Missouri law favors granting joint custody of minor children to divorcing spouses. In some cases, however, one spouse is granted sole custody, with the other spouse having visitation rights.

Joint custody does not necessarily mean what some people may think, however, so some definitions are necessary:

As a practical matter, most joint physical custody arrangements contemplate that children – particularly younger children – will spend a majority of time with one parent. However, it is becoming more common to see arrangements in which each parent has the children approximately half of the time.

If the divorcing parents cannot agree on custody issues, the court will have to decide the matter after a hearing. In making this decision, the court is directed by statute to give consider custody arrangements in the following order:

In most situations, a parent not receiving physical custody will be granted specific visitation rights, but visitation can be limited, or denied altogether, if there is evidence of potential harm to the child or children. The consequences of denying visitation, and methods of enforcing visitation, are covered below.

A parent opposing joint custody and seeking sole custody should be prepared to establish that the other parent is an unfit custodian or is unable to take care of children, and that animosity between the parents will likely prevent them from communicating and agreeing on the exercise of decision-making rights, responsibilities and authority.

Unless the court orders otherwise, divorced parents are obligated to exchange information with each other concerning the health, education and welfare of their children.

Although the statutes specifically provide that the court cannot prefer either parent in the awarding of custody because of a parent’s age, gender or financial status, nor because of the age or gender of the children, it is still perhaps somewhat more common for mothers to receive primary physical custody in joint physical custody arrangements, or sole custody if that is determined to be appropriate. However, increasingly, fathers are seeking primary physical custody or sole custody and are more frequently successful than in the past.

The overriding statutory guideline in making custody determinations is the best interests of the children. The statutes also direct the court to consider these additional factors in contested custody cases:

While it might be assumed that a joint custody arrangement in which both parents have approximately equal time with the children would preclude either spouse paying child support to the other, this is not necessarily the case. The court has the power to award child support in a joint custody arrangement.

New rules regarding relocation of parents having physical custody or visitation rights took effect on August 28, 1998. The rules generally require that a parent seeking to relocate give 60 days advance notice in writing to the other parent (or any other person having custody or visitation rights) of the intention to relocate. The notice must include the following:

Failure to provide this notice can be considered by the court as a factor in determining whether custody and visitation should be modified, as a basis for ordering the return of the child, and as a reason to order the parent seeking to relocate to pay the other parent's expenses and attorney's fees incurred in opposing the relocation.

If the relocation notice is given, the new statute contemplates three possible results:

As noted on the child support page, failure to allow court-ordered visitation can result in serious consequences for the parent denying visitation. The parent whose visitation has been thwarted can ask the court to reduce or eliminate child support, change physical custody, or find the parent who has denied visitation in contempt of court.

Under a new statute effective August 28, 1998, a new visitation enforcement procedure, called a "family access motion," became available. These motions can be filed without using an attorney on a form provided by the clerk of the court. The court is required to rule on the motion within 60 days after it is filed. Possible results of the motion include:

If a child no longer lives in the state where the original custody order was entered, the question of which state has authority to modify original custody and visitation orders can be very complicated. In general, in this situation, the issue of which state has modification power is decided under the "Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act." If you are involved in such a situation, it is strongly advised that you promptly consult with an attorney. If you are served with a lawsuit filed in a court in another state which seeks to modify custody and/or visitation, it is not safe to simply assume that you do not need to respond because it is possible that a binding "default" judgment could be entered against you.

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