Family Law

Condonation?when it is not a defense to divorce in Mississippi?

By Robert M. Kisselburgh, Esq.

Cohabitation does not equal condonation

Continuing on with our discussion of condonation as a defense to fault-based divorce in Mississippi, some cases have held the defense of condonation does not apply to those continuing offenses such as cruel and inhumane treatment and habitual and excessive drug use.

In a case from DeSoto County, Mississippi, the chancellor denied a divorce to a husband whose wife had abused drugs for a number of years. The court said because the husband had sex with her one time after she had moved back in, he condoned her drug abuse. The Court of Appeals disagreed and reversed the case holding that it did not believe condonation applied to continuous behavior, such as habitual drug abuse, and even if it did, one act of sexual intercourse after the wife abused drugs was insufficient to prevent the divorce when the wife continued to abuse drugs after the sexual encounter.

Full post as published by Mississippi Family Law Blog on May 24, 2008 (boomark / email).