» Legal Proceedings

No Jurisdiction to Modify Custody Decree under UCCJEA

Recent Case: SHA, Respondent, vs. COA, Appellant. Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District – ED97993 Mother appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing her motion to modify a child custody order entered in the State of Illinois.… Read More

Courts Bulletin: Modifiable maintenance granted at divorce is terminated when all of the reasons it was awarded have changed.

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… Read More

No Presumption that Child Should Bear the Last Name of One Parent Over the Other

Recent Case: M.R.H., Respondent, vs. J.N.P., Appellant. Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District – ED97338 J.N.P. (“Mother”), biological mother of M.R.H. (“Child”), appeals from the judgment of the trial court followi… Read More

Factors Considered by the Court when Making a Custody Determination

In Missouri, there are guidelines that the Court must follow in making a child custody determination. While all child custody determinations must be made in accordance with the best welfare and interests of the child, there is also a statutory and ca… Read More

Child support judgment not subject to collateral attack in later proceeding; Court of Appeals can amend child support judgment based on judicial admission.

Recent Case: TLD v. JRD Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District – WD73385 Mother appeals from the trial court’s amended judgment order of modification retroactively modifying Father’s child support obligation and ordering Mother to… Read More

Family lawyers and Divorce Attorneys function hand in hand with Forensic Accountants

The following post was contributed by guest author Grant Webb, an accounting and accounting law writer for Bisk Education and Villanova University. Forensic Accountants Fill a Unique Niche Family law and divorce cases are often quite complex. Dependi… Read More

Case Law Update: Rude, Irritating, or Inconvenient Conduct not Sufficient to Support Order of Protection

Recent Case: SD v. MW Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District – SD31296 Under section 455.010(13), “stalking” occurs when any person purposely and repeatedly engages in an unwanted course of conduct that causes alarm to another… Read More

Courts Bulletin: Recent developments in Missouri Family Law

Administrative child support orders are available for the support of all eligible children, including children of citizens of other countries. Lajeunesse v. State of Missouri Department of Social Services, No. 73477 (Mo. App. W.D., October 4, 2011),… Read More

Recent case: Forum under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act and in personam jurisdiction

www.courts.mo.gov/file.jspMissouri Constitution provides subject matter jurisdiction of circuit courts. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act provides comity among states and determines which state is the most appropriate forum for seeking remed… Read More

Property Not Owned by Spouses Cannot Be Divided in Divorce

The Circuit Court does not have authority to divide assets that are not owned by either spouse in a dissolution of marriage. In a recent Missouri case, the trial court entered a judgment that divided certain trusts where the children were the sole be… Read More