Upon dissolution of a marriage, the court has the authority to divide real and personal property and to award periodic, lump sum, and/or rehabilitative alimony. When deciding how to divide property and whether to award alimony, Mississippi law requires the court to follow the following steps:

"Marital" property is any and all property acquired or accumulated during the marriage. This may include things like cars, land, houses, and appliances purchased during the marriage or checking, savings, or retirement accounts accumulated during the marriage. Property classified as a "marital" property is subject to "equitable distribution" by the court. Property brought into the marriage by one of the parties or inherited by one of the parties may qualify as "non-marital" property under certain circumstances and may not be subject to equitable distribution.

Once the court classifies assets as "marital" or "non-marital," the court then may equitably divide and distribute the marital property between the parties. An equitable division may not necessarily be an equal division. The following guidelines are employed to equitably divide marital property: