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EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1643
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NICOLA.
6666S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 452.340, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to child
support.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 452.340, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 452.340, 2
to read as follows:3
452.340. 1. In a proceeding for dissolution of 1
marriage, legal separation or child support, the court may 2
order either or both parents owing a duty of support to a 3
child of the marriage to pay an amount reasonable or 4
necessary for the support of the child, including an award 5
retroactive to the date of filing the petition, without 6
regard to marital misconduct, after considering all relevant 7
factors including: 8
(1) The financial needs and resources of the child; 9
(2) The financial resources and needs of the parents; 10
(3) The standard of living the child would have 11
enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved; 12
(4) The physical and emotional condition of the child, 13
and the child's educational needs; 14
(5) The child's physical and legal custody 15
arrangements, including the amount of time the child spends 16
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with each parent and the reasonable expenses associated with 17
the custody or visitation arrangements; and 18
(6) The reasonable work-related child care expenses of 19
each parent. 20
2. The obligation of the parent ordered to make 21
support payments shall abate, in whole or in part, for such 22
periods of time in excess of thirty consecutive days that 23
the other parent has voluntarily relinquished physical 24
custody of a child to the parent ordered to pay child 25
support, notwithstanding any periods of visitation or 26
temporary physical and legal or physical or legal custody 27
pursuant to a judgment of dissolution or legal separation or 28
any modification thereof. In a IV-D case, the family 29
support division may determine the amount of the abatement 30
pursuant to this subsection for any child support order and 31
shall record the amount of abatement in the automated child 32
support system record established pursuant to chapter 454. 33
If the case is not a IV-D case and upon court order, the 34
circuit clerk shall record the amount of abatement in the 35
automated child support system record established in chapter 36
454. 37
3. Unless the circumstances of the child manifestly 38
dictate otherwise and the court specifically so provides, 39
the obligation of a parent to make child support payments 40
shall terminate when the child: 41
(1) Dies; 42
(2) Marries; 43
(3) Enters active duty in the military; 44
(4) Becomes self-supporting, provided that the 45
custodial parent has relinquished the child from parental 46
control by express or implied consent; 47
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(5) Reaches age eighteen, unless the provisions of 48
subsection 4 or 5 of this section apply; or 49
(6) Reaches age [twenty-one] twenty-two, unless the 50
provisions of the child support order specifically extend 51
the parental support order past the child's [twenty-first] 52
twenty-second birthday for reasons provided by subsection 4 53
of this section. 54
4. If the child is physically or mentally 55
incapacitated from supporting himself and insolvent and 56
unmarried, the court may extend the parental support 57
obligation past the child's eighteenth birthday. 58
5. If when a child reaches age eighteen, the child is 59
enrolled in and attending a secondary school program of 60
instruction, the parental support obligation shall continue, 61
if the child continues to attend and progresses toward 62
completion of said program, until the child completes such 63
program or reaches age [twenty-one] twenty-two, whichever 64
first occurs. If the child is enrolled in an institution of 65
vocational or higher education not later than October first 66
following graduation from a secondary school or completion 67
of a graduation equivalence degree program and so long as 68
the child enrolls for and completes at least twelve hours of 69
credit each semester, not including the summer semester, at 70
an institution of vocational or higher education and 71
achieves grades sufficient to reenroll at such institution, 72
the parental support obligation shall continue until the 73
child completes his or her education, or until the child 74
reaches the age of [twenty-one] twenty-two, whichever first 75
occurs. To remain eligible for such continued parental 76
support, at the beginning of each semester the child shall 77
submit to each parent a transcript or similar official 78
document provided by the institution of vocational or higher 79
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education which includes the courses the child is enrolled 80
in and has completed for each term, the grades and credits 81
received for each such course, and an official document from 82
the institution listing the courses which the child is 83
enrolled in for the upcoming term and the number of credits 84
for each such course. When enrolled in at least twelve 85
credit hours, if the child receives failing grades in half 86
or more of his or her courseload in any one semester, 87
payment of child support may be terminated and shall not be 88
eligible for reinstatement. Upon request for notification 89
of the child's grades by the noncustodial parent, the child 90
shall produce the required documents to the noncustodial 91
parent within thirty days of receipt of grades from the 92
education institution. If the child fails to produce the 93
required documents, payment of child support may terminate 94
without the accrual of any child support arrearage and shall 95
