What is a parenting plan and how do I get a parenting plan?
A parenting plan sets out the custodial arrangements of the parties and the financial aspects of raising the children.
Custodial arrangements include the weekly schedule, holiday schedule, and vacation schedule. It includes information relating to selection of schools. The portion of the parenting plan relating to financial aspects relates to child support, cost of health insurance, cost of daycare, tax considerations, and sometimes college expenses.
How is custody determined in Missouri?
Courts in Missouri determine custody in accordance with the best interests of the child. When the parties have not reached an agreement on all issues related to custody, courts are required to consider all relevant factors including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) The wishes of the child's parents as to custody and the proposed parenting plan submitted by both parties;
(2) The needs of the child for a frequent, continuing and meaningful relationship with both parents and the ability and willingness of parents to actively perform their functions as mother and father for the needs of the child;
(3) The interaction and interrelationship of the child with parents, siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interests;
(4) Which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent, continuing and meaningful contact with the other parent;
(5) The child's adjustment to the child's home, school, and community;
(6) The mental and physical health of all individuals involved, including any history of abuse of any individuals involved. If the court finds that a pattern of domestic violence as defined in section 455.010 has occurred, and, if the court also finds that awarding custody to the abusive parent is in the best interest of the child, then the court shall enter written findings of fact and conclusions of law. Custody and visitation rights shall be ordered in a manner that best protects the child and any other child or children for whom the parent has custodial or visitation rights, and the parent or other family or household member who is the victim of domestic violence from any further harm;
(7) The intention of either parent to relocate the principal residence of the child; and
(8) The wishes of a child as to the child's custodian. The fact that a parent sends his or her child or children to a home school, as defined in section 167.031, shall not be the sole factor that a court considers in determining custody of such child or children.
When can a child in Missouri decide which parent to live with?
So long as a child remains unemancipated, he or she cannot become the sole decision-maker as to where he or she resides. The parents are able to decide where the child resides. If the parents cannot agree, courts will take into consideration the wishes of a child if the child is old enough to express an opinion on the matter. (This usually occurs after age 8.)
The child’s wishes as to custodial parent is one of the many factors that courts will consider in awarding custody. However, as the child progresses towards emancipation, his or her wishes as to custodial parent usually becomes the most important factor in deciding who is awarded that status by the courts.
One of the reasons why courts do not simply give a child 100% discretion as to his or her custodian is because such a law might invite an opportunity for one parent to assert pressure on the child to live with him or her. For example, a parent with greater financial resources could pressure a child by buying him or her a new vehicle. Alternatively, for example, a parent could pressure a child by letting him or her skip school and play videogames all day.
Do Missouri courts favor mothers or fathers in custody cases?
Favoring one parent over the other based, even in part, on the gender of the parent is illegal under Missouri law. Section 452.375.8 of the Missouri Revised Statutes provides:
As between the parents of a child, no preference may be given to either parent in the awarding of custody because of that parent's age, sex, or financial status, nor because of the age or sex of the child. The court shall not presume that a parent, solely because of his or her sex, is more qualified than the other parent to act as a joint or sole legal or physical custodian for the child.
Prior to the enactment of Section 452.375.8 courts would often give preference to mothers in relation to awards of custody. Even though it is impossible to rule out all possibility of bias among every individual judge in the state, it is incredibly rare when family court litigants contend that a judge favors a parent based on gender.