In Missouri there are certain terms of divorce decrees and judgments of paternity that the courts retain jurisdiction to change or modify. The ability to modify a prior decree is governed by Missouri state statute and case law. Generally speaking modifications are limited to terms of custody and visitation, maintenance and child support. Absent some sort of fraud, the terms of property division are not modifiable and a separate suit in a civil court would have to be instituted.

As with most areas of domestic relations law there are numerous statutes that interplay to form the basis of a case. In addition, case law forms the basis for the interpretation of the statutes. Case law represents prior litigant’s facts that have been decided by judges and a determination made as to the application of particular facts to the statutes. It is through the careful reading of the statutes and the case law that enable our office to determine the viability of your case and likelihood of success. In many cases the outcome of a case depends on subtle variations in the facts of the case, which through our years of experience we have garnered the ability to focus and present. As can be imagined there are many cases that have similar facts, but none that have the same facts. It is only though the process of meeting with potential clients and the discovery of the facts that our office can prepare a strategic approach to the presentation of the facts to the judge.