Springfield Divorce & Family Law Blog

If you and your spouse in Missouri have made the hard decision to end your marriage and you have children together, one of the hardest things you will be faced with is telling your kids about the divorce and then subsequently supporting them as they adjust to the changes that are sure to come. There is no one way to do this in part because children need different things at different ages. If you have a preschool-aged child, you will want to keep things simple and be prepared for repeat conversations.

As explained by Today's Parent, the world of a three-year-old is a relatively self-centered and concrete one. When you initially share with your child that you and their other parent are not going to be living together anymore, you should be ready to discuss the child's everyday life. For example, you should let your child know who will take them to school, who will read them a bedtime story and if you are still going to a grandparent's house for dinner every Sunday.

Springfield clients often come to us here at the Stange Law Firm PC with a similar question: How can I modify my custody agreement? At the time of your divorce, the court likely handed down a custodial arrangement that, while taking yours and your ex-spouse's feelings into account, was deemed to be in the best interests of your children. That arrangement likely took some getting used to, but the hope is that eventually you were able to collectively make it work. Circumstances do change, however, and now you may be discovering that what did accommodate you before no longer does. You likely now share the aforementioned question. 

According to the website for the Judicial Branch of Missouri's state government, custody orders can be modified by petition. It is recommended that you work with your ex-spouse to come up with a new arrangement that is acceptable to the both of you. You then must submit a "Motion to Modify Child Custody" (state form CAFC101) to the court that has jurisdiction over your case. If both you and your ex-spouse are in agreement about the proposed modifications, the court can approve your petition without needing to have a hearing (the only exception to this may be when major modifications are proposed, such as changing the children's primary residence). 

The holidays are meant to be filled with feelings of warmth and happiness, not contention. Yet as you work your way through your divorce proceedings in Springfield, you may see such future discord as being unavoidable. One of the primary sources of contention amongst divorce parents is how to allocate custody time during the holiday season. Many come to us here at the Stange Law Firm PC questioning what the law mandates in terms of holiday custody time. Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut legal standard. However, you and your ex-spouse will be expected to address the issue of special custody cases in your parenting plan. 

It is understandable that both you and your ex-spouse want to spend the entire holiday season with your kids, yet that may not be possible. At the same time, family courts recognize the special circumstances of the season and thus do not expect you and your ex-spouse to follow your routine custody and visitation schedule. A mandate is made, then, to come up with a plan that is amenable to you both as part of your parenting plan. 

People end their marriages because of affairs, financial issues and many other reasons. Sometimes, a couple finds out that they are incompatible, whether they have been married for a very brief period of time or they have been married for decades. Some couples are able to work through their differences by successfully pursuing therapy and counseling, while others are able to address their incompatibility through mutual understanding and time. However, others are never able to happily continue their marriage and simply do not get along with each other.

If you and your marital partner have been fighting a lot, or you are no longer interested in being married to this person, it is important to explore various options. If you have already tried counseling with no success, you may believe that the only option at this point is to file a divorce petition. You should not hesitate to move ahead with a divorce if you know that it is best for you and your kids (if you are a parent). Moreover, some people may feel that they are stuck in an incompatible marriage because their partner refuses to cooperate or consider the idea of divorce.