St. Louis Divorce Law Blog

Negotiating a child custody agreement raises many legal and emotional issues. Who will have physical custody? Will one parent have sole legal custody or will both parents share joint legal custody? How much visitation rights will the non-custodial parent have? What will happen if one parent relocates, especially to another state?

One child custody dispute turned into a nightmare for a Missouri woman. The woman and her estranged spouse had a 5-year-old boy together. In December 2011, a Texas court awarded the woman custody of the boy after she filed for divorce.

Going through a divorce can be emotional and time-consuming. Add years of marriage, a trio of children as well as a spouse with a high-profile job, and the divorce process becomes even more complex and challenging.

That is the case for a Missouri congressman and his wife of 24 years, who recently announced that they have filed for divorce. According to the joint statement the couple released, they enjoyed their time together but have grown apart. The couple has three children.

Developing and implementing a child custody plan can be challenging. Parents need to resolve whether one parent will have sole legal custody or if both parents will share joint legal custody. They must also define who has physical custody in order to make decisions about major events in a child's life. When the negotiations leave one of the parents unsatisfied, problems may arise later.

That is what happened in a recent case. A jury recently found a Missouri man guilty of child abduction because he took his three children to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, where he was stationed, in violation of a child custody order. Local and federal agencies brought the children back to their mother in Missouri.

Marriage is hard under the best of circumstances. For military couples facing frequent moves and dangerous deployments, it is harder still. When military couples in Missouri divorce, the main financial issue is often the couple's military benefits, which can be substantial.

Take for example a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force with 30 years of service. He would receive a pension of $72,288 per year with annual cost-of-living increases to keep pace with inflation.