When a Missouri couple with children divorces, the legislature has established a complicated, detailed analysis of the family situation to discern what level of child support is appropriate. Missouri aims to provide a child of divorced parents the living style he or she would have had if the family had stayed intact.
If the parents are not able to negotiate child support amounts as part of a marital settlement agreement, the court must decide which parent should pay and how much would be "reasonable or necessary for the support of the child."
Missouri child support law says that the court needs to consider "all relevant factors" in determining an award, but must specifically weigh:
- The child's financial needs and resources
- The parents' financial needs and resources
- The standard of living the child would have had if the divorce has not happened
- The child's "physical and emotional condition" and educational needs
- Custody and visitation arrangements and associated expenses of each parent
- The parents' "reasonable work-related child care expenses"
Interestingly, the statute states that the court is not to consider "marital misconduct" in making a child support award.
Pursuant to the Missouri child support law, the Supreme Court of Missouri issued a rule that created child support guidelines. The guidelines are extremely detailed and consist of a formulaic calculation that considers the financial situation of the parents and children, as well as custody and visitation arrangements. The court must review the guidelines at least every fourth year.
To determine what the guidelines say about child support for them, the divorcing parents fill out "Form 14" and submit it to the court. Form 14 resembles a complicated income tax form with pages of instructions.
The amount of child support determined by the guidelines is presumed to be the "correct amount," unless the presumption is rebutted by the court after considering the factors enumerated above. To depart from the guideline amount the court must make specific, written findings explaining why without a deviation the guidelines would be "unjust or inappropriate."
Normally child support continues to age 18, but the child support order can extend indefinitely beyond age 18 for care of an incapacitated child in certain circumstances.
Also, child support may continue to age 21 for a son or daughter still in school. Very particular requirements apply to such situations, including that the child must keep the noncustodial parent informed of coursework, credits and grades, and if a child taking at least 12 credits fails more than half his or her classes in a semester, the right to child support ends permanently.
A child support obligation also terminates upon the child's emancipation, death, marriage, active military duty or when he or she becomes "self-supporting" if the custodial parent has consented to give up parental control.
Power remains with the court to modify a valid child support award as appropriate should relevant factors change.
This is only a brief look at the main provisions of Missouri child support law. If you face a Missouri divorce and have children, consult with an experienced family law attorney to learn about how the law applies in your particular situation.
