DOMESTIC RELATIONS GENERAL INFORMATION
This page is to provide you with information concerning certain aspects of
the domestic relations laws of the State of Missouri (as interpreted by my
office), court procedures, and an explanation of some of my policies with
regard to the handling of a dissolution of marriage (formerly called a
divorce) or a modification of an existing divorce or dissolution decree.
Some of the matters contained on this page will not pertain directly to
your situation. Obviously, the contents of this page are general in nature and
each domestic relations matter is different based upon the specific facts of
your case. Please ask your attorney questions concerning the application of
these general provisions to your specific factual situation.
HOW YOUR DISSOLUTION BEGINS
You must complete a statement of property and a statement of income and
expenses (together referred to as financial statements) accurately, completely
and realistically and these are filed with the petition or motion or the
response to the petition or motion. Once returned to my office, they will
prepared in final form. If you have any questions or problem completing the
statements, you should ask your attorney. These statements are extremely
important to the analysis of your case.
In the State of Missouri, a suit for dissolution of marriage is generally
filed in the county where the person filing the Petition resides. A Motion to
Modify is generally filed in the Court where the Decree of Judgment of
Dissolution of Marriage was originally entered. There are some exceptions to
these rules.
After the Petition or Motion is filed, appropriate papers (called a
summons) are prepared by the Clerk of the Court and forwarded to the Sheriff
of the county where the other party can be served. This process usually takes
approximately ten (10) days. Thereafter, it is up to the Sheriff to serve the
papers. In some cases a Special Process server may be utilized and an extra
cost will be incurred for the Special Process server.
The other party, called the Respondent in a dissolution of marriage action,
is served at the address provided by you, generally either the home or the
place of employment. It is important to provide the address where Respondent
is most likely to be found and/or a time Respondent is most likely to be at
the address provided in order to avoid undue delay in obtaining service.
GROUNDS
The normal grounds for dissolution of marriage in Missouri are the
allegations that the marriage is "irretrievably broken" and that
there is no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved. Specific
acts of misconduct are generally not included in the Petition.
TIME IN COURT
After service of the summons, the other party has thirty (30) days in which
to file a written response with the Court. This response must also be mailed
to the attorney for the filing party, or that party if he or she doesn't have
an attorney. If no response is filed, the person who filed the Petition or
Motion may obtain a default judgment which means that the filing party will
proceed in court without the participation of the other party.
Often the other party will obtain an additional thirty (30) days to file an
answer. This means that from the date of service, it often takes sixty (60)
days to receive a response. Most frequently, such an answer denies all the
allegations made in the Petition. Do not be surprised if, in this initial
answer, you find that facts which you know to be true are denied. This does
not mean that the other party intends to contradict every fact, but it means
that, for legal reasons, the other party will not admit these facts.
PARENTING PLAN
Since a change in the law effective August 28, 1998, any Petition for
Dissolution of Marriage or Motion to Modify a previous Decree that involves
the custody of children must have attached to it a "Proposed Parenting
Plan." (note: set up a hyperlink to parenting plan?)
MOTION FOR TEMPORARY CHILD SUPPORT, CUSTODY, MAINTENANCE, ATTORNEY'S
FEES, COSTS, SUIT MONIES
Once a dissolution or divorce case is filed and service has been obtained,
either party may file a Motion for Temporary Orders (called a PDL). The
purpose of this Motion is to request the Court to order one party to provide
for child support, maintenance and/or the payment of some debts for the period
during which the case is pending. The Court may also make a temporary
determination regarding the custody of any children and will establish a
visitation schedule for the non-custodial parent. This Motion may also include
a request for money for attorney's fees, deposition costs and/or other
expenses which will be necessary for the preparation of the case. Generally,
attempts are made to settle these motions after consultation between the
attorneys and the Court. The parties do have a right, however, to have the
motion heard in open court and decided by the Judge.
As a general rule, a PDL Motion cannot be filed in a case involving a
motion to modify. There are some exceptions to this rule that you should
discuss with your attorney.
CHILD SUPPORT
Child support is money paid by one parent to the other parent to assist in
the support of the minor children. In the State of Missouri, the Supreme Court
has developed uniform child support guidelines (commonly referred to as the
Form 14). These guidelines establish a presumption of the amount of child
support to be paid and are generally based upon the monthly gross income of
both of the parties. As each case is different, you should discuss the child
support guidelines with your attorney.
MAINTENANCE
Maintenance is money paid by one spouse to the other spouse to assist in
the support of him or her. Maintenance received is generally taxable income to
the party receiving it, and deductible to the person paying it, if it is paid
pursuant to a court order or written agreement and certain other requirements
are met.
Each case is different and an award of maintenance is dependent upon the
circumstances of your particular case. No person is automatically
"entitled" to maintenance. There are no Supreme Court uniform
guidelines by which the amount of maintenance is to be determined. The trial
court is granted broad discretion in determining whether to award maintenance
and, if so, for what amount and for what period of time.
DISCOVERY
According to the Rules of Court, each party is entitled to
"discover," under oath, certain relevant facts known by the other
party. The tools of discovery most commonly used in domestic cases are called
"Interrogatories," "Depositions," and "Requests for
Production of Documents."
The purpose of these tools is to enable the attorney to discover
information and to be ready for trial or resolution of the case by settlement.
