» Legal Separation

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

Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) in Missouri: When Granted, Duration, Termination, Modifcation.

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… 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

Grossly disproportionate division of property and debts in a divorce proceeding reversed

In a recent ruling by the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Southern District, a division of property and debt where the Wife received 93% of the assets and 27% of the debts, and the Husband received 7% of the assets and 73% of the debt was reversed… Read More

Missouri Supreme Court Decision: Spouse's Contribution to Separate Property Creates Marital Interest In Property Which May Be Divided by Trial Court

In a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Missouri, the Court held that a spouses contribution to otherwise separate property creates a marital interest that can be divided by the Court. In Missouri, property that was owned prior to the marriage i… Read More

Recent Case: Termination Of Incarcerated Parent's Rights Reversed

In a recent termination of parental rights case, the Court stated that statutory grounds of abandonment, neglect, and unfitness require clear, cogent, and convincing evidence. The Incarcerated parent’s diligent efforts at maintaining contact with c… Read More

Full Custody, Joint Custody, Sole or Split? Or maybe 50/50. What do I really want and what exactly do these words mean in Missouri anyway?

In cases involving children, the Court must, either by agreement or by trial, set up some sort of custodial arrangement for the kids involved. There are many options available, all of which fit under a just a few legally recognized categories. There… Read More

The Financial Aspects of Divorce: Why It usually IS "All About The Money"

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… Read More

Parenting Plan that Vaguely Assigns Decision Making Responsibilities to Third Party Unenforceable.

In a recent ruling by the Missouri Court of Appeals, in a custody modification proceeding, the trial court’s modified parenting plan delegated the authority to make all medical, educational, and extracurricular decisions for one of the parents’ t… Read More

Be Careful When Incorporating Maintenance Into Marital Settlement Agreement

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… Read More