In a recent ruling from the Court of Appeals, Husband appealed the trial Court’s decision granting maintenance to the Wife, claiming, among other things, that the Court did not consider the Wife’s award of marital property, and the abilit…
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An action to terminate modifiable maintenance was granted. The case is fact-specific, but deserves reporting simply because of the dearth of appellate cases in which modifiable maintenance is terminated. At the time of the parties’ divorce (dates n…
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Spousal maintenance, formerly known as alimony, can be awarded to either spouse in Missouri divorces. To support the award, the Court must find that the spouse seeking maintenance (1) lacks sufficient property, including marital properly awarded, to…
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While Missouri courts normally follow the “American Rule” regarding legal fees – that each party is responsible for his or her own costs – Missouri dissolution of Marriage statutes give the court the discretion to order one party to contribut…
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Similar to other states, Missouri is a modified no-fault divorce state. However, there is some misconception out there about what this actually means for divorcing parties in Missouri. Modified no-fault divorce means that a party does not have to pro…
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I can’t think of how many times that I have had a client tell me, regardless of what the issue is that is in dispute, that the opposing party is “just worried about money” or that it is “all about the money” for him or her, and that is thei…
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In a recent ruling by the Missouri Court of Appeals, the court upheld a trial court ruling where marital assets were divided unequally between the spouses, the division included money spent by a spouse after separation, and spousal maintenance was aw…
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An issue that I have seen a few times, and that was recently before the Court of Appeals for the Southern District, involves the incorporation of maintenance (alimony) provisions into a Marital Settlement Agreement, where the agreement provides that…
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In a divorce proceeding, a personal injury settlement can be a major asset that will have to be divided between the parties. Missouri uses the “analytical” approach to determine whether the settlement proceeds are marital, non-marital, or…
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With so many people facing bankruptcy in the current climate, it may be good news to know (depending on which side you are on, of course) that the bankruptcy does not allow a person owing a domestic support obligation to use bankruptcy as a way to av…
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