Alimony in Mississippi
Divorce raises many financial questions. Alimony is in the top three. What is Alimony in Mississippi? It is support that one spouse pays the other after a divorce is finalized. The chancellor orders it, either after trial or by agreement of the parties. The goal is easy to understand. It keeps one spouse from a steep drop in their standard of living. It also helps that spouse work toward standing on their own.
Mississippi Has No Alimony Formula
Child support in Mississippi follows a set formula. Alimony does not. A chancery court judge decides each case on its own facts. The Chancellor starts with two questions. Does one spouse need support? Is the other spouse able to afford it? Fairness guides the whole process.
Alimony is never a sure thing. A spouse who has enough income and assets to live on is not likely to get it.
Property Division Comes First
A Chancellor will not usually consider alimony until the property is divided. That part of the Judgment matters and shapes the alimony portion of the case.
Mississippi is an equitable distribution state. The idea behind that is simple. Income that either spouse earns during the marriage is earned for the marriage itself. Unless there is an antenuptial agreement. What this means is that property bought with those earnings is usually considered marital property. Assets owned before the wedding are sometimes separate property, depending upon co-mingling and contribution of the spouse to the asset’s value or preservation. Some gifts and inherited property may also be excluded from marital property analysis, depending upon a similar analysis.
Step One: Sorting Marital Property From Separate Property
Assets gained during marriage are open to division. A spouse can argue that a certain asset is separate. That spouse then must prove it. Mississippi law presumes that property gained during the marriage is marital, so the burden of proof falls upon the spouse who claims otherwise.
Separate property can also lose that status. Such a loss may happen when the asset gets mixed in with marital assets. It also may happen when the family uses the asset.
The marital home is a classic example. One spouse may have owned the house before the wedding. The family then lived in it for years. That use can turn the house into a marital asset. Once it converts, the court can divide it.
Step Two: Placing a Value on Assets
Valuation comes next. The court puts a dollar figure on the property before division is made or alimony is ordered.
Step Three: Dividing the Property Fairly
Equitable means fair. It does not always mean equal. The name on the title does not always control the outcome.
Ferguson v. Ferguson, 639 So.2d 921 (Miss. 1994), sets out the factors a trial court must address here. They are known as the Ferguson factors. In general, the judge weighs what each spouse contributed to the marriage. That includes working as an income earner and working as a homemaker. The judge also weighs what each party needs. Fault may play a small role but doesn’t necessarily change the outcome.
When Mississippi Alimony Enters the Picture
The judge looks at the result of the proposed or requested property division. Example: If both parties have their financial needs met via property settlement and individual wage earning, there is no gap between them for the Chancellor to consider alimony as a component. In that type of case, the court generally does not move on to alimony.
If the division leaves one party short, the court usually will weigh the marital property along with each party’s separate assets. If a deficit is still there, alimony may be an issue for consideration.
The Armstrong Factors
Armstrong v. Armstrong, 618 So.2d 1278 (Miss. 1993), gives trial courts the list of factors to weigh. Chancellors use these to decide on lump sum alimony, permanent periodic alimony and/or rehabilitative alimony.
The Chancellor considers the income and expenses of both parties. Health and earning capacity are factors. So are the needs of each party. The Chancellor reviews the debts and assets each one holds. The length of the marriage matters. So does the presence of minor children in the home, as one or both parents may have to pay for or provide childcare.
The age of the parties is a consideration. The judge looks at the standard of living during marriage and at the time of the ruling. Tax consequences of the support order may come into play. Fault or misconduct is sometimes a factor, though in no way determinative. The wasteful dissipation of assets by either party is a consideration in some cases. The Chancellor may also weigh any other factor it finds just and equitable.
The Four Types of Alimony
Periodic or Permanent Alimony
This is a set amount paid on a regular basis, such as every month. It can be changed later, but only if something unforeseen and material shifts after the decree. A paying spouse cannot game that rule. Quitting a job to lower a payment will not usually tip the scales in the paying spouse’s favor. Periodic alimony may end if the recipient remarries. It ends if either party dies.
Lump Sum Alimony
This is a fixed, final figure. It can be paid all at once or over time in installments. It cannot usually be modified later. It does not end at death or remarriage.
Rehabilitative Alimony
This is temporary support. It helps a spouse get the education, training or experience needed to earn a living. Courts often award it after shorter marriages. It gives an able spouse who stayed home with the family a way back into the workforce.
Reimbursement Alimony
This one pays a spouse back. It applies when that spouse supported the other through school or job training.
What Happens If the Payments Stop
The court has real tools when a paying spouse falls behind. First the Chancellor decides whether the conduct is willful contempt. Willful contempt means the spouse can pay and simply will not or was the cause of their inability to pay.
When this occurs, the court has options. It can jail the non-paying spouse until that person purges contempt by paying the full overdue amount. It can order the employer to take the money straight out of the paycheck. It can enter a formal judgment for the unpaid alimony, known as arrearages. It can also put a lien on the paying spouse’s property to secure what is owed.
There is one more common result. When a contempt action succeeds, the court often orders the party in contempt to pay the other party’s attorney fees.
The Bottom Line
Alimony in Mississippi comes down to need and ability to pay. Property division sets the stage. The Ferguson factors shape that division, and the Armstrong factors shape the support award that may follow. Because so much rides on the facts of each case, a Chancellor has wide discretion to decide what is fair and equitable in each unique case. If you have any questions, call the Hancock Law Firm at (601) 853-2223. Attorney Pamela Hancock is here in your time of need. She serves Madison, Hinds and Rankin counties in Mississippi.