Senate Refuses to Create Additional Ground for Divorce in Mississippi

Today the Mississippi Senate has defeated a bill that would have have created a 13th Ground for Divorce in Mississippi (bona fide separation for five years or longer). Senate Bill 2652 would have given a spouse grounds for divorce if he or she had been away from an abusive situation for five (5) years or longer.

The bill was defeated Thursday on a vote of 81-39 although the bill had earlier passed the Senate.

WXVT Channel 15 reports that the bill would have made it easier for spouses, usually wives, to file for divorce when that spouse leaves home to avoid domestic violence and the other spouse will not agree to filing for divorce.

State law already allows a spouse who is abandoned to file for divorce under desertion, but existing law does not address when one innocent party leaves home and the other will not give them a divorce.

Should you have any questions regarding a Mississippi divorce or family issue, please feel free to contact M. Devin Whitt at 601.607.5055

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