorce process is initialized when any one of the divorcing partner files a Petition mentioning in it the grounds of divorce. The county in which the filing should take place is selected as follows:

• The county in which the Respondent stays, or
• The county where the divorcing couple stayed when they separated, or
• If the Respondent lives out of state, then, the county in which the Petitioner stays

The other things to be kept in mind are as below:

• The Petitioner or the Respondent must have an address in the county wherein the divorce documents are filed
• Mississippi civilian residents, who reside overseas, but have maintained the residency in this state are free to file in this state

• The usual divorce step is that the Petitioner serves the divorce documents in one of the following ways:
  • By hand delivery
  • By mail
  • By assistance of a third party that delivers the documents

  In all the above methods, the Respondent has to sign the documents after receiving them

• The Petitioner may request the Sheriff of the county in which the Respondent stays to serve the documents
• If the Respondent lives in another state, the Petitioner can use the method of Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested
• In case the Respondent is in prison, then the prison officials serve the documents. It is possible that a divorce will be carried out without presence of such a partner, who is in prison. The divorce case can be filed on the same ground that the partner is accused of felony or similar crime
• When the Petitioner cannot locate the Respondent after an exhaustive search, the Petitioner must file an affidavit with the court clerk regarding Service by Publication. The court clerk then directs that this mode of service can be executed in a newspaper of general circulation in the county wherein filing of the Complaint has been done. The publication of such petition will be limited for some time period as specified by the court

The Response of the Respondent

The Respondent is expected to include the following points in the Response:

• Disagreement regarding issues like custody, support, property division, etc
• Declaration of self defense to the grounds
• Challenge regarding the facts that are stated as grounds of divorce

Mississippi Divorce Steps about Negotiation

• When there is a conflict between the divorcing partners regarding the divorce issues, the parties attempt to negotiate the differences
• The court might issue orders that a settlement conference should be conducted during which the parties are encouraged to attempt a final resolution of the issues
• When there is conflict about child custody and visitation, the court issues orders mentioned below:
  • That a mediation session should be held
  • A social worker or any court employee should estimate the children and parents
  • A GAL (Guardian ad litem) or a lawyer must represent the children

Order of Dissolution

• If the divorcing partners are able to resolve their issues by negotiations, they draft an order of dissolution that comprises of these issues and submit it to the court
• The judge confirms the following facts:
  • The partners have drafted this order willingly and knowingly
  • The order complies with the legal requirements

  If the judge is satisfied regarding these 2 facts, the judge endorses this order of dissolution. If not, the court issues its own order of dissolution. Mississippi is a state where property was awarded according to the title. But, it was found that it did not follow the rule of equitable distribution. Thus, the court divides property according to its discretion. Also, the child custody is awarded but taking into account the best option available for such children.

In this way, Mississippi divorce steps can be elaborated. It is to be noted that every divorce case is subject to different steps. But, this explanation can provide you with a general idea about requirements of a divorce.

Divorce Papers