Divorce Laws on Cohabitation in Mississippi

In Mississippi, cohabitation does not equal marriage.

When two people cohabitate for long enough and fulfill other legal requirements, some states will consider those two people to be common law married. Thus, if a cohabitating couple wishes to end their common law marriage, they would have to get a divorce. Mississippi does not recognize common law marriages, so cohabitation in itself will not lead to marital obligations. However, cohabitation can have other effects on divorce proceedings between married parties.

Common Law Marriage

A common-law marriage is an unofficial marriage designation that applies to couples who have lived together for several years. Mississippi no longer recognizes common law marriages, although it did recognize them before April 5, 1956. Thus, cohabitation in Mississippi will never lead to a common law marriage unless the cohabitation began before 1956. Also, the couple must have presented itself as a married couple since that time. In other words, the couple must have referred to each other as husband and wife since 1956. Otherwise, cohabitation does not rise to the level of marriage in Mississippi and divorce is not possible.

Adultery

Another way that cohabitation can effect divorce proceedings is when one party accuses the other of adultery in order to institute divorce proceedings. Adultery is one legal way to establish a reason for getting a divorce in Mississippi. However, adultery is not considered a legal reason to get divorced if the complaining spouse continued to cohabitate with the other spouse after learning about the adultery.

Annulment

Cohabitation can also affect a couple's ability to get an annulment. Mississippi couples can petition for an annulment if a marriage is never consummated, or if there is some evidence of fraud by one party. However, annulment is not an option if the couple chooses to cohabitate after the marriage proceedings, and the couple must proceed with divorce instead of annulment.

Alimony

Cohabitation can also become an issue after a divorce is finalized. As part of some divorce settlements, one spouse must pay the other spouse alimony. In the past, alimony payments would only end if the receiving spouse remarried, or if the court ordered a time limit on the alimony payments. Currently, Mississippi courts hold If the spouse who is paying alimony discovers that the other spouse is cohabitating with someone else, he can petition the court to suspend all future alimony payments.

References

• Divorce Law Info: Mississippi Divorce (2010)
• Find Law: Common Law Marriage (2010)