Mississippi
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There is no such thing as a legal separation in Mississippi. One is either married or not. In a contested divorce proceeding or one based upon grounds, one party or the other may ask for temporary relief, and if granted, the effective order is tantamount to a "legal separation", but neither party is free to date or conduct him or herself as a single person for any legal purpose until they are actually divorced. There is also such a thing as separate maintenance, which is alternative to divorce and entails the entry of an Order similar to one for temporary relief, which sets out the parties' respective obligations during the parties' separation. The types of issues that are addressed in a temporary order and an order for separate maintenance are child custody, visitation, child support and related matters, life insurance, health insurance, alimony, use of the martial domicile, use of personal property and vehicles, payment of debts and other issues that parties face while living separate and apart. Separate maintenance ends when the parties resume cohabitation, and it is not uncommon for a husband who is paying separate maintenance to magically decide to come home.

Tags:  legal separation