not be eligible for reinstatement. If the circumstances of 96
the child manifestly dictate, the court may waive the 97
October first deadline for enrollment required by this 98
subsection. If the child is enrolled in such an 99
institution, the child or parent obligated to pay support 100
may petition the court to amend the order to direct the 101
obligated parent to make the payments directly to the 102
child. As used in this section, an "institution of 103
vocational education" means any postsecondary training or 104
schooling for which the student is assessed a fee and 105
attends classes regularly. "Higher education" means any 106
community college, college, or university at which the child 107
attends classes regularly. A child who has been diagnosed 108
with a developmental disability, as defined in section 109
630.005, or whose physical disability or diagnosed health 110
problem limits the child's ability to carry the number of 111
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credit hours prescribed in this subsection, shall remain 112
eligible for child support so long as such child is enrolled 113
in and attending an institution of vocational or higher 114
education, and the child continues to meet the other 115
requirements of this subsection. A child who is employed at 116
least fifteen hours per week during the semester may take as 117
few as nine credit hours per semester and remain eligible 118
for child support so long as all other requirements of this 119
subsection are complied with. 120
6. The court shall consider ordering a parent to waive 121
the right to claim the tax dependency exemption for a child 122
enrolled in an institution of vocational or higher education 123
in favor of the other parent if the application of state and 124
federal tax laws and eligibility for financial aid will make 125
an award of the exemption to the other parent appropriate. 126
7. The general assembly finds and declares that it is 127
the public policy of this state that frequent, continuing 128
and meaningful contact with both parents after the parents 129
have separated or dissolved their marriage is in the best 130
interest of the child except for cases where the court 131
specifically finds that such contact is not in the best 132
interest of the child. In order to effectuate this public 133
policy, a court with jurisdiction shall enforce visitation, 134
custody and child support orders in the same manner. A 135
court with jurisdiction may abate, in whole or in part, any 136
past or future obligation of support and may transfer the 137
physical and legal or physical or legal custody of one or 138
more children if it finds that a parent has, without good 139
cause, failed to provide visitation or physical and legal or 140
physical or legal custody to the other parent pursuant to 141
the terms of a judgment of dissolution, legal separation or 142
modifications thereof. The court shall also award, if 143
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requested and for good cause shown, reasonable expenses, 144
attorney's fees and court costs incurred by the prevailing 145
party. 146
8. The Missouri supreme court shall have in effect a 147
rule establishing guidelines by which any award of child 148
support shall be made in any judicial or administrative 149
proceeding. Said guidelines shall contain specific, 150
descriptive and numeric criteria which will result in a 151
computation of the support obligation. The guidelines shall 152
address how the amount of child support shall be calculated 153
when an award of joint physical custody results in the child 154
or children spending equal or substantially equal time with 155
both parents and the directions and comments and any tabular 156
representations of the directions and comments for 157
completion of the child support guidelines and a subsequent 158
form developed to reflect the guidelines shall reflect the 159
ability to obtain up to a fifty percent adjustment or credit 160
below the basic child support amount for joint physical 161
custody or visitation as described in subsection 11 of this 162
section. The Missouri supreme court shall publish child 163
support guidelines and specifically list and explain the 164
relevant factors and assumptions that were used to calculate 165
the child support guidelines. Any rule made pursuant to 166
this subsection shall be reviewed by the promulgating body 167
not less than once every four years to ensure that its 168
application results in the determination of appropriate 169
child support award amounts. 170
9. There shall be a rebuttable presumption, in any 171
judicial or administrative proceeding for the award of child 172
support, that the amount of the award which would result 173
from the application of the guidelines established pursuant 174
to subsection 8 of this section is the correct amount of 175
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child support to be awarded. A written finding or specific 176
finding on the record in a judicial or administrative 177
proceeding that the application of the guidelines would be 178
unjust or inappropriate in a particular case, after 179
considering all relevant factors, including the factors set 180
out in subsection 1 of this section, shall be required and 181
shall be sufficient to rebut the presumption in the case. 182
The written finding or specific finding on the record shall 183
detail the specific relevant factors that required a 184
deviation from the application of the guidelines. 185
10. Pursuant to this or any other chapter, when a 186
court determines the amount owed by a parent for support 187
provided to a child by another person, other than a parent, 188
prior to the date of filing of a petition requesting 189
support, or when the director of the family support division 190