The Court, under the law, is obligated to divide and allocate all Property,
both marital and non-marital, and to apportion debts. These tools provide
assistance in locating, identifying, and valuing all property. These tools
also provide assistance in addressing the other issues which the court must
also consider such as determining child custody, child support, maintenance,
allocation of debts and whether to award attorneys fees and litigation costs.
INTERROGATORIES
Interrogatories are written questions submitted to the opposing party that
must be answered under oath within thirty (30) days. Extensions of time to
answer the Interrogatories can be obtained, if necessary, and often are. Your
answers will be prepared in final form by your attorney. You must provide your
answers to these questions when the interrogatories are sent to the other
party.
DEPOSITIONS
Each party has the right to require the other party or generally any other
witness to answer questions, under oath, in person, usually in the attorney's
office. Both lawyers are present during this questioning, and the testimony
given is under oath. The opposing lawyer asks questions of the witness in much
the same fashion as courtroom questioning. All of these questions and answers
are then transcribed into a written record (called a transcript), which may be
used in court. Lawyers from both sides may request a copy of this transcript,
and your attorney will generally require a deposit, in advance, to cover the
costs of these depositions.
REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS
Each party has the right to require the other party to produce certain
documents in their possession, or under their control, for inspection. These
documents may include canceled checks, bank statements, income tax returns,
credit card information, stock information, business records and other
relevant documents. You will have to produce any documents called for in the
request when you send it to the other party.
NON-CONTESTED CASES
After discovery is completed, the case is ready for trial or settlement. If
the parties are in agreement as to all issues and desire to settle the case,
it is called a "non-contested" case. When a settlement is reached,
the attorneys will draft an agreement setting forth all the provisions of that
settlement and both parties will have an opportunity to review the agreement
to make sure it expresses their understanding of the settlement. A copy is
then filed with the Court at the time of the hearing. One of the parties must
generally be present to testify; this party is generally the person who filed
the petition or motion. The Court will examine the agreement to make sure that
it satisfies certain basic legal requirements. In non-contested cases, this
agreement settles all aspects of the case and at the conclusion of the
hearing, the judgment of dissolution is granted. In some non-contested cases,
certain papers may be filed and no hearing is required.
CONTESTED CASES
If the parties cannot come to a settlement, the information gathered by the
discovery process will be assembled by the lawyers and a date will be set by
the Court for a trial. Both parties will generally testify at the hearing, and
the Court will consider their testimony and other evidence presented at the
hearing. Sometimes, additional witnesses are necessary, including what we call
"expert witnesses," (such as a doctor, psychologist, real estate
appraiser or actuary). An expert witness will charge a fee for his or her time
for preparation and for testifying. The use of an expert witness on your
behalf will be discussed with you before the expert witness is hired. The
anticipated costs of the expert witness will generally have to be paid prior
to the rendering of his or her services. These anticipated costs may be
included in the Motion for Temporary orders (a "PDL") discussed
above.
COURT DATE
In St. Louis County and St. Louis City cases are set for trial after a
conference with the judge and a review of all parties' "trial"
calendars. Anticipate receiving a trial setting within fourteen (14) to Sixty
(60) days of the request. The length of time necessary to set a case will
depend to a large extent on the nature of the issues to be tried (i.e.,
custody, support and/or property or debt division) and the anticipated length
of the trial on those issues, but also on the particular judge's style and
schedule.
Pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court requirements, domestic cases should be
resolved within one year. Most cases will be completed in a shorter period of
time.
WHEN IS MY DISSOLUTION FINAL?
A Judgment of Dissolution is final 30 days after it is entered by the
Court, unless an appeal or post-trial motions are filed. During this 30-day
period at a minimum and in some cases until the motions are resolved, you may
not remarry. Should an appeal be taken, the Judgment and Decree of Dissolution
as it relates to actually dissolving the marriage is deemed final, unless the
appeal challenges that portion of the judgment/decree regarding the status of
the marriage. If the appeal does not specifically challenge the status of the
marriage and relates only to the Court's orders regarding property division,
allocation of debts, child custody, child support, maintenance or attorneys
fees, you are free to remarry while the appeal is pending.
COURT COSTS
The filing fee for a Dissolution of Marriage in St. Louis County is now
$225.00 and in St. Louis City it is $187.00. These costs are subject to
change. Additionally, supplemental Court costs may be levied after trial,
depending on the length of trial and other costs involved.
REQUIRED COUNSELING
The Courts in all Counties in the State of Missouri, in any case in which
there are minor children now require that the parents attend, separately, a
series of counseling sessions (usually in the form of videotapes) as a
pre-condition to granting a judgment and decree of dissolution.
APPEALS
An entire second tier of the judicial process lies in the Court of Appeals.
While the trial judges of the Circuit Court are granted broad discretion as to
the propriety of their decisions, as an additional safeguard to meet the ends
of justice, you may decide to seek appellate relief should you determine that
you are not satisfied with the decision of the trial judge.
The appellate process is expensive and time consuming. Few appeals can be
heard and decided in less than a year. My estimate is that it takes
approximately twelve (12) months to eighteen (18) months to complete the
process. Generally, most parties to a dissolution do not need to resort to the
appellate courts. Appeals involve more attorneys fees and costs.
