Title XXX — DOMESTIC RELATIONS

452.311. Petition for dissolution filed when, requirements. — A petition is not filed within the meaning of supreme court rule 53.01 in any cause of action authorized by the provisions of this chapter, unless a summons is issued forthwith as required by supreme court rule 54.01, …

452.312. Parties' current employers and Social Security numbers to be contained in certain pleadings and decrees. — 1. Every petition for dissolution of marriage or legal separation, every motion for modification of a decree respecting maintenance or support, and every petition o…

452.314. Guardian for incapacitated person may file for dissolution or separation if ward is a victim of spousal abuse. — Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a guardian for an incapacitated person may file a petition for dissolution of the marriage of, or …

452.315. Authorized motions — restraining order, when, answer, when due, effect of — child support, temporary order, when, amount. — 1. In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or legal separation, either party may move for temporary maintenance and for temporary support for e…

452.317. Termination of insurance prohibited, when. — From the date of filing of the petition for dissolution of marriage or legal separation, no party shall terminate coverage during the pendency of the proceeding for any other party or any minor child of the marriage under any …

452.318. Counseling for minor children ordered, when, costs. — In any action for dissolution of marriage involving minor children, the court may order counseling for such children. The court may assess and apportion the costs of child counseling between the parties. ­­-------- (L…

452.320. Finding that marriage is irretrievably broken, when — notice — denial by a party, effect of — alternate findings. — 1. If both of the parties by petition or otherwise have stated under oath or affirmation that the marriage is irretrievably broken, or one of the parties h…

452.325. Separation agreements authorized, effect of — orders for disposition of property, when — terms of agreement, how enforced. — 1. To promote the amicable settlement of disputes between the parties to a marriage attendant upon their separation or the dissolution of their ma…

452.330. Disposition of property and debts, factors to be considered. — 1. In a proceeding for dissolution of the marriage or legal separation, or in a proceeding for disposition of property following dissolution of the marriage by a court which lacked personal jurisdiction over …

452.335. Maintenance order, findings required for — termination date, may be modified, when. — 1. In a proceeding for nonretroactive invalidity, dissolution of marriage or legal separation, or a proceeding for maintenance following dissolution of the marriage by a court which lac…

452.340. Child support, how allocated — factors to be considered — abatement or termination of support, when — support after age eighteen, when — public policy of state — payments may be made directly to child, when — child support guidelines, rebuttable presumption, use of guide…

452.341. Obligor may request affidavit, when — cause of action for failure to execute, when — false affidavit, penalty. — 1. Any person obligated under a judgment or order of a court to make installment payments of child support or spousal support may request from the person enti…

452.342. Summary of expenses paid on behalf of child, required when. — The court which issued a judgment or order of child support payments may, upon petition of the party obligated to make the payments and upon good cause shown, order the custodial parent to furnish the party ha…

452.343. All judgments and orders shall contain the parties' Social Security numbers. — Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, every judgment or order issued in this state which, in whole or in part, affects child custody, child support, visitation, modification of…

452.344. Support obligations, bond or other guarantee to secure, when required, procedure — default, effect of. — 1. Upon entry of an order for support or division of property under this chapter or otherwise, or at any time the court finds any of the elements which constitute gro…

452.345. Maintenance or support payments to circuit clerk or family support payment center, when — procedure — duties of parties — failure to pay, circuit clerk duties. — 1. As used in sections 452.345 to 452.350, the term "IV-D case" shall mean a case in which support rights hav…

452.346. Medical assistance documentation provided, when. — Upon written request of a parent of a child, as defined in section 452.160, who is receiving medical assistance pursuant to section 208.151, the family support division shall provide such parent with documentation that a…

452.347. Notice of a child support establishment or modification proceeding, when — copy of the order provided, when. — In any proceeding before a court where child support may be established or modified for an applicant or recipient of child support services pursuant to chapter …

452.350. Withholding of income, voluntary or court may order, when, when effective — hearing, when — employer, duties, liabilities, fee — discharge or discipline of employee because of a withholding notice prohibited, penalty — civil contempt proceeding authorized — amendment, te…

452.354. Modification of child support, attorney fees awarded to state, when. — In all proceedings for the modification of child support where the state is a party, the court may, upon motion, award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the state. ­­-------- (L. 2009 H.B. 4…

452.355. Allocation of cost of action and attorney fees by court — actions for failure to pay child support, reasonable costs and attorney fees to be paid by obligor, when — definitions. — 1. Unless otherwise indicated, the court from time to time after considering all relevant f…

452.360. Judgment of dissolution or legal separation final when entered — appeal, effect of — distribution of property final — conversion of judgment of legal separation to dissolution, when — notice, to whom. — 1. A judgment of dissolution of marriage or of legal separation is f…

452.365. Party failing to comply with decree, effect of. — If a party fails to comply with a provision of a decree or temporary order or injunction, the obligation of the other party to make payments for support or maintenance or to permit visitation is not suspended but he may m…

452.370. Modification of judgment as to maintenance or support, when — termination, when — rights of state when an assignment of support has been made — court to have continuing jurisdiction, duties of clerk, clerk to be "appropriate agent", when — severance of responsive pleadin…

452.371. Declining jurisdiction in a modification proceeding, when. — 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of section 452.455 or subsection 6 of section 452.370 to the contrary, the court with jurisdiction may decline to exercise jurisdiction in any modification proc…

452.372. Mandatory educational sessions, when — alternative dispute resolution, when. — 1. When a person files a petition for dissolution of marriage or legal separation and the custody or visitation of a minor child is involved, the court shall order all parties to the action to…

452.374. Paternity proceedings stayed for rape charges against putative father. — 1. If criminal charges alleging an act of rape are brought against the putative father of a child conceived as the result of that act of rape, the court shall issue an automatic stay of any paternit…

452.375. Custody — definitions — factors determining custody — prohibited, when — public policy of state — custody options — findings required, when — parent plan required — access to records — joint custody not to preclude child support — support, how determined — domestic viole…

452.376. Noncustodial parent's right to receive child's school progress reports — administrative fees to be set by school, when — exclusion of address of custodial parent, when. — 1. Unless a noncustodial parent has been denied visitation rights under section 452.400, such noncus…

452.377. Relocation of child by parent for more than ninety days, required procedure — violation, effect — notice of relocation of parent, required procedure. — 1. For purposes of this section and section 452.375, "relocate" or "relocation" means a change in the principal residen…

452.380. Temporary custody, motion for — dismissal of action, effect of. — 1. A party to a custody proceeding may move for a temporary custody order. The motion must be supported by an affidavit. The court may award temporary custody after a hearing or, if there is no objection, …

452.385. Child's wishes as to custodian, how determined. — The court may interview the child in chambers to ascertain the child's wishes as to his custodian and relevant matters within his knowledge. The court shall permit counsel to be present at the interview and to participate…

452.390. Investigation and report on custodial arrangements for a child — how conducted — report due, when — material to be available to counsel and parties. — 1. The court may order an investigation and report concerning custodial arrangements for the child. The investigation an…

452.395. Custody proceedings, priority of — judge to determine law and fact — secrecy, when. — 1. Custody proceedings shall receive priority in being set for hearing. 2. The court without a jury shall determine questions of law and fact. If it finds that a public hearing may be d…

452.400. Visitation rights, awarded when — history of domestic violence, consideration of — prohibited, when — modification of, when — supervised visitation defined — noncompliance with order, effect of — family access motions, procedure, penalty for violation — attorney fees and…

452.402. Grandparent's visitation rights granted, when — guardian ad litem appointed, when — termination upon adoption — attorney fees and costs assessed, when. — 1. The court may grant reasonable visitation rights to the grandparents of the child and issue any necessary orders t…

452.403. Grandparent denied visitation, court may order mediation upon written request, purpose — costs — venue — termination of mediation, when. — 1. Upon the written request of a grandparent denied visitation with a grandchild, the associate division of the circuit court may or…

452.404. Neutral location for exchange of children, when. — To ensure compliance with the parenting plans or court orders, the court may require parents, or parents may agree, to bring the minor children to a neutral location for the exchange pursuant to such plans or orders. Suc…

452.405. Custodian to determine child's upbringing, exception — continued supervision, when. — 1. Except as otherwise ordered by the court or agreed by the parties in writing at the time of the custody decree, the legal custodian may determine the child's upbringing, including hi…

452.410. Custody, decree, modification of, when. — 1. Except as provided in subsection 2 of this section, the court shall not modify a prior custody decree unless it has jurisdiction under the provisions of section 452.745 and it finds, upon the basis of facts that have arisen si…

452.411. Change of residence deemed grounds for modification of custody, when. — If either parent of a child changes his residence to another state, such change of residence of the parent shall be deemed a change of circumstances under section 452.410, allowing the court to modif…

452.412. Military service of parent not to be a basis for modification of a visitation or custody order — limitations on issuance of certain court orders. — 1. A party's absence, relocation, or failure to comply with custody and visitation orders shall not, by itself, be sufficie…

*452.413. Military deployment, child custody and visitation, effect of — nondeploying parent requirements — procedure — failure to comply, effect of. — 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean: (1) "Deploying parent", a parent of a child less than eighteen years…

452.415. When sections 452.300 to 452.415 shall apply. — 1. Sections 452.300 to 452.415 apply to all proceedings commenced on or after January 1, 1974. 2. Sections 452.300 to 452.415 apply to all pending actions and proceedings commenced prior to January 1, 1974, with respect to …

452.416. Parent's change in income due to military service, effect on order of child support — director of division, duties. — 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, whenever a parent in emergency military service has a change in income due to such militar…

452.420. Proceedings to be heard by circuit judge — exception. — All proceedings authorized in chapter 452 to be maintained in circuit court shall be heard by circuit judges, except that said proceedings may be heard by an associate circuit judge if he is assigned to hear such ca…

452.423. Guardian ad litem appointed, when, duties — disqualification, when — fees. — 1. In all proceedings for child custody or for dissolution of marriage or legal separation where custody, visitation, or support of a child is a contested issue, the court may appoint a guardian…

452.425. Sheriff or law enforcement to enforce custody and visitation orders, when — limitations. — Any court order for the custody of, or visitation with, a child may include a provision that the sheriff or other law enforcement officer shall enforce the rights of any person to …

452.426. Risk of international abduction, court may impose restrictions and restraints. — If the judge determines that there is potential risk of international abduction of the child by either party, the judge may place any restraints on the parties or grant any remedies to eithe…

452.430. Availability of certain records — limitation on inspection of certain documents — redaction of Social Security numbers. — All pleadings and filings in a dissolution of marriage, legal separation, or modification proceeding filed more than seventy-two years prior to the t…