HOUSE BILL NO. 1910 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE WILLIAMS.
5538H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
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 one new section, to be 2 known as section 454.1050, to read as follows: 454.1050. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as "Bentley and 2 Mason's Law". 3 2. If a person is convicted of the offense of driving while intoxicated, such offense 4 caused the death of a parent or parents of a child or children, and a surviving parent or 5 guardian files a petition to receive child maintenance from the person convicted of such 6 offense, such person shall be ordered by the court to pay child maintenance to the child 7 or children until the child or children: 8 (1) Die; 9 (2) Marry; 10 (3) Enter active military duty; 11 (4) Reach eighteen years of age unless the provisions of subsection 3 of this 12 section apply; or 13 (5) Reach twenty-one years of age unless the provisions of the maintenance order 14 specifically extend beyond the child's or children's twenty-first birthdays for reasons 15 provided under subdivision (1) of subsection 3 of this section.
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1910 2
16 3. (1) If the child or children are physically or mentally incapacitated from 17 supporting themselves and insolvent and unmarried, the court may extend the 18 maintenance obligation past the child's or children's eighteenth birthday. 19 (2) (a) If the child or children reach eighteen years of age and are enrolled in 20 and attending a secondary school program of instruction, maintenance shall continue, if 21 the child or children continue to attend and progress toward completion of such 22 program, until the child or children complete such program or reach twenty-one years 23 of age, whichever first occurs. 24 (b) If the child or children are enrolled in an institution of vocational or higher 25 education no later than October first following graduation from a secondary school or 26 completion of a graduation equivalence degree program and so long as the child or 27 children enroll for and complete at least twelve hours of credit each semester, not 28 including the summer semester, at an institution of vocational or higher education and 29 achieve grades sufficient to reenroll at such institution, maintenance shall continue until 30 the child or children complete their education or until the child or children reach 31 twenty-one years of age, whichever first occurs. To remain eligible for such continued 32 maintenance, at the beginning of each semester the child or children shall submit to the 33 court a transcript or similar official document provided by the institution of vocational 34 or higher education that includes the courses the child or children are enrolled in and 35 have completed for each term, the grades and credits received for each such course, and 36 an official document from the institution listing the courses that the child or children are 37 enrolled in for the upcoming term and the number of credits for each such course. 38 When enrolled in at least twelve credit hours, if the child or children receive failing 39 grades in half or more of the child's or children's courseload in any one semester, 40 payment of maintenance for the child or children receiving the failing grades may be 41 terminated and shall not be eligible for reinstatement. Upon request for notification of 42 the child's or children's grades by the court, the child or children shall produce the 43 required documents to the court within thirty days of receipt of grades from the 44 education institution. If the child or children fail to produce the required documents, 45 payment of maintenance may terminate without the accrual of any maintenance 46 arrearage and shall not be eligible for reinstatement. If the circumstances of the child or 47 children manifestly dictate, the court may waive the October first deadline for 48 enrollment required by this subdivision. As used in this subdivision, "institution of 49 vocational education" means any postsecondary training or schooling for which the 50 child is assessed a fee and attends classes regularly. "Higher education" means any 51 community college, college, or university at which the child attends classes regularly. A 52 child or children who have been diagnosed with a developmental disability, as defined HB 1910 3
53 under section 630.005, or whose physical disability or diagnosed health problem limits 54 the child's or children's ability to carry the number of credit hours prescribed in this 55 subdivision, shall remain eligible for maintenance so long as such child or children are 56 enrolled in and attending an institution of vocational or higher education and the child 57 or children continue to meet the other requirements of this subdivision. A child or 58 children who are employed at least fifteen hours per week during the semester may take 59 as few as nine credit hours per semester and remain eligible for maintenance so long as 60 all other requirements of this subdivision are complied with. 61 4. The court shall order the person convicted of the offense of driving while 62 intoxicated as provided under subsection 2 of this section to pay maintenance in an 63 amount that is reasonable or necessary for the maintenance of the child or children after 64 considering all relevant factors, including: 65 (1) The financial needs and resources of the child or children; 66 (2) The financial resources and needs of the surviving parent or, if no other 67 parent is alive or capable of caring for the child or children, the guardian of the child or 68 children, including the state if the state is the guardian; 69 (3) The standard of living the child or children would have enjoyed; 70 (4) The physical and emotional condition of the child or children and the child's 71 or children's educational needs; 72 (5) The child's or children's physical and legal custody arrangements; and 73 (6) The reasonable work-related child care expenses of the surviving parent or 74 guardian. 75 5. In addition to the relevant factors listed under subsection 4 of this section, the 76 court shall consider the guidelines set out under subsection 8 of section 452.340 and 77 Missouri Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rule Form 14 in determining the amount 78 reasonable or necessary for the maintenance of the child or children. 79 6. (1) The court shall order that child maintenance payments be made to the 80 circuit clerk as trustee for remittance to the surviving parent or guardian entitled to 81 receive the payments. The circuit clerk shall remit such payments to the surviving 82 parent or guardian within three working days of receipt by the circuit clerk. Circuit 83 clerks shall deposit all receipts no later than the next working day after receipt. 84 (2) As an alternative to subdivision (1) of this subsection, the court may, upon its 85 own motion, order that maintenance payments be made to the family support payment 86 center established under section 454.530 as trustee for remittance to the surviving 87 parent or guardian. However, the court shall not order payments to be made to the 88 payment center if the family support division notifies the court that such payments shall 89 not be made to the center. In such cases, payments shall be made to the clerk as trustee HB 1910 4
90 until the division notifies the court that payments shall be directed to the payment 91 center. 92 7. In addition to any other remedy provided by law for the enforcement of child 93 maintenance, if a maintenance order has been entered, the director of the family 94 support division or the director's designee shall issue an order directing any employer or 95 other payer of the person required to pay child maintenance under this section to 96 withhold and pay over to the family support division or the clerk of the circuit court in 97 the county in which a trusteeship is or will be established moneys due or to become due 98 to the surviving parent or guardian for the child or children in an amount not to exceed 99 federal wage garnishment limitations. 100 8. If a person ordered to pay child maintenance under this section is 101 incarcerated and unable to pay the required maintenance, the person shall have up to 102 one year after the release from incarceration to begin payment, including any arrearage. 103 If any obligation under this section is to terminate as provided under subsection 2 of this 104 section but the person's obligation is not paid in full, payments shall continue until the 105 entire arrearage is paid. 106 9. (1) If the surviving parent or guardian of the child or children brings a civil 107 action against the person convicted of driving while intoxicated prior to any child 108 maintenance order under this section and the surviving parent or guardian obtains a 109 judgment in his or her favor in the civil suit, no maintenance shall be ordered under this 110 section. 111 (2) If the court orders child maintenance under this section but the surviving 112 parent or guardian brings a civil action and obtains a judgment in his or her favor, the 113 child maintenance order shall offset the judgment awarded in the civil action. 114 10. The provisions of any order respecting maintenance under this section may 115 be modified only upon a showing of changed circumstances so substantial and 116 continuing as to make the terms unreasonable. ✔
Statutes affected: