Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and Oklahoma Fathers' Rights & Divorce Law Blog

When a person notices that a friend or someone in their family is going through a general type of life experience they have also gone through, like a divorce, one of their first inclinations might be to provide advice based on their own experience. So, one thing divorcing individuals may get a lot of over the course of their divorce is advice from friends and family members who have gone through a divorce.

Such advice can sometimes be of great help. Other times though, such advice could create a confusing situation or not have the intended result. One reason for why well-meaning advice from a divorced friend or family member might not always be a good fit for a divorcing individual is that the circumstances of divorces vary massively, from the personalities and interconnections of the people involved, to the situation that led to the divorce, to the key areas of concerns a given divorcing individual has in their efforts to move on following a split. So, something that worked well for one individual in regards to a divorce won't necessarily work well for another.

Who wants what property-wise can play an enormous role in divorce negotiations/proceedings. Sometimes, both spouses will strongly desire to keep a certain piece of marital property. For some types of property, one option that might be available in such a situation is to physically split the property, so each person gets some of it.

Other types of property though generally can't be physically split. Houses fall into this category. However, a new housing design that has come up in Europe seeks to change this.

Most readers are probably aware that, when it comes to property division, different states have different rules. A small group of states utilize an approach to property division known as "community property," which generally involves an equal division of marital assets. Most states, including Missouri, use an approach generally referred to as equitable distribution.

Under the language of Missouri's property division statute, courts "divide the marital property and marital debts in such proportions as the court deems just after considering all relevant factors." There are a variety of factors listed in the statue, and it important for those entering into divorce to have a solid understanding of these and other relevant factors in order to build the best possible case representing their rights and interests. 

When a person has child support obligations, struggles when it comes to meeting these obligations can have major impacts for them. This can particularly be the case if the struggles result in them falling behind on their payments.

Missed payments could lead to a person who owes child support facing child support enforcement proceedings and collection actions (like wage garnishment). As a note though, being subjected to such proceedings and actions is not the only thing falling behind on child support payments could result in for a parent.