Joint legal custody means that the parents have an obligation to work together to make the decisions regarding their children's lives. In the event of a dispute, a dissolution decree will often require the parents to submit a dispute to mediation before returning to court. Sole legal custody to one parent means that both parents have input into the decisions regarding their children's lives, but in the event of a dispute, the parent with sole legal custody can make the decision. With either type of legal custody arrangement, there must be a plan for physical custody, so that arrangements are made for where the children will be on any given day. A common physical custody schedule provides that one parent has the children for most of the time during the week, and the other parent has the children every other weekend, one evening during the week, six weeks during the summer, and alternating holidays.
Child support is calculated under Missouri law according to a chart.
The chart includes income from both parents. The chart includes expenses for day care, health insurance, and extraordinary expenses for the children. Under Missouri law, child support continues until a child reaches the age of 18, however, if the child remains in school as a full time student after age 18 the child support obligation will continue until the child reaches age 22. If the court enters an order for child support, a wage withholding order will be entered to have the child support deducted from a person's paycheck, unless the parents agree otherwise. In a dissolution of marriage case, the court has an obligation to divide all of the property belonging to the parties.