St. Charles Divorce Law Blog

Missouri parents know how expensive it can be to raise a child, and many parents struggle to provide all the things a child needs. School will be starting soon, and extra expenses like school supplies, new clothes and money for extracurricular activities can leave a parent feeling frustrated. It is estimated that nearly 60% of custodial parents are not collecting the court-ordered child support payments they should be, and in many situations, it can be difficult to track down the other parent that has failed to pay. 

TransUnion is a company that provides credit-related services for people, including credit monitoring. The company is now taking action to help custodial parents collect the money they are owed. TransUnion is launching a new program that will be available to the state to assist with locating a non-custodial parent and providing current and accurate income information. 

The summer of 2019 has brought particularly brutal heat waves to much of the nation. Parents need to use extra caution to ensure that their children do not suffer harm in such extreme temperatures. Recently, a Missouri mother learned the hard way that one bad decision can affect child custody. 

Sometimes, it may be tempting for a parent to leave a child in the car while he or she runs into the store or completes another quick errand. This can lead to serious legal consequences for a parent and undue stress and suffering for a child. Police responded to a call at a local truck stop and found a toddler in distress. 

Celebrity couple Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have made headlines again. In addition to their accomplishments as reality television stars, music industry favorites and champions for a variety of social causes and charities, the couple is also raising four beautiful children. While fans in Missouri and around the world enjoy "keeping up with" the latest news on the couple, many may be surprised to learn that the latest addition to the Kardashian/West brood, a son named Psalm, was brought into the world via a surrogacy agreement. 

Once considered by many to be a taboo procedure that preyed upon the bodies of underprivileged women, surrogacy advocates like Kim Kardashian West are fighting to change this archaic image. Kim has used her own personal struggle with dangerous pregnancy issues such as preeclampsia to illustrate why a surrogate can be a blessing to a couple that dreams of welcoming a new baby. Sometimes, a couple wants a biological child, but a mother may be unable to carry or deliver the child without great risk of injury or death to herself and/or the unborn child. 

Being a parent is a rewarding but sometimes trying experience. Missouri families may be in the midst of circumstances that bring about a court action that will determine child custody. When a parent is preparing to appear in court for custody proceedings, he or she might be curious to know what factors play into the judge's final decision. 

Child custody proceedings often take some time, and this is because the court will try to examine each situation's individual circumstances. While each case is unique, there are some basic points that are usually taken into consideration. It is important for a parent fighting for custody to be aware of the questions he or she might be asked, and the highlights that can make or break his or her petition.