Property division is one of the most complicated aspects of a Mississippi divorce. How property gets divided between you and your spouse can have a major effect on your future financial stability.
Like many other states, Mississippi uses an equitable distribution model when dividing property. This means that marital property is divided fairly. This does not always mean an equal division, although an equal division is often presumed to be fair.
There are several factors a court examines when determining an equitable division. Some factors include the duration of the marriage, each spouse’s income or earning capacity and each spouse’s contribution to the value of the marital property.
Marital and separate property
The first step in equitable distribution is classifying property as marital or separate. Only marital property is distributed in a divorce.
Marital property is generally property you and your spouse acquired during your marriage or separate property that was combined with marital property. Separate property is property acquired before marriage. Gifts and inheritances acquired during marriage are also considered separate property unless combined with marital property.
For example, if you receive an inheritance while you are married, it is separate property and you would not need to divide it with your spouse in a divorce. However, if you deposit the inheritance into a joint bank account, it becomes marital property and subject to division with your spouse.
Valuing and dividing marital property
After marital property is identified, it is given a fair market value. The value of each piece of marital property helps determine an equitable split.
The final step is distributing the marital assets, using the factors listed above to decide an equitable split.
Although Mississippi is a fault-based divorce state, marital fault is not typically considered when dividing marital property. In some cases, marital fault might be a minor factor, but usually it does not play a major role in property division.
You are not required to let a court decide on an equitable division. You and your spouse are free to agree on a division yourselves. But, a court will review your agreement and may not approve it if it finds it is grossly unfair to one spouse.