WHAT TYPES OF CUSTODY PLANS ARE AVAILABLE IN MISSOURI?

On October 11, 2018, the Music Modernization Act (H.R. 1551) or MMA was signed into law. Child custody determinations are very important to parents and kids alike. While many child custody cases arrive in court pursuant to divorces and separations, others require judicial intervention at different times in the lives of the parties. Whenever a...

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WHAT IS THE MUSIC MODERNIZATION ACT AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU

On October 11, 2018, the Music Modernization Act (H.R. 1551) or MMA was signed into law. WHAT IS THE MUSIC MODERNIZATION ACT AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU This brought some very welcome changes to the music industry, where the technology has been far ahead of the law for many years. The biggest problem the...

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PARENT-TEACHER COMMUNICATION FOR DIVORCED PARENTS

How do divorced parents handle all of these? At this time of year schools are gearing up for parent teacher conferences as well as curriculum nights, high school/college informational sessions and a multitude of other activities that involve parents. How do divorced parents handle all of these? All parents want to be involved in their...

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Family Law FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions About Family Law in Missouri Do I need to get divorced in the state (or country) in which I was married? No. You actually would file a divorce in the state in which you (or your spouse) are residing at the time of filing. In Missouri, you (or your spouse) need to...

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10 Things to Remember in Your Divorce

10. Get counseling. I don't know how often counseling saves a marriage, but I always think it is worth a shot. In addition, I think it helps people to open up lines of communication that assists in resolving the actual divorce. 9. Get over the anger. This may take a while, but you cannot effectively...

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I Am a Stay at Home Mom Getting Divorced. Will My Husband Be Forced to Support Me?

This is a common question that is posed to attorneys and likely to judges as well. It used to be that a stay at home mom getting divorced was told by her lawyer "do not go get a job, let's force this guy to pay you maintenance (alimony) and support you for the rest of...

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Living Arrangements During a Divorce

People often ask me if they have to move out of their house once a divorce is filed. In Missouri, there is no law stating that the parties cannot live in the same house, and everyone's situation is different. This will outline some of the different living situations that couples can enter into while their...

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How to Interact and Communicate with Your Child’s Other Parent (After You Are No Longer Together)

There are often hard feelings between couples after they split up and their children can get caught in the cross fire.If you are one of those parents, this can make co-parenting extremely difficult and stressful, for both the parents and the kids. I got to sit in on a mediation a social worker was doing...

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The New Shared Custody Bill – How to Make It Work for You

Three years ago, Governor Jay Nixon signed into law a "Shared Parenting" bill, known as HB 1550, which basically stated that it is in a child's best interests to have both parents in his or her life. Now there is another that was discussed in the Missouri House and Senate over the past term, but...

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WHO WILL BE AFFECTED BY ST LOUIS COUNTY PROSECUTOR WESLEY BELL’S NEW CHILD SUPPORT POLICY AND WHAT CAN YOU DO?

When Wesley Bell became prosecutor of St Louis County several weeks ago, he stated that one of his new policy changes is that the St Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's office would no longer criminally charge people if they fail to pay child support. His reason for this is that the non-paying parent is not making...

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