St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, and Jefferson County
St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, and Jefferson County
Frequently Asked Questions
Law office of David J. Howard, LLC: Frequently Asked Questions
How long will it take to get divorced?
The divorce process is started by one of the spouses filing a verified Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. Per Section 452.305 of the Missouri statutes at least 30 days must have elapsed since the filing of the Petition for Dissolution of marriage before a Judgment of Dissolution may be entered. The Supreme Court of the State of Missouri has promulgated goals for the disposition of cases. Rule 17.23 sets a goal of 50% of domestic relations cases disposed of within 4 months; 90% disposed of within 6 months and 95% disposed of within 14 months. How long in addition to the statutorily required 30 days a case will take to resolve is dependent on a number of factors. The primary factor is the complexity of the case and the number of issues involved in the case.
What is your "retainer" for a divorce?
My divorce clients do not pay a "retainer. My divorce clients pay a fee advance and cost advance. I place the fee advance and cost advance money in my lawyer trust account. The unearned money stays in my lawyer trust account until I earn the money by working on the case. If the divorce is completed prior to using the entire fee advance and cost advance my clients receive a refund of the unearned fee advance and cost advance. I determine the fee advance and cost advance that I will require on a case by case basis at the initial no charge consultation.
How much will my divorce cost?
It is nearly impossible to estimate the total cost of a divorce. There are many variables that factor in to how much attorney time will be spent in resolving a divorce either through trial or negotiated settlement. The primary variable is the complexity of the case and the number of issues involved in the case. In addition costs are dependent on the complexity of the case. for example, some cases may require additional costs for items including expert witnesses, subpoenas and depositions. This is why I have my clients pay a fee advance and cost advance and I refund the unused portion of the fee advance and cost advance at the conclusion of the case.
Will my spouse have to pay my attorney fees for my divorce?
Section 452.355 of the Missouri Statutes provides that the court after considering all the relevant factors including the financial resources of both parties, the merits of the case and the actions of the parties during the pendency of the action, may order one spouse to pay a reasonable amount for the cost to the other spouse of maintaining or defending a divorce case. Therefore, it is possible under certain circumstances that one spouse will have to pay some or all of the other spouses attorney fees incurred.
Custody
Changes in Custody
Modifications of custody and visitation are primarily governed by Sections 452.400, 452.410 452.411, 452.416 and 452.375 R.S.Mo. A prerequisite to a modification is a based upon facts that have arisen since the prior decree or that were unknown at the time of the prior decree provide a change in the circumstances of the child or her custodian and a modification is necessary to serve the best interest of the child(ren). A common misconception is that there is a waiting period from the time a judgment is entered until a motion to modify can be filed. There is no set amount of time that must pass before a motion to modify can be filed. There is no set fact pattern change that must occur. We have successfully modified decrees in many varying fact situations where the current custody plan does not serve the best interest of our client’s child(ren).
Phone
(314) 434-1100
Serving St. Louis City, St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson Counties in Missouri
Paternity
Paternity
Paternity may be established pursuant to Section 193.215 or Section 210.822 R.S. Mo. Prior to an adjudication of paternity; the courts are without jurisdiction to enter orders of support and custody. Upon a finding of paternity, custody and support are governed by the same statutes as children of divorced parents, namely Section 452.375 and Missouri Supreme Court Rule 88.01. Our approach for each paternity action is to listen to your goals, pursue all options available under the statutes and aggressively prepare for trial.
Enforcement
Contempt
Section 452.365 R.S.Mo. provides Missouri courts with a number of options to coerce compliance of a dissolution, paternity or modification Judgment. One of the most effective options is contempt. Contempt actions can force compliance of custody or visitation orders, property divisions and/or monetary judgments. In contempt actions the court, after a hearing, can order the non-complying party to fulfill the terms of the judgment or risk incarceration.
After the contempt action is filed, we work closely with our clients to prove with detailed evidence that the non-complying party has failed to comply with a court’s judgment and to show that the non-complying party had the ability to obey the judgment, but chose not to obey with conscious disregard of the court’s orders. Part of our preparation for trial is preparing individualized arrearage calculations and meeting with our clients to discuss their trial testimony and documentary evidence proving non-compliance. One of the most effective means of coercion for the non-complying party is incarceration. The court, after hearing, can order the non-obeying party to jail until such time as he or she performs the act ordered by the court. We have found in our years of practice that when faced with the penalty of jail time, the non-complying party will ultimately abide by the judgment and pay that which is owed or otherwise obey the court’s judgment.
Alternatively, we have utilized our experience in trying contempt actions as means of defending our clients who are wrongly accused of violating a court’s judgment. In order to be successful in proving contempt, the moving party must show the other party has refused to comply with a prior court order. After that, it is up to the non-compliant person to prove they either did not violate the order or that the violation was unintended. We use the same tenacious approach to prosecuting a contempt action to defend our clients against unwarranted contempt judgments.
We coordinate our approach to each contempt case after carefully listening to our client’s goals, pursuing every avenue of law available and being prepared for trial. While we cannot guarantee success in any case, we have a strong and proven track record in both defending and pursuing contempt actions.