Irreconcilable Differences Divorce in Mississippi

Many persons refer to irreconcilable differences divorces (or ID divorces) as “no-fault.” That is a mischaracterization. In Mississippi, both husband and wife must give written consent for an ID divorce to be granted. In true no-fault divorce states, a divorce may occur by the request of only one spouse. Some people call an ID divorce as an “uncontested divorce,” but as you will read, that term may lead to some confusion.

As stated above, to obtain an ID divorce, both parties must give written consent to the divorce. This can be done where both spouses agree to the divorce from the beginning, and they both sign a joint complaint.An ID divorce can also be granted when a divorce began life on fault grounds. In that situation, the fault-based grounds will have to first be dismissed and a written consent to an ID divorce filed with the court.

The courts (and lawyers) definitely prefer when the parties to an ID divorce agree to child custody, child support, alimony, and property division. Such a divorce is usually granted within a few minutes once it has its day in court. However, if the spouses cannot agree to all of the above-listed issues, then the spouses may give written consent to the court to decide those issues on which they can’t agree.

This is why I do not like the term “uncontested divorce” when it is used as a synonym for an ID divorce. Many prospective clients will tell me they have agreed to an uncontested divorce with their spouse. Upon further questioning, though, I learn that they don’t agree on whether alimony will be paid, or child custody, or …. In my book, that’s not an uncontested divorce. If there’s some fighting left to do, I don’t call it uncontested.

Once the divorce is filed, it must remain on file for at least 60 days (not including the day on which it was filed). This is a “cooling-off” period that allows people to reconsider the divorce. If, at any time prior to the divorce being granted, one of the spouses revokes their consent, the ID divorce cannot proceed unless the consent is reinstated.