establishes the amount of state debt due pursuant to 191
subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of section 454.465, the 192
court or director shall use the guidelines established 193
pursuant to subsection 8 of this section. The amount of 194
child support resulting from the application of the 195
guidelines shall be applied retroactively for a period prior 196
to the establishment of a support order and the length of 197
the period of retroactivity shall be left to the discretion 198
of the court or director. There shall be a rebuttable 199
presumption that the amount resulting from application of 200
the guidelines under subsection 8 of this section 201
constitutes the amount owed by the parent for the period 202
prior to the date of the filing of the petition for support 203
or the period for which state debt is being established. In 204
applying the guidelines to determine a retroactive support 205
amount, when information as to average monthly income is 206
available, the court or director may use the average monthly 207
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income of the noncustodial parent, as averaged over the 208
period of retroactivity, in determining the amount of 209
presumed child support owed for the period of 210
retroactivity. The court or director may enter a different 211
amount in a particular case upon finding, after 212
consideration of all relevant factors, including the factors 213
set out in subsection 1 of this section, that there is 214
sufficient cause to rebut the presumed amount. 215
11. The court may award child support in an amount 216
that provides up to a fifty percent adjustment below the 217
basic child support amount authorized by the child support 218
guidelines described under subsection 8 of this section for 219
custody awards of joint physical custody where the child or 220
children spend equal or substantially equal time with both 221
parents. 222
12. The obligation of a parent to make child support 223
payments may be terminated as follows: 224
(1) Provided that the state case registry or child 225
support order contains the child's date of birth, the 226
obligation shall be deemed terminated without further 227
judicial or administrative process when the child reaches 228
age [twenty-one] twenty-two if the child support order does 229
not specifically require payment of child support beyond age 230
[twenty-one] twenty-two for reasons provided by subsection 4 231
of this section; 232
(2) The obligation shall be deemed terminated without 233
further judicial or administrative process when the parent 234
receiving child support furnishes a sworn statement or 235
affidavit notifying the obligor parent of the child's 236
emancipation in accordance with the requirements of 237
subsection 4 of section 452.370, and a copy of such sworn 238
statement or affidavit is filed with the court which entered 239
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the order establishing the child support obligation, or the 240
family support division for an order entered under section 241
454.470; 242
(3) The obligation shall be deemed terminated without 243
further judicial or administrative process when the parent 244
paying child support files a sworn statement or affidavit 245
with the court which entered the order establishing the 246
child support obligation, or the family support division for 247
an order entered under section 454.470, stating that the 248
child is emancipated and reciting the factual basis for such 249
statement; which statement or affidavit is served by the 250
court or division, as applicable, on the child support 251
obligee; and which is either acknowledged and affirmed by 252
the child support obligee in writing, or which is not 253
responded to in writing within thirty days of receipt by the 254
child support obligee; 255
(4) The obligation shall be terminated as provided by 256
this subdivision by the court which entered the order 257
establishing the child support obligation, or the family 258
support division for an order entered under section 454.470, 259
when the parent paying child support files a sworn statement 260
or affidavit with the court which entered the order 261
establishing the child support obligation, or the family 262
support division, as applicable, stating that the child is 263
emancipated and reciting the factual basis for such 264
statement; and which statement or affidavit is served by the 265
court or division, as applicable, on the child support 266
obligee. If the obligee denies the statement or affidavit, 267
the court or division shall thereupon treat the sworn 268
statement or affidavit as a request for hearing and shall 269
proceed to hear and adjudicate such request for hearing as 270
provided by law; provided that the court may require the 271
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payment of a deposit as security for court costs and any 272
accrued court costs, as provided by law, in relation to such 273
request for hearing. When the division receives a request 274
for hearing, the hearing shall be held in the manner 275
provided by section 454.475. 276
13. The court may enter a judgment terminating child 277
support pursuant to subdivisions (1) to (3) of subsection 12 278
of this section without necessity of a court appearance by 279
either party. The clerk of the court shall mail a copy of a 280
judgment terminating child support entered pursuant to 281
subsection 12 of this section on both the obligor and 282
obligee parents. The supreme court may promulgate uniform 283
forms for sworn statements and affidavits to terminate 284
orders of child support obligations for use pursuant to 285
subsection 12 of this section and subsection 4 of section 286
452.370. 287
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