Kansas City Family Law Blog

Terminating parental rights in Missouri

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in child custody on Tuesday, September 4, 2018.

After your divorce proceedings have been completed in Jackson County, the hope is that you and your now ex-spouse will be able to work together on those ongoing issues which require collaboration (namely, the custody of your kids). Such a task may not be easy, as evidenced by many of those that have worked with us here at the Stange Law Firm eventually seeking to have the parental rights of their former spouses terminated. The law may support your decision if you indeed feel that such a step would be the best option in your case. However, completing such an action can often be difficult.

Per information shared by Missouri's Judicial Branch, the law allows for the termination of parental rights based on consent. For this to happen, your ex-spouse must agree to it. Even with his or her consent, however, the court must still find that taking such action is in the best interest of your children before approving it.

License suspensions for child support arrears

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in child support on Friday, August 24, 2018.

Oftentimes, married parents in Jackson County might have difficulties supporting themselves and their children. One can only imagine how much more difficult such as task becomes if and when such a couple chooses to divorce. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that as recently as 2015, over $33.7 billion was owed in child support. With such a large sum of money at stake (along with the well-being of those that are owed it), it should come as little surprise that family courts take the issue of child support enforcement so seriously.

One effective method in resolving child support arrears has been to restrict the privileges of those that owe them. Many states will even suspend the driver's licenses of obligor parents in such situations; Missouri is among them. Per Section 454.1003 of the state's Revised Statutes, one subject to a child support obligation can have his or her driver's license suspended in any of the following situations:

He or she owes an amount in child support arrears equaling either the sum of three months worth of payments or $2500
He or she fails to comply with a subpoena from the court concerning the modification of an existing child support order
He or she fails to comply with a subpoena from the court concerning the establishment of paternity
He or she fails to comply with a subpoena from the court over matters related to genetic testing

What does the tax cut act mean for divorces?

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in divorce on Friday, August 10, 2018.

The president's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, slated to take effect Dec. 31 of this year, has added a new wrinkle to divorce proceedings in Missouri. Spouses headed for divorce and the attorneys representing them may be already either trying to rush proceedings or slow them down, depending on which one earns more money, according to the American Bar Association.

The ABA explains that the new laws have injected uncertainty into the alimony calculation process and, by extension, the entire divorce process. The new law removes the ability of the payer to deduct alimony checks from his or her annual income, while at the same time eliminating the requirement that the recipient reports them as income. Legal experts expect divorce negotiations to be much more difficult because of it.

Remember to revisit your will after your divorce

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in divorce on Friday, July 27, 2018.

After your divorce in Jackson County becomes final, you may feel a certain sense of finality. That feeling, however, may be fleeting, as you quickly realize just how much your now ex-spouse was involved in the many different facets of your life. Thus begins the process of removing him or her from the many pertinent personal records he or she might still be found on. Many clients come to us here at the Stange Law Firm asking for assistance in doing this, and one of the documents we remind them to revisit is their wills. The reason for this reminder is that many may often forget to do it.

If you have created a will in which you now ex-spouse was named as a beneficiary, what happens if you never get around to amending it? Section 461.051 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri states that the moment your divorce is finalized, any provisions naming him or her as a beneficiary are automatically revoked. This law does not apply, however, if you stipulated in the document that said provisions were irrevocable. It is for this reason that you are encouraged to review your will after your divorce even with the aforementioned law in place.

How do I file for child custody?

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in child custody on Tuesday, July 10, 2018.

If you are in a situation where you want custody of a child that you currently do not have legal custody of, then you have to go through the Missouri court system to gain those legal rights. According to the Missouri Courts, gaining custody begins by filing a petition with the court. You need to have established paternity and not have a current custody order for the child to file this petition.

Do note that even if you are paying or being paid child support that alone does not establish custody. Custody is a separate legal issue. You can petition for custody even if you are the one paying child support and the child does not currently live with you.

Music producer asked to increase child support payments

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in child support on Friday, June 29, 2018.

Very often, the rewarding if child support payments in a divorce case in Jackson Count is often viewed as a punitive action. In reality, it is not designed to be so. Ex-spouses bickering over the amount of child support required may fail to realize that those amounts are determined by the court and are designed to not impose any unfair financial burdens on either party involved (nor to reward any of those involved for perceived slights they may have suffered). However, the idea of child support as punishment might persist due to the way that people present it.

A recent case involving a music producer and the mother of his son illustrates this point. The boy's mother approached the father threatening to reveal information about him unless he agreed to increase his child support payments. The man was hesitant to do so for fear that the extra was not meant to benefit his son, but rather the many other children and grandchildren who were also living with the mother. Eventually, the two met through mediation proceedings and were able to come to a compomise that was endorsed by the court.

Dispute over property leaves results in duo's arrests

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in divorce on Friday, June 15, 2018.

It is often said that there is a thin line between love and hate. Perhaps this explains why so many divorce cases in Jackson County are prone to get messy. People invest a great deal of time, energy and emotion into their marriages, so it may come as little surprise that if and when those relationships fall apart, bitter disputes immediately ensue. All of the positive emotion that one feels for a partner may quickly be pushed over to the other side of the proverbial line, leading to complicated confrontations that can often introduce new complexities into a divorce case.

This fact was on full display in the case of an Ohio couple. What supposedly started out as a discussion over mutual property quickly devolved into an incident which devolved to the point of requiring police intervention. When law enforcement officials arrived on the scene, the woman involved began to get hostile and soon had to be restrained. Yet as officers were working to obtain her cooperation, the man involved in the dispute suddenly pulled a gun out. While he eventually did surrender the weapon, his hostile behavior continued to the point of officers having to threaten him with the use of pepper spray.

How is a visitation schedule determined?

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in child custody on Friday, June 1, 2018.

As divorced parents in Missouri, you and your ex-spouse will need to face an issue that other couples may not necessarily need to: child custody. Determining and maintaining child custody arrangements can be a big source of tension after a divorce, and issues related to visitation and child custody rights can often cause trouble for everyone involved. At Stange Law Firm, PC, we work to help you get through any difficulties you may be having regarding child custody.

Whether you have shared or joint custody of a child, or if one parent has sole custody, you will still be operating off of a visitation schedule. This schedule is determined based on a number of factors, including but not limited to parental availability, history of abuse or neglect, status of employment, and ability to provide for the child.

Determining jurisdiction in interstate custody cases

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in child custody on Wednesday, May 16, 2018.

One of the more common reason married couples in Jackson County may give as to why they are choosing to divorce is that they have grown apart. If such perceived distance caused issues in their marriage, one can only imagine how much more exacerbated those may become when the actual distance between them increases. In many cases, that distance may span across state lines. When it comes (and a couple has child custody issues that need to be resolved), a whole new level of complexity can be introduced to a case.

Custody guidelines and regulations differ from state-to-state, which is why some may see it as an advantage to move to one where they believe they have the best chance of securing a favorable ruling. This then prompts the question of which state would have jurisdiction in a child custody case. To better regulate issues related to interstate custody cases, 48 states (Missouri included) have adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. It confers the right the rule on a custody case to the court that meets one of the three following criteria:

The court is located in the children's home state
The court is located in a state where people with whom the children have significant connections reside
The court is located in a state the children have relocated to for their own safety

What are some pros and cons of a prenuptial agreement?

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in divorce on Friday, May 4, 2018.

A prenuptial agreement may not be very romantic, but it can be the right choice for future spouses who want to protect a business or personal assets in Missouri. Because let's face it, we all know the divorce rate in the U.S. is 50 percent and this document offers some peace of mind. FindLaw offers several pros and cons to consider when you're weighing your options, listed below.