Creates "Bentley and Mason's Law" relating to child maintenance orders for certain persons convicted of the offense of driving while intoxicated

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[TRULY AGREED TO AND FINALLY PASSED]
SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 1135
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
2026
3858S.03T
AN ACT
To amend chapter 454, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to child maintenance
orders for certain persons convicted of driving while intoxicated.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 454, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto 1
one new section, to be known as section 454.1050, to read as 2
follows:3
454.1050. 1. This section shall be known and may be 1
cited as "Bentley and Mason's Law". 2
2. If a person has been convicted of, pled guilty to, 3
or entered a plea of nolo contendere to an offense under 4
sections 577.010 or 577.012, such offense caused the death 5
of a parent or parents of a child or children, and a 6
surviving parent or guardian files a petition to receive 7
child maintenance from the person, such person shall be 8
ordered by the court to pay child maintenance to the child 9
or children until the child or children: 10
(1) Die; 11
(2) Marry; 12
(3) Enter active military duty; 13
(4) Reach eighteen years of age unless the provisions 14
of subsection 3 of this section apply; or 15
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(5) Reach twenty-one years of age unless the 16
provisions of the maintenance order specifically extend 17
beyond the child's or children's twenty-first birthdays for 18
reasons provided under subdivision (1) of subsection 3 of 19
this section. 20
3. (1) If the child or children are physically or 21
mentally incapacitated from supporting themselves and 22
insolvent and unmarried, the court may extend the 23
maintenance obligation past the child's or children's 24
eighteenth birthday. 25
(2) (a) If the child or children reach eighteen years 26
of age and are enrolled in and attending a secondary school 27
program of instruction, maintenance shall continue, if the 28
child or children continue to attend and progress toward 29
completion of such program, until the child or children 30
complete such program or reach twenty-one years of age, 31
whichever first occurs. 32
(b) If the child or children are enrolled in an 33
institution of vocational or higher education no later than 34
October first following graduation from a secondary school 35
or completion of a graduation equivalence degree program and 36
so long as the child or children enroll for and complete at 37
least twelve hours of credit each semester, not including 38
the summer semester, at an institution of vocational or 39
higher education and achieve grades sufficient to reenroll 40
at such institution, maintenance shall continue until the 41
child or children complete their education or until the 42
child or children reach twenty-one years of age, whichever 43
first occurs. To remain eligible for such continued 44
maintenance, at the beginning of each semester the child or 45
children shall submit to the court a transcript or similar 46
official document provided by the institution of vocational 47
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or higher education that includes the courses the child or 48
children are enrolled in and have completed for each term, 49
the grades and credits received for each such course, and an 50
official document from the institution listing the courses 51
that the child or children are enrolled in for the upcoming 52
term and the number of credits for each such course. When 53
enrolled in at least twelve credit hours, if the child or 54
children receive failing grades in half or more of the 55
child's or children's courseload in any one semester, 56
payment of maintenance for the child or children receiving 57
the failing grades may be terminated and shall not be 58
eligible for reinstatement. Upon request for notification 59
of the child's or children's grades by the court, the child 60
or children shall produce the required documents to the 61
court within thirty days of receipt of grades from the 62
education institution. If the child or children fail to 63
produce the required documents, payment of maintenance may 64
terminate without the accrual of any maintenance arrearage 65
and shall not be eligible for reinstatement. If the 66
circumstances of the child or children manifestly dictate, 67
the court may waive the October first deadline for 68
enrollment required by this subdivision. As used in this 69
subdivision, "institution of vocational education" means any 70
postsecondary training or schooling for which the child is 71
assessed a fee and attends classes regularly. "Higher 72
education" means any community college, college, or 73
university at which the child attends classes regularly. A 74
child or children who have been diagnosed with a 75
developmental disability, as defined under section 630.005, 76
or whose physical disability or diagnosed health problem 77
limits the child's or children's ability to carry the number 78
of credit hours prescribed in this subdivision, shall remain 79
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eligible for maintenance so long as such child or children 80
are enrolled in and attending an institution of vocational 81
or higher education and the child or children continue to 82
meet the other requirements of this subdivision. A child or 83
children who are employed at least fifteen hours per week 84
during the semester may take as few as nine credit hours per 85
semester and remain eligible for maintenance so long as all 86
other requirements of this subdivision are complied with. 87
4. The court shall order the person who was convicted, 88
pled guilty to, or entered a plea of nolo contendere to an 89
offense under sections 577.010 or 577.012 as provided under 90
subsection 2 of this section to pay maintenance in an amount 91
that is reasonable or necessary for the maintenance of the 92
child or children after considering all relevant factors, 93
including: 94
(1) The financial needs and resources of the child or 95
children; 96
(2) The financial resources and needs of the surviving 97
parent or, if no other parent is alive or capable of caring 98
for the child or children, the guardian of the child or 99
children, including the state if the state is the guardian; 100
(3) The standard of living the child or children would 101
have enjoyed; 102
(4) The physical and emotional condition of the child 103
or children and the child's or children's educational needs; 104
(5) The child's or children's physical and legal 105
custody arrangements; and 106
(6) The reasonable work-related child care expenses of 107
the surviving parent or guardian. 108
5. In addition to the relevant factors listed under 109
subsection 4 of this section, the court shall consider the 110
guidelines set out under subsection 8 of section 452.340 and 111
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Missouri supreme court civil procedure rule form 14 in 112
determining the amount reasonable or necessary for the 113
maintenance of the child or children. 114
6. (1) The court shall order that child maintenance 115
payments be made to the circuit clerk as trustee for 116
remittance to the surviving parent or guardian entitled to 117
receive the payments. The circuit clerk shall remit such 118
payments to the surviving parent or guardian within three 119
working days of receipt by the circuit clerk. Circuit 120
clerks shall deposit all receipts no later than the next 121
working day after receipt. 122
(2) As an alternative to subdivision (1) of this 123
subsection, the court may, upon its own motion, order that 124
maintenance payments be made to the family support payment 125
center established under section 454.530 as trustee for 126
remittance to the surviving parent or guardian. However, 127
the court shall not order payments to be made to the payment 128
center if the family support division notifies the court 129
that such payments shall not be made to the center. In such 130
cases, payments shall be made to the clerk as trustee until 131
the division notifies the court that payments shall be 132
directed to the payment center. 133
7. In addition to any other remedy provided by law for 134
the enforcement of child maintenance, if a maintenance order 135
has been entered, the director of the family support 136
division or the director's designee shall issue an order 137
directing any employer or other payer of the person required 138
to pay child maintenance under this section to withhold and 139
pay over to the family support division or the clerk of the 140
circuit court in the county in which a trusteeship is or 141
will be established moneys due or to become due to the 142
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surviving parent or guardian for the child or children in an 143
amount not to exceed federal wage garnishment limitations. 144
8. If a person ordered to pay child maintenance under 145
this section is incarcerated and unable to pay the required 146
maintenance, the person shall have up to one year after the 147
release from incarceration to begin payment, including any 148
arrearage. If any obligation under this section is to 149
terminate as provided under subsection 2 of this section but 150
the person's obligation is not paid in full, payments shall 151
continue until the entire arrearage is paid. 152
9. (1) If the surviving parent or guardian of the 153
child or children brings a civil action against the person 154
convicted of, pled guilty to, or entered a plea of nolo 155
contendere to an offense under sections 577.010 or 577.012 156
prior to any child maintenance order under this section and 157
the surviving parent or guardian obtains a judgment in his 158
or her favor in the civil suit, no maintenance shall be 159
ordered under this section. 160
(2) If the court orders child maintenance under this 161
section but the surviving parent or guardian brings a civil 162
action and obtains a judgment in his or her favor, the child 163
maintenance order shall offset the judgment awarded in the 164
civil action. 165
(3) If the surviving parent or guardian obtains a 166
payment from any motor vehicle liability insurer relating to 167
the death of the parent or parents, then the child 168
maintenance order shall be offset by the amount obtained 169
from such insurer. 170
(4) No funds received under section 595.045 shall 171
result in a reduction of an amount provided by a child 172
maintenance order under this section. 173
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10. The provisions of any order respecting maintenance 174
under this section may be modified only upon a showing of 175
changed circumstances so substantial and continuing as to 176
make the terms unreasonable. 177
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