Legal Articles

Split Custody, Dual Form 14s

Form 14 refers to the worksheet created by the Missouri Supreme Court to calculate the presumptive/default child support amount. It is calculated by taking into account, among other things, each parents’ gross income and time spent with the child(ren). When parents have multiple children, and the custody arrangement for a given child is different, this…

Income & Expense Statements in Divorce, Maintenance/Alimony

Missouri law requires that a party to a divorce proceeding file a statement of income and expenses detailing all of his/her personal receipts and expenditures. Depending upon the county, the income and expense statement is filed at the time of a party’s initial pleadings or soon after. Many counties further require that the parties supplement the…

Retroactive Child Support Orders

During several divorce, paternity or child support cases, a long period of time can elapse between the filing of the petition and when the court enters its final judgment and order. It is quite common for cases to last 18+ months, particularly in contested cases. Knowing this, parties will often string a case out as…

Imputed Income

When calculating child support in Missouri, the Court is required to determine a presumed amount of child support pursuant to Form 14. Neal v. Neal, 941 S.W.2d 501, 504 (Mo. 1997). The starting point for Form 14 is a determination of each parent’s monthly gross income. Ricklefs v. Ricklefs, 39 S.W.3d 865, 874 (Mo. Ct. App. 2001)….

Non-Contested/Uncontested/Contested Divorce

A large percentage of divorces in Missouri are often uncontested. The parties agree on all of the property distributions, allocation of debts, and child custody & support arrangements (when applicable). The remaining hurdle, then, is navigating the court system to obtain the actual divorce decree. Although Missouri does have very “user-friendly” help yourself documents online…

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