Missouri Family Law Laws

Jillian A. Wood

My name is Jillian Wood. I’m a partner with the Stange Law Firm, primarily oversee the firm’s Illinois offices. The primary focus of my practice has been previously complex litigation and appellate practice.

Collaborative Law

However, the firm, including my area of practice, is moving more towards mediation and collaborative law as well. The differences between the two is that sometimes folks don’t want to undergo a complex litigation. It’s very, very emotional. It’s costly. It’s time consuming. The firm does offer these other options, and I think it’s important for clients to consider other options for going through the divorce process. Certainly mediation and collaborative law offer opportunities for clients to limit that acrimony, limit the contention that goes on with a traditional litigation.

So, I would encourage anyone who is about to go through this process, which is going to be a difficult process, to come in, talk to us, explore those other options because I think that those may be better options for some folks than the traditional litigation route.

By: Jillian A. Wood

Stange Law Firm is a growing law firm in Missouri and Illinois. We’re growing at a very quick pace. For individuals out there that are looking for opportunities, they’re looking for the ability to be in a courtroom for example, to be promoted, to have additional responsibilities, Stange Law Firm is a tremendous opportunity because there’s very few law firms in this region growing at the pace of Stange Law Firm.

I think that’s recognized in terms of the awards and the accolades our firm has received. We’ve been on the St. Louis Business Journal’s list at the top law firms in St. Louis in terms of the size and the number of attorneys that we have. So I think that’s a critical feature Stange Law Firm. I think we have a great compensation plan.

We’ve got a great benefit plan for all of our employees. So for those looking for a growing environment, looking for a way to really put themselves out there, show what they can do in the legal community or otherwise, Stange Law Firm’s a great opportunity. I would certainly encourage those looking for employment in Missouri and Illinois and throughout the Midwest to consider Stange Law Firm. We’re a great place to work.

By: Kirk C. Stange

