What happens when a parent tries to avoid a child support obligation because they are not working or only have a small amount of income? Well, in the eyes of the Court, that parent will be treated as if they did have income sufficient to pay the chil…
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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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For the purposes of calculating child support in Missouri, the Form 14 calculation is used. The starting point is the Gross Income of the parties. So, what does that include and what exactly does it mean? The following is a summary of the official co…
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On October 8, 2009 the Supreme Court of Missouri issued an order repealing the current child support guidelines and the formula for calculating the child support amount (Civil Procedure Form 14); and ordered new child support guidelines to take effec…
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In this time of economic downturn, I am seeing quite a few people filing for divorce who have substantial debt problems, and many are considering, or needing, to file for bankruptcy. This is especially true considering that a large number of those co…
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Findings are not required under 452.375 (custody statute) where the trial court has determined that the party seeking to change a custody order has failed to satisfy the required burden of proof. The required findings under 452.376 do not come into p…
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On August 20, 2008 the Advisory Commitee of the Supreme Court of Missouri issued a formal opinion that the practice of Collaborative law, a form of practice where clients agree from the outset to settle their case out of court through negotiation rat…
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To show transmutation of separate property to marital property requires evidence of owner’s clear intent to contribute the property. Commingling is not enough. Wife’s contributions to Husband’s separate property did not transmute into marital p…
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The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District of Missouri has recently held that Incompletes, later completed with passing grades, count as college credit hours under statute determining continuation of child support obligation past the age…
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As most people know, the California Supreme Court recently ruled that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. So what does that mean for Missourians? In California, there were two statutes that said that a marriage is between…
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