Springfield Divorce & Family Law Blog

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.

Child support serves as an enormous benefit to those who retain custody of their children following a divorce in Springfield, helping to soften the financial blow left from no longer being able to rely on the income of their former spouses. Indeed, the fact that (according to information shared by the U.S. Census Bureau) $33.7 billion was paid out in child support in 2015 alone reinforces how great a need it is. Those obliged to pay it likely little quarrel with doing so (they too want to ensure that their kids have all they need). However, the fear that those receiving this benefit may try to abuse it is also ever-present. 

Because of this, the guidelines regarding to the termination of a child support agreement have been made very clear. According to Section 452.340 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, a child support obligation automatically terminates in any of the following scenarios: 

• The supported child dies
• The supported child marries
• The supported child enters into military active duty
• The supported child is otherwise able to become self-supporting 

Often in the immediate aftermath of a divorce, people in Springfield will scamper to try and locate any financial accounts or holdings they might have shared with their ex-spouses in order to update them to reflect their new circumstances. The motivation behind this is likely the fear that if they do not (and something were to happen to them), then any properties once shared would go back to their ex-spouses (and thus not benefit their children or new spouses). Those who are among the 40 percent of people the American Association of Retired Persons reports as having already begun their estate planning might think to include their wills amongst those items that need to be updated. 

While revising one's will after his or her divorce may be a good strategy, it is technically unnecessary (if one's sole concern is to keep his or her ex-spouse from inheriting his or her money). That is because (according to Section 474.420 of Missouri's Revised Statutes), any provisions made in one's will related to his or her spouse are automatically revoked once his or her divorce becomes finalized. From a legal perspective, it would be as though the ex-spouse preceded the decedent in death. 

Divorce in Springfield can be a messy affair, particularly if you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse have considerable assets to divide amongst each other. If your business is included in those assets, then like many of those that we here at the Stange Law Firm have previously worked with, you might be worried about how much interest your ex-spouse may profit from it once your divorce becomes final. Answering this concern first requires an explanation of how Missouri handles property division proceedings. 

The state follows the philosophy of equitable division, meaning that the parties to a divorce may not necessarily receive an equal share of marital assets, but rather what the court determines will be fair. Marital assets are assets are considered to be those accrued while you and your ex-spouse were together. Thus your ownership stake in your business might not be affected by your divorce if your started the company before you were married. What may be is whatever increase in value your company experienced during your marriage.