» Family Law
Modification of Maintenance appropriate on Voluntary Retirement and Increase in Resources of Obligee; No entitlement to attorney fees just because of lesser income.
May 30th, 2016
Recent Case: Wife appeals Judgment of the Circuit Court modifying her spousal maintenance award and denial of attorney fees Statutes base maintenance on, and limit it to, need, and allow modification when a substantial and continuing change in circum…
Read More
2 year statute of limitations applies to set aside a paternity and child support order, even if fraud exists.
May 17th, 2016
Mother and Father (T.B.) had a baby in 2000. Mother told T.B. he was the father, and he signed an affidavit acknowledging paternity. The Family Support Division made an administrative determination that T.B. was the legal father, and ordered T.B. to…
Read More
Spousal Support (Maintenance) Denied in Missouri Divorce
March 20th, 2016
Recent Case: Missouri Court of Appeals upholds Judgment denying spousal support when sufficient property is awarded Wife appeals from the trial court’s judgment that dissolved her marriage with Husband, divided marital property and marital debt…
Read More
Child’s refusal to visit other parent no excuse to violate custody order; Parent held in Contempt
February 23rd, 2016
Recent Missouri Case: Parent responsible for violating the court order when child refuses to visit the other parent as required in the court ordered parenting plan Appellant D.R.P. (“Mother”) appeals the judgment of the Circuit Court of J…
Read More
All financial resources can be considered for support, but parent must have some level of control over gifts and inheritances to count as income
February 3rd, 2016
Courts Bulletin: No financial resource is exempt from the court’s consideration for child support and maintenance calculation purposes. However, financial gifts from a parent or third party and lump-sum inheritances/financial gifts are considered a…
Read More
Categories: Alimony / Maintenance, Assets and Debts, Child Support, Divorce, Family Law, Financial Issues, Modifications
Stock Split is Marital Property in Missouri Divorce
December 11th, 2015
Recent Case: Split of Stock awarded to spouse is property of that spouse Wife appeals the judgment of contempt of the Circuit Court of St. Charles County ordering her to transfer 960 shares of stock to Husband. Decision upheld Because the dissolution…
Read More
Guardian Ad Litem recommendation not binding; Custody findings required; Property division must be fair, not necessarily equal
November 7th, 2015
Recent Ruling: Court not required to follow Guardian Ad Litem Recommendation, Specific findings under the 8 statutory factors required in Judge tried case Father appeals from the trial court’s dissolution judgment as to child custody and property d…
Read More
Conduct not to level of stalking to support protection order
May 23rd, 2015
Recent Case: Respondent’s conduct did not rise to the level of stalking to support an order of protection. Respondent appeals from the judgment of the trial court granting a full order of protection in favor of Petitioner. Respondent argues the tri…
Read More
Attorney fee expenses cannot be considered part of reasonable monthly expenses in maintenance modification
February 22nd, 2015
Recent case: Attorney fees are not a substantial and continuing change in circumstances that supports a modification of maintenance, especially when the fees are for the modification case. Husband appeals the judgment modifying the divorce decree inc…
Read More
10 facts about divorce that every divorcing parent should consider
February 1st, 2015
The following points are from a recent article on today.com, published by a divorce mediator. If you are in the middle of a divorce or contemplating a divorce in Missouri, these are all excellent points to think about. 10 facts about divorce you shou…
Read More
Mark A. Wortman
Kansas City, Missouri family law attorney Mark A. Wortman handles only divorce and family law matters, and practices only in the State of Missouri. Due to this specialty, Mark Wortman has handled thousands of Missouri divorce and family cases and has… Read More
