Child Custody in Missouri

Legal terms of art and the best-interest factors

Missouri separates legal custody, decision-making authority over the child's education, health care, and religious upbringing, from physical custody, where the child lives and the schedule of time with each parent. Either type of custody can be joint or awarded to one parent.

RSMo § 452.375.2 lists the best-interest factors a court applies. These include the wishes of the child's parents; the needs of the child for a frequent, continuing, and meaningful relationship with both parents, and each parent's willingness and ability to actively perform that role; the interaction and interrelationship of the child with parents, siblings, and other significant people; and the child's adjustment to home, school, and community. The factors also include the mental and physical health of everyone involved and the child's wishes. They include any pattern of domestic violence, which the statute directs the court to consider and which can defeat a request for joint custody with an abusive parent.

Where and how a custody case starts

Custody actions are filed in Missouri Circuit Court, the state's general-jurisdiction trial court, often in a dedicated Family Court Division in circuits large enough to operate one. Custody tied to a divorce is raised inside the petition for dissolution of marriage. Unmarried parents establish custody under the Missouri paternity statutes, generally once paternity has been acknowledged or adjudicated. Missouri requires at least one party to have been a resident of Missouri, or a member of the armed services stationed in Missouri, for 90 days before a related dissolution petition can be filed. Missouri Courts' statewide 'Representing Yourself' self-help hub publishes current forms and step-by-step guidance for family law matters.

The required parenting plan, mediation, and classes

RSMo § 452.310 requires each party to a case involving custody to file a proposed parenting plan. This is due with the petition or response, or as soon after as the court allows. The plan must address a specific residential schedule, decision-making responsibility, and a process for resolving future disputes. If the parties cannot agree, the court holds a hearing and adopts a parenting plan using the RSMo § 452.375 best-interest factors.

Many Missouri circuits refer contested custody disputes to mediation, to help parents reach an agreed parenting plan before a contested hearing. A number of circuits, particularly the state's larger jurisdictions, require or offer a parent education program for parents in a case involving minor children. The specific requirement is set at the circuit level rather than by one uniform statewide statute.

Changing a custody order later

To modify an existing Missouri custody order, RSMo § 452.410 requires the parent seeking the change to show that a change has occurred. The change must be in the circumstances of the child or the custodian, or of any party affected by the prior decree. It must be so substantial and continuing that it makes the terms of the prior decree unreasonable. Modification must also be necessary to serve the best interest of the child. Missouri courts treat this as a demanding standard, meant specifically to protect the child's need for stability. An ordinary shift in a parent's preferences generally will not be enough. A modification motion is filed in the same Circuit Court case that produced the original order.