How to Handle Divorce in Missouri
Going through a divorce can involve difficult financial, parental, and personal decisions. For Missouri residents, understanding the basic legal process can make it easier to prepare for issues involving property, debts, child custody, child support, and spousal maintenance.
Missouri legally refers to divorce as a dissolution of marriage. Although every case is different, most divorces follow the same general steps: filing a petition, notifying the other spouse, exchanging financial information, resolving disputed issues, and obtaining a final judgment from the court.
Knowing what to expect can help spouses approach the process more carefully and avoid preventable problems.
Understand Missouri's Basic Divorce Requirements
Before filing for divorce, at least one spouse generally must have been a Missouri resident for 90 days immediately before the case begins. A member of the armed forces stationed in Missouri for the required period may also satisfy the residency requirement.
Missouri also requires at least 30 days to pass after the divorce petition is filed before the court can enter a final judgment of dissolution.
Thirty days is only a statutory minimum. A contested divorce involving children, substantial assets, businesses, or disagreements between spouses can take considerably longer.
Missouri Uses an "Irretrievably Broken" Standard
Missouri does not generally require a spouse to prove traditional marital fault simply to obtain a divorce.
The central question is whether the marriage is irretrievably broken, meaning there is no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved.
When both spouses agree that the marriage is irretrievably broken, this issue is usually relatively straightforward.
If one spouse denies it, however, the court can consider circumstances surrounding the marriage and whether reconciliation remains reasonably possible.
Gather Financial Information Early
One of the most useful things a person can do at the beginning of a Missouri divorce is organize financial records.
Important documents may include:
- Bank statements
- Mortgage documents
- Credit card statements
- Tax returns
- Retirement account statements
- Investment records
- Vehicle titles
- Business ownership records
- Pay statements
- Insurance information
- Records of significant debts
Missouri's court-provided dissolution forms include a Statement of Income and Expenses as well as a Statement of Property and Debt, illustrating how important complete financial disclosure is during the divorce process.
Accurate records can make it easier to determine which property is marital, identify outstanding debts, and evaluate support issues.
Understand How Missouri Divides Property
A common misconception is that every Missouri divorce requires a 50/50 division of everything the spouses own.
Missouri instead requires courts to divide marital property and marital debts in proportions the court considers just after considering relevant circumstances. Each spouse's nonmarital property is generally set apart to that spouse.
Factors considered can include the spouses' economic circumstances, their contributions to acquiring marital property, and other relevant circumstances.
What Is Marital Property?
As a general rule, property acquired during the marriage may be considered marital property even if only one spouse's name appears on the title.
Examples can include:
- A marital home
- Income accumulated during marriage
- Vehicles
- Retirement benefits accumulated during marriage
- Savings
- Investments
- Business interests
There are exceptions, including certain property received by inheritance or gift and some assets owned before the marriage.
However, distinguishing marital from nonmarital property can become complicated when assets have been combined, refinanced, improved with marital money, or transferred between spouses.
Address Child Custody Carefully
When divorcing parents have children, Missouri courts must address custody and parenting arrangements.
The controlling standard is the best interests of the child.
Missouri law currently creates a rebuttable presumption that equal or approximately equal parenting time is in a child's best interests. "Rebuttable" means the court begins with that assumption, but evidence can demonstrate that another arrangement would better protect the child's interests.
Factors affecting custody decisions can include the child's relationship with each parent, the parents' ability to cooperate, the child's needs, and issues involving domestic violence or safety.
Missouri's official dissolution forms also require a parenting plan when the spouses have unemancipated children.
Understand Child Support
Child custody and child support are related, but they are not the same issue.
Even when parents have substantial or approximately equal parenting time, child support may still be ordered.
Missouri courts can consider factors such as:
- The child's financial needs
- Each parent's income and financial resources
- The standard of living the child would have experienced if the marriage continued
- Educational needs
- Physical and emotional needs
- Parenting-time arrangements
- Work-related childcare expenses
Missouri law provides guidelines for calculating child support, although courts can depart from the presumed amount when legally justified.
Parents should therefore avoid assuming that a particular custody schedule automatically eliminates child support.
Spousal Maintenance Is Not Automatic
Missouri uses the term maintenance for what many people call alimony or spousal support.
Maintenance is not automatically awarded simply because one spouse earns more than the other.
A Missouri court may award maintenance when the spouse requesting it lacks sufficient property to provide for reasonable needs and is unable to meet those needs through appropriate employment, subject to additional statutory considerations.
If maintenance is appropriate, the court can consider factors such as financial resources, earning capacity, the duration of the marriage, age, physical and emotional condition, and the ability of the other spouse to meet personal needs while paying maintenance.
Decide Which Issues Can Be Settled
Not every divorce requires a courtroom trial.
Spouses may be able to reach agreements concerning:
- Division of property
- Allocation of debts
- The marital home
- Parenting schedules
- Child-related expenses
- Maintenance
- Other financial issues
When spouses agree on property, debts, and maintenance, Missouri's court forms provide for a proposed separation agreement that may be presented to the court.
Settlement can give spouses greater control over the outcome. However, an agreement should be evaluated carefully because certain provisions, particularly property division, can become difficult or impossible to change after the final judgment.
Where important assets, custody disputes, maintenance, or other contested matters are involved, consulting a Divorce lawyer’s at Bardol Law Firm can help clarify how Missouri family-law rules apply to the particular circumstances.
Avoid Major Financial Decisions Without Careful Consideration
People going through divorce sometimes react quickly by emptying bank accounts, selling property, transferring assets, or accumulating new debt.
Such actions can create additional disputes.
Instead, maintain records of important transactions and avoid intentionally hiding or destroying financial information. Courts need accurate information to divide property and resolve financial issues properly.
Spouses should also review automatic payments, joint accounts, insurance policies, credit reports, and household expenses so they understand their current financial position.
Do Not Ignore Court Orders
Temporary orders may address financial support, possession of the home, custody, parenting time, or other issues while a divorce is pending.
These orders should be taken seriously.
A spouse should not assume that disagreement with an order permits them to disregard it. If circumstances materially change, the proper approach may involve asking the court for appropriate relief rather than simply violating the existing order.
Prepare for the Final Judgment
A Missouri divorce ends when the court enters a judgment of dissolution.
Before entering that judgment, the court generally must address the issues within its jurisdiction, including property division and, where applicable, child custody, child support, and maintenance.
The judgment establishes the parties' legal rights and responsibilities after the marriage ends.
After divorce, additional practical steps may include transferring vehicle or property titles, updating financial accounts, changing beneficiary information where legally permitted, and following the parenting and support provisions contained in the judgment.
Key Takeaways
Handling divorce in Missouri begins with understanding the state's legal requirements and organizing financial and family information early.
At least one spouse generally must satisfy Missouri's 90-day residency requirement, and a divorce cannot ordinarily be finalized until at least 30 days after filing. Missouri courts divide marital property based on what is considered just rather than automatically splitting every asset equally.
For parents, custody decisions focus on the child's best interests, with Missouri law creating a rebuttable presumption favoring equal or approximately equal parenting time.Calculate Child support and spousal maintenance are evaluated separately based on statutory factors.
Whether spouses resolve these matters through agreement or court proceedings, careful financial documentation, compliance with court orders, and an understanding of the final judgment can make the Missouri divorce process easier to navigate.
