» Legal Proceedings
No Jurisdiction to Modify Custody Decree under UCCJEA
November 10th, 2012
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.…
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Courts Bulletin: Modifiable maintenance granted at divorce is terminated when all of the reasons it was awarded have changed.
November 7th, 2012
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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No Presumption that Child Should Bear the Last Name of One Parent Over the Other
September 7th, 2012
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…
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Factors Considered by the Court when Making a Custody Determination
June 20th, 2012
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…
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Child support judgment not subject to collateral attack in later proceeding; Court of Appeals can amend child support judgment based on judicial admission.
May 19th, 2012
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…
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Family lawyers and Divorce Attorneys function hand in hand with Forensic Accountants
May 14th, 2012
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…
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Case Law Update: Rude, Irritating, or Inconvenient Conduct not Sufficient to Support Order of Protection
March 31st, 2012
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…
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Courts Bulletin: Recent developments in Missouri Family Law
November 28th, 2011
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),…
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Recent case: Forum under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act and in personam jurisdiction
August 29th, 2011
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…
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Property Not Owned by Spouses Cannot Be Divided in Divorce
June 5th, 2011
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…
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