St. Charles Divorce Law Blog

As summer draws to a close, Missouri parents are focused on their children, preparing for a new school year, sporting events and other fun things. While certainly, watching a child learn and grow is an exciting part of fatherhood, many dads might not be aware of how important it is to establish paternity. A recent tragedy left one father facing serious criminal charges. 

The ordeal began when a young Missouri mother was found dead, apparently killed by someone else's hand. As authorities frantically try to determine how she died and who is responsible, details are still unclear. The woman left behind three minor children. The children were thought to be missing, but authorities found them in the care of a man in another location. 

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.