Title XXX, DOMESTIC RELATIONS

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…

452.415. 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…

452.552. Surcharge collected, when, use. — In addition to any other court costs required to institute an action in the circuit division of the circuit court, a surcharge of three dollars shall be paid by the person filing such action. The surcharge shall be collected and disburse…

452.554. Domestic relations resolution fund established, use. — There is established in the state treasury a special fund to be known as the "Domestic Relations Resolution Fund". The director of revenue shall credit to and deposit all amounts received pursuant to section 452.552 …

452.556. Handbook, contents, availability. — 1. The state courts administrator shall create a handbook or be responsible for the approval of a handbook outlining the following: (1) Guidelines as to what is included in a parenting plan in order to maximize to the highest degree th…

452.600. Educational sessions program shall be established by courts — for proceedings involving custody or support. — The circuit courts, by local rule, shall establish a program of educational sessions for parties to actions for dissolution of marriage or in postjudgment procee…

452.605. Court shall order parties to action and may order children to attend, when. — In an action for dissolution of marriage or legal separation involving minor children, or in a postjudgment proceeding wherein custody of minor children is to be determined by the court, the co…

452.607. Confidentiality of facts obtained at sessions not considered in adjudication, exception. — The facts adduced at any educational session resulting from a referral pursuant to the provisions of sections 452.600 to 452.610 shall not be considered in the adjudication of a pe…

452.610. Cost of educational session, amount. — The fees or costs of educational sessions under sections 452.600 to 452.610 shall be less than seventy-five dollars per person and shall be borne by the parties as deemed equitable. ­­-------- (L. 1993 H.B. 353 § 1 subsec. 4, A.L. 1…

452.700. Short title. — Sections 452.700 to 452.930 may be cited as the "Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act". ­­-------- (L. 2009 H.B. 481)

452.705. Definitions. — As used in sections 452.700 to 452.930: (1) "Abandoned" means left without provision for reasonable and necessary care or supervision; (2) "Child" means an individual who has not attained eighteen years of age; (3) "Child custody determination" means a jud…

452.710. Proceedings governed by other law. — Sections 452.700 to 452.930 shall not govern: (1) An adoption proceeding; or (2) A proceeding pertaining to the authorization of emergency medical care for a child. ­­-------- (L. 2009 H.B. 481)

452.715. Application to Indian tribes. — 1. A child custody proceeding that pertains to an Indian child, as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. Section 1901, et seq., is not subject to sections 452.700 to 452.930 to the extent that it is governed by the Indian Chil…

452.720. International application of act. — 1. A court of this state shall treat a foreign country as a state of the United States for purposes of applying sections 452.700 to 452.785. 2. A child custody determination made in a foreign country under factual circumstances in subs…

452.725. Appearance and limited immunity. — 1. A party to a child custody proceeding who is not subject to personal jurisdiction in this state and is a responding party under sections 452.740 to 452.785, a party in a proceeding to modify a child custody determination under sectio…

452.730. Communication between courts. — 1. A court of this state may communicate with a court in another state concerning a proceeding arising under sections 452.700 to 452.930. 2. The court may allow the parties to participate in the communication. If the parties are not able t…

452.735. Cooperation between courts — preservation of records. — 1. A court of this state may request the appropriate court of another state to: (1) Hold an evidentiary hearing; (2) Order a person to produce or give evidence under procedures of that state; (3) Order that an evalu…

452.740. Initial child custody jurisdiction. — 1. Except as otherwise provided in section 452.755, a court of this state has jurisdiction to make an initial child custody determination only if: (1) This state is the home state of the child on the date of the commencement of the p…

452.745. Exclusive, continuing jurisdiction. — 1. Except as otherwise provided in section 452.755, a court of this state that has made a child custody determination consistent with section 452.740 or 452.750 has exclusive continuing jurisdiction over the determination until: (1) …

452.747. Verified petition — service of process. — 1. Any petition for modification of child custody decrees filed under the provisions of section 452.410 or sections 452.700 to 452.930 shall be verified and, if the original proceeding originated in the state of Missouri, shall b…

452.750. Jurisdiction to modify determination. — Except as otherwise provided in section 452.755, a court of this state shall not modify a child custody determination made by a court of another state unless a court of this state has jurisdiction to make an initial determination u…

452.755. Temporary emergency jurisdiction. — 1. A court of this state has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this state and the child has been abandoned, or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of …

452.760. Notice — opportunity to be heard — joinder. — 1. Before a child custody determination is made under sections 452.700 to 452.930, notice and an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the standards of section 452.762 shall be given to: (1) All persons entitled to notic…

452.762. Notice for exercise of jurisdiction. — 1. Notice required for the exercise of jurisdiction when a person is outside this state may be given in a manner prescribed by the law of this state for the service of process or by the law of the state in which the service is made.…

452.765. Simultaneous proceedings. — 1. Except as otherwise provided in section 452.755, a court of this state shall not exercise its jurisdiction under sections 452.740 to 452.785 if, at the time of the commencement of the proceeding, a proceeding concerning the custody of the c…