HOUSE BILL NO. 2042 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE TERRY.
4176H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal section 452.340, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to child support payments.
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Section A. Section 452.340, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu 2 thereof, to be known as section 452.340, to read as follows: 452.340. 1. In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, legal separation or child 2 support, the court may order either or both parents owing a duty of support to a child of the 3 marriage to pay an amount reasonable or necessary for the support of the child, including an 4 award retroactive to the date of filing the petition, without regard to marital misconduct, after 5 considering all relevant factors including: 6 (1) The financial needs and resources of the child; 7 (2) The financial resources and needs of the parents; 8 (3) The standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage not been 9 dissolved; 10 (4) The physical and emotional condition of the child, and the child's educational 11 needs; 12 (5) The child's physical and legal custody arrangements, including the amount of time 13 the child spends with each parent and the reasonable expenses associated with the custody or 14 visitation arrangements; and 15 (6) The reasonable work-related child care expenses of each parent. 16 2. The obligation of the parent ordered to make support payments shall abate, in 17 whole or in part, for such periods of time in excess of thirty consecutive days that the other
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 2042 2
18 parent has voluntarily relinquished physical custody of a child to the parent ordered to pay 19 child support, notwithstanding any periods of visitation or temporary physical and legal or 20 physical or legal custody pursuant to a judgment of dissolution or legal separation or any 21 modification thereof. In a IV-D case, the family support division may determine the amount 22 of the abatement pursuant to this subsection for any child support order and shall record the 23 amount of abatement in the automated child support system record established pursuant to 24 chapter 454. If the case is not a IV-D case and upon court order, the circuit clerk shall record 25 the amount of abatement in the automated child support system record established in chapter 26 454. 27 3. Unless the circumstances of the child manifestly dictate otherwise and the court 28 specifically so provides, the obligation of a parent to make child support payments shall 29 terminate when the child: 30 (1) Dies; 31 (2) Marries; 32 (3) Enters active duty in the military; 33 (4) Becomes self-supporting, provided that the custodial parent has relinquished the 34 child from parental control by express or implied consent; 35 (5) Reaches age eighteen, unless the provisions of subsection 4 or 5 of this section 36 apply; or 37 (6) Reaches age twenty-one, unless the provisions of the child support order 38 specifically extend the parental support order past the child's twenty-first birthday for reasons 39 provided by subsection 4 of this section. 40 4. If the child is physically or mentally incapacitated from supporting himself and 41 insolvent and unmarried, the court may extend the parental support obligation past the child's 42 eighteenth birthday. 43 5. If when a child reaches age eighteen, the child is enrolled in and attending a 44 secondary school program of instruction, the parental support obligation shall continue, if the 45 child continues to attend and progresses toward completion of said program, until the child 46 completes such program or reaches age twenty-one, whichever first occurs. If the child is 47 enrolled in an institution of vocational or higher education not later than October first 48 following graduation from a secondary school or completion of a graduation equivalence 49 degree program and so long as the child enrolls for and completes at least twelve hours of 50 credit each semester, not including the summer semester, at an institution of vocational or 51 higher education and achieves grades sufficient to reenroll at such institution, the parental 52 support obligation shall continue until the child completes his or her education, or until the 53 child reaches the age of twenty-one, whichever first occurs. To remain eligible for such 54 continued parental support, at the beginning of each semester the child shall submit to each HB 2042 3
55 parent a transcript or similar official document provided by the institution of vocational or 56 higher education which includes the courses the child is enrolled in and has completed for 57 each term, the grades and credits received for each such course, and an official document 58 from the institution listing the courses which the child is enrolled in for the upcoming term 59 and the number of credits for each such course. When enrolled in at least twelve credit hours, 60 if the child receives failing grades in half or more of his or her courseload in any one 61 semester, payment of child support may be terminated and shall not be eligible for 62 reinstatement. Upon request for notification of the child's grades by the noncustodial parent, 63 the child shall produce the required documents to the noncustodial parent within thirty days of 64 receipt of grades from the education institution. If the child fails to produce the required 65 documents, payment of child support may terminate without the accrual of any child support 66 arrearage and shall not be eligible for reinstatement. If the circumstances of the child 67 manifestly dictate, the court may waive the October first deadline for enrollment required by 68 this subsection. If the child is enrolled in such an institution, the child or parent obligated to 69 pay support may petition the court to amend the order to direct the obligated parent to make 70 the payments directly to the child. As used in this section, an "institution of vocational 71 education" means any postsecondary training or schooling for which the student is assessed a 72 fee and attends classes regularly. "Higher education" means any community college, college, 73 or university at which the child attends classes regularly. A child who has been diagnosed 74 with a developmental disability, as defined in section 630.005, or whose physical disability or 75 diagnosed health problem limits the child's ability to carry the number of credit hours 76 prescribed in this subsection, shall remain eligible for child support so long as such child is 77 enrolled in and attending an institution of vocational or higher education, and the child 78 continues to meet the other requirements of this subsection. A child who is employed at least 79 fifteen hours per week during the semester may take as few as nine credit hours per semester 80 and remain eligible for child support so long as all other requirements of this subsection are 81 complied with. 82 6. The court shall consider ordering a parent to waive the right to claim the tax 83 dependency exemption for a child enrolled in an institution of vocational or higher education 84 in favor of the other parent if the application of state and federal tax laws and eligibility for 85 financial aid will make an award of the exemption to the other parent appropriate. 86 7. The general assembly finds and declares that it is the public policy of this state that 87 frequent, continuing and meaningful contact with both parents after the parents have 88 separated or dissolved their marriage is in the best interest of the child except for cases where 89 the court specifically finds that such contact is not in the best interest of the child. In order to 90 effectuate this public policy, a court with jurisdiction shall enforce visitation, custody and 91 child support orders in the same manner. A court with jurisdiction may abate, in whole or in HB 2042 4
92 part, any past or future obligation of support and may transfer the physical and legal or 93 physical or legal custody of one or more children if it finds that a parent has, without good 94 cause, failed to provide visitation or physical and legal or physical or legal custody to the 95 other parent pursuant to the terms of a judgment of dissolution, legal separation or 96 modifications thereof. The court shall also award, if requested and for good cause shown, 97 reasonable expenses, attorney's fees and court costs incurred by the prevailing party. 98 8. The Missouri supreme court shall have in effect a rule establishing guidelines by 99 which any award of child support shall be made in any judicial or administrative proceeding. 100 Said guidelines shall contain specific, descriptive and numeric criteria which will result in a 101 computation of the support obligation. The guidelines shall address how the amount of child 102 support shall be calculated when an award of joint physical custody results in the child or 103 children spending equal or substantially equal time with both parents and the directions and 104 comments and any tabular representations of the directions and comments for completion of 105 the child support guidelines and a subsequent form developed to reflect the guidelines shall 106 reflect the ability to obtain up to a fifty percent adjustment or credit below the basic child 107 support amount for joint physical custody or visitation as described in subsection 11 of this 108 section. The Missouri supreme court shall publish child support guidelines and specifically 109 list and explain the relevant factors and assumptions that were used to calculate the child 110 support guidelines. Any rule made pursuant to this subsection shall be reviewed by the 111 promulgating body not less than once every four years to ensure that its application results in 112 the determination of appropriate child support award amounts. 113 9. There shall be a rebuttable presumption, in any judicial or administrative 114 proceeding for the award of child support, that the amount of the award which would result 115 from the application of the guidelines established pursuant to subsection 8 of this section is 116 the correct amount of child support to be awarded. A written finding or specific finding on 117 the record in a judicial or administrative proceeding that the application of the guidelines 118 would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case, after considering all relevant factors, 119 including the factors set out in subsection 1 of this section, shall be required and shall be 120 sufficient to rebut the presumption in the case. The written finding or specific finding on the 121 record shall detail the specific relevant factors that required a deviation from the application 122 of the guidelines. 123 10. Pursuant to this or any other chapter, when a court determines the amount owed 124 by a parent for support provided to a child by another person, other than a parent, prior to the 125 date of filing of a petition requesting support, or when the director of the family support 126 division establishes the amount of state debt due pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of 127 section 454.465, the court or director shall use the guidelines established pursuant to 128 subsection 8 of this section. The amount of child support resulting from the application of the HB 2042 5
129 guidelines shall be applied retroactively for a period prior to the establishment of a support 130 order and the length of the period of retroactivity shall be left to the discretion of the court or 131 director. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the amount resulting from application 132 of the guidelines under subsection 8 of this section constitutes the amount owed by the parent 133 for the period prior to the date of the filing of the petition for support or the period for which 134 state debt is being established. In applying the guidelines to determine a retroactive support 135 amount, when information as to average monthly income is available, the court or director 136 may use the average monthly income of the noncustodial parent, as averaged over the period 137 of retroactivity, in determining the amount of presumed child support owed for the period of 138 retroactivity. The court or director may enter a different amount in a particular case upon 139 finding, after consideration of all relevant factors, including the factors set out in subsection 1 140 of this section, that there is sufficient cause to rebut the presumed amount. 141 11. The court may award child support in an amount that provides up to a fifty 142 percent adjustment below the basic child support amount authorized by the child support 143 guidelines described under subsection 8 of this section for custody awards of joint physical 144 custody where the child or children spend equal or substantially equal time with both parents. 145 12. The obligation of a parent to make child support payments may be terminated as 146 follows: 147 (1) Provided that the state case registry or child support order contains the child's date 148 of birth, the obligation shall be deemed terminated without further judicial or administrative 149 process when the child reaches age twenty-one if the child support order does not specifically 150 require payment of child support beyond age twenty-one for reasons provided by subsection 4 151 of this section; 152 (2) The obligation shall be deemed terminated without further judicial or 153 administrative process when the parent receiving child support furnishes a sworn statement 154 or affidavit notifying the obligor parent of the child's emancipation in accordance with the 155 requirements of subsection 4 of section 452.370, and a copy of such sworn statement or 156 affidavit is filed with the court which entered the order establishing the child support 157 obligation, or the family support division for an order entered under section 454.470; 158 (3) The obligation shall be deemed terminated without further judicial or 159 administrative process when the parent paying child support files a sworn statement or 160 affidavit with the court which entered the order establishing the child support obligation, or 161 the family support division for an order entered under section 454.470, stating that the child is 162 emancipated and reciting the factual basis for such statement; which statement or affidavit is 163 served by the court or division, as applicable, on the child support obligee; and which is either 164 acknowledged and affirmed by the child support obligee in writing, or which is not responded 165 to in writing within thirty days of receipt by the child support obligee; HB 2042 6
166 (4) The obligation shall be terminated as provided by this subdivision by the court 167 which entered the order establishing the child support obligation, or the family support 168 division for an order entered under section 454.470, when the parent paying child support 169 files a sworn statement or affidavit with the court which entered the order establishing the 170 child support obligation, or the family support division, as applicable, stating that the child is 171 emancipated and reciting the factual basis for such statement; and which statement or 172 affidavit is served by the court or division, as applicable, on the child support obligee. If the 173 obligee denies the statement or affidavit, the court or division shall thereupon treat the sworn 174 statement or affidavit as a request for hearing and shall proceed to hear and adjudicate such 175 request for hearing as provided by law; provided that the court may require the payment of a 176 deposit as security for court costs and any accrued court costs, as provided by law, in relation 177 to such request for hearing. When the division receives a request for hearing, the hearing 178 shall be held in the manner provided by section 454.475. 179 13. The court may enter a judgment terminating child support pursuant to 180 subdivisions (1) to (3) of subsection 12 of this section without necessity of a court appearance 181 by either party. The clerk of the court shall mail a copy of a judgment terminating child 182 support entered pursuant to subsection 12 of this section on both the obligor and obligee 183 parents. The supreme court may promulgate uniform forms for sworn statements and 184 affidavits to terminate orders of child support obligations for use pursuant to subsection 12 of 185 this section and subsection 4 of section 452.370. 186 14. Notwithstanding any provision of law, if the court awards each parent equal 187 periods of time with the child, the court shall not order a parent to pay child support to 188 the other parent for reasonable or necessary expenses of the child. ✔
Statutes affected: