St. Louis, Missouri 63105
Tel. 314 727-2585
Fax. 314 727-6376
LICENSED IN MISSOURI & ILLINOIS
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7751 Carondelet Avenue ♦ Suite 401
St. Louis, Missouri 63105 Tel. 314 727-2585 Fax. 314 727-6376 LICENSED IN MISSOURI & ILLINOIS |
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| PAMELA S. WRIGHT ♦ ATTORNEY AT LAW | |||
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How do I begin the divorce process? Answer: You first meet with a lawyer who will take down the appropriate information to prepare the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and who will give you two financial statements to complete: Statement of Property and Statement of Income & Expenses. If you have children, you will also be given a standard Parenting Plan to review and complete as well as a Notice of Parent Education Class and Mediation Services. Once these documents are completed and signed, they are filed with the Circuit Clerk’s office to begin the process. Your spouse can be served with the documents by: the Sheriff’s office; by picking up same at the courthouse; by signing a Waiver of Service or by having his or her lawyer accept the documents. How long do I have to live in Missouri before filing for divorce or legal separation? Answer: 90 days or more Is there an advantage to the party who first files for the dissolution of marriage? Answer: NO Is it required for the parties to be separated before filing for dissolution of marriage? Answer: NO What is the difference between a dissolution of marriage and a legal separation? Answer: While the court costs are a little higher to file for divorce, the overall process is the same: filing a Petition and financial statements and ultimately getting the same issues such as child support, child custody, division of property and maintenance resolved either through a settlement or trial. However, the final document signed by the court will be a judgment of legal separation and not a judgment of dissolution of the marriage. Under Section 452.360 (3), you cannot remarry until you obtain a judgment of dissolution, which the parties can request by filing a Motion To Convert no earlier than 90 days after the judgment for legal separation was entered. Under what circumstances will a party be given maintenance and how much will be awarded? Answer: Section 452.335 provides that a spouse seeking an award of maintenance (historically called alimony) must show (a) a lack of sufficient assets to provide for his or her reasonable needs and (b) he or she is unable to support himself or herself through appropriate employment or is the custodian of a child whose condition or circumstances make it appropriate that the custodian not be forced to work outside the home. There are no specific formulas for an award of maintenance and thus, it is looked at on a case by case basis. A variety of factors are used in deciding in how much maintenance to award: the length of the marriage; age; health; work history; educational background, ages and health of the children and income of the parties; standard of living during the marriage and the conduct of the parties. Individual advice from an attorney is needed. How is child support calculated? Answer: Child support is calculated according to a chart which includes income from both parents. Additional factors are expenses for child care; health insurance and extraordinary expenses for the children. There may also be a visitation credit, depending upon the time spent with the non-custodial parent. There are times when a judge may decide not to follow the chart. Individual advice from an attorney is best. What is meant by legal custody versus physical custody of children? What is meant by joint versus sole legal custody? Answer: Legal custody concerns the decision making for the children, including decisions regarding education, medical care, religious upbringing, extracurricular activities. Physical custody refers to who the children are living with on any given day. If the court awards joint legal custody, the parents are required to agree, confer and work together to make the decisions regarding their children. In the event of a dispute, the Parenting Plan in the judgment for dissolution will often require the parents to seek mediation of the dispute before going back to court. If the court awards sole legal custody, both parents have input into the decisions regarding the lives of the children but if a dispute arises, the parent with sole legal custody can make the decision. What is joint physical custody versus sole physical custody? Answer: In a typical joint physical custody arrangement, the parties have the children on alternating weeks or part of the week during one week with the other part the following week. In other words, the parents try to structure the schedule so that each has a significant, but not necessarily equal, periods of time with the children. Sole physical custody does not necessarily mean that the non-custodial parent has minimal contact with the children. A common schedule provides that one parent has the children for most of the time during the week and the other parent has the child on alternating weekends, one night per week, alternating holidays and 2-6 weeks in the summer. What is a Parenting Plan? Answer: A Parenting Plan is essentially a written document signed by the parents and the judge summarizing many aspects of the children’s lives such as support, physical custody; legal custody; medical care costs; educational expenses. What if I have primary or sole physical custody of my children and want to relocate to another state? Answer: If there is a change in the principal residence of a child for 90 days or more, you must provide notice as more detailed in Section 452.377. Does child support extend through college? Answer: Child support is addressed in Section 452.340 but generally child support extends until age 22 so long as the child is a full-time student at a college, university, vocational or technical school.. How are college expenses generally handled? Answer: Generally the parties split college expenses such as tuition, room & board, books and fees up to a maximum of the then similar expenses at the University of Missouri at Columbia. How the expenses will be split varies from case to case whether it is done on a 50-50 basis, on a pro rata share based on income, etc. Individual advice with a lawyer is needed. Will I be ordered to pay my spouse’s attorney’s fees? Answer: Under Section 452.355, the court may order one party to pay another party’s attorney’s fees. In making an award of fees, the court will consider the financial resources of the parties; the merits of the case and the actions of the parties while the case is pending. What is separate versus marital property? Answer: Generally, property obtained during the marriage will be considered marital property. Separate property is generally those assets brought into the marriage (and kept in that party’s name) as well as assets acquired during the marriage by gift or inheritance. The separate property of the parties is to be set aside to the appropriate party in the dissolution of marriage or legal separation case. What are the factors used to divide marital property? Answer: The court will consider the factors set out in Section 452.330: (1) the economic circumstances of each spouse; (2) the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property, including homemaking services; (3) the value of the separate property set apart to each spouse; (4) the conduct of the parties during the marriage; and (5) the custodial arrangements for the minor children. My spouse and I are not getting along and I am considering moving out of the house, have I abandoned my claim to the house being considered marital property? Answer: NO What will my divorce cost? Answer: Lawyers in the St. Louis area generally handle divorces on an hourly basis rather than a fixed fee basis charge. The prevailing hourly rate varies depending upon the size of the firm and the experience of the attorney. You should expect an hourly rate beginning in the $165.00 range. A retainer (basically a fancy legal word for deposit) will be expected with a minimum retainer likely to fall around $1500.00 plus filing fee. It is difficult to give an overall estimate because it depends on how much time the lawyer will have to spend. If the parties have been married 6 months, have no children and minimal assets/debts to divide, then the divorce might be finalized from the initial deposit. How long will it take to get divorced or a legal separation? Answer: The case must be on file with the court for at least 30 days before a judge can sign a judgement of legal separation or dissolution of marriage. If the parties can not reach a quick settlement, the process can drag on for 6-12 months. VISA, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER, & PERSONAL CHECK |