Alimony (spousal support) in Mississippi is designed to help a lower-earning spouse maintain a reasonable standard of living after divorce. This comprehensive guide covers the types of alimony available in Mississippi, how courts calculate amounts, duration guidelines, modification rules, and the impact of remarriage, cohabitation, and retirement on support obligations. Understanding Mississippi’s alimony laws helps both paying and receiving spouses plan their financial futures.
Verified against Mississippi family law statutes as of May 2026.
In This Mississippi Alimony Guide:
Types of Alimony in Mississippi
Mississippi courts may award the following types of alimony:
- Periodic alimony (ongoing monthly payments
- indefinite or until terminating event); Lump-sum alimony (fixed total amount
- paid at once or in installments
- nonmodifiable
- vests as property right); Rehabilitative alimony (temporary support to help recipient become self-sufficient
- commonly 2-5 years); Reimbursement alimony (compensation for financial contributions to spouse’s education or career advancement
- nonmodifiable
- created by MS Supreme Court in 1999)
How Mississippi Calculates Alimony
Mississippi does not have a fixed formula for calculating alimony. Courts use judicial discretion, weighing multiple factors to determine a fair amount and duration.
Factors: The 12 Armstrong factors: (1) Income and expenses of the parties; (2) Health and earning capacities of the parties; (3) Needs of each party; (4) Obligations and assets of each party; (5) Length of the marriage; (6) Presence or absence of minor children in the home requiring one or both parties to pay or personally provide child care; (7) Age of the parties; (8) Standard of living of the parties both during the marriage and at the time of the support determination; (9) Tax consequences of the spousal support order; (10) Fault or misconduct by either party; (11) Wasteful dissipation of assets by either party; (12) Any other factor deemed by the court to be just and equitable in connection with setting spousal support
Income disparity: YES. Mississippi courts fundamentally base alimony on need and ability to pay. The requesting spouse must demonstrate financial need (inability to meet reasonable needs from their own income and assets), and the paying spouse must have the ability to pay. Armstrong factors 1, 2, and 3 (income/expenses, earning capacities, needs) are foundational to any alimony determination.
Vocational evaluation: YES. Mississippi courts may use vocational experts to assess a spouse’s earning capacity. Courts can impute income to a spouse based on what they should be earning rather than what they currently earn, particularly when a spouse is voluntarily underemployed or unemployed. Vocational evaluators assess work history, educational background, and current job market conditions to determine true earning potential.
Mississippi Alimony Duration Guidelines
No statutory duration guidelines. Duration is entirely within the chancellor’s discretion based on the Armstrong factors. Common patterns: marriages under 5 years rarely produce periodic alimony; marriages over 20 years frequently result in indefinite periodic support. Informal benchmark of 1 year of alimony per 3 years of marriage is sometimes referenced but not binding.
| Marriage Length | Typical Alimony Duration |
|---|---|
| Short-term (under Under 5 years (marriages of fewer than 5 years rarely result in periodic alimony awards, per case law patterns)) | Rehabilitative or bridge-the-gap; limited duration |
| Moderate-term | Durational alimony; set period based on marriage length |
| Long-term (20 years (marriages exceeding 20 years frequently result in indefinite periodic support, per case law patterns)+) | May qualify for permanent or indefinite alimony |
Permanent alimony: YES. Periodic alimony can be awarded indefinitely, particularly in long-term marriages where the recipient spouse cannot become self-supporting due to age, health, or other factors. It continues until the death of either party, remarriage of the recipient, or cohabitation of the recipient with a person of the opposite sex.
Modifying & Terminating Mississippi Alimony
Modification: YES for periodic alimony and rehabilitative alimony — may be modified (increased, decreased, extended, or shortened) upon proof of a material change in circumstances that was not reasonably foreseeable at the time of the original divorce decree. NO for lump-sum alimony and reimbursement alimony — these are nonmodifiable because they vest as property rights at the time of the order.
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Cohabitation: Cohabitation of the recipient with a person of the opposite sex in a marriage-like relationship is grounds to terminate periodic alimony. The Mississippi Supreme Court requires proof by clear and convincing evidence that the recipient is living with a new partner sharing living expenses and domestic responsibilities in a relationship of mutual support that alters the recipient’s financial needs. A sexual relationship alone is insufficient. Lump-sum and reimbursement alimony are NOT affected by cohabitation.
Remarriage: Remarriage of the recipient automatically terminates periodic alimony and rehabilitative alimony under Mississippi law. Lump-sum alimony and reimbursement alimony do NOT terminate upon remarriage because they vest as property rights at the time of the divorce decree.
Retirement: Retirement of the payor may constitute a material change in circumstances warranting modification of periodic alimony. However, retirement does not automatically terminate alimony. Courts conduct a comprehensive financial analysis considering the payor’s post-retirement income sources (pension, Social Security, investments) and the recipient’s continuing financial needs before determining whether to reduce or terminate alimony.
Tax Implications of Mississippi Alimony
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017), for divorce agreements executed after December 31, 2018, alimony payments are not deductible by the paying spouse and not taxable income for the receiving spouse at the federal level. This applies to all Mississippi divorces finalized after that date.
For divorces finalized before 2019, the old rules still apply unless the agreement is modified to adopt the new tax treatment.
Impact of Misconduct on Mississippi Alimony
Adultery: Adultery significantly impacts alimony awards. Under Armstrong factor 10 (fault or misconduct), a spouse found at fault for the divorce through adultery may be completely barred from receiving periodic alimony. However, the bar is not automatic — the judge must consider adultery as one of the twelve factors and may still award alimony if other factors weigh in favor. Courts may weigh adultery more heavily when the adulterous spouse used marital assets to support the affair. Important: fault is only a factor in periodic alimony — the court cannot consider adultery when awarding lump-sum alimony.
Other marital misconduct: YES. Armstrong factor 10 encompasses all fault or misconduct by either party, not just adultery. This includes habitual cruel and inhuman treatment, habitual drunkenness, drug use, desertion, and other grounds for divorce. Additionally, Armstrong factor 11 specifically addresses wasteful dissipation of marital assets by either party. Misconduct affects periodic alimony awards but does not affect lump-sum alimony.
Additional Mississippi rules: (1) Mississippi alimony law is primarily case-law driven rather than statute-driven — the statute (§ 93-5-23) provides only broad discretionary authority, while the Armstrong factors from case law provide the analytical framework. (2) Reimbursement alimony was created by the Mississippi Supreme Court in 1999, making it a relatively recent development. (3) For alimony purposes, “property” and “an asset of a spouse” explicitly exclude any interest a party may have as an heir at law of a living person or any interest under a third-party will — inheritance expectations cannot be considered. (4) Fault is considered for periodic alimony but cannot be considered for lump-sum alimony. (5) Cohabitation termination applies only to cohabitation with a person of the opposite sex — the statute does not explicitly address same-sex cohabitation. (6) The court may require bond, sureties, or other guarantees for alimony payments. (7) Mississippi is an equitable distribution state, and alimony is considered separately from property division.
Official Sources & Resources
- Cornell LII — Alimony: law.cornell.edu
- NCSL Spousal Support: ncsl.org
- Mississippi Alimony Statute: Mississippi Code § 93-5-23 (statutory authority for alimony); Armstrong v. Armstrong, 618 So. 2d 1278 (Miss. 1993) (establishes the 12 factors for alimony determination). Note: The statute itself is broad — it grants the court discretion to award maintenance and alimony “as may seem equitable and just” having regard to “the circumstances of the parties and the nature of the case.” The detailed framework comes from case law, not the statute.
Last verified May 2026. Contact us if you notice outdated information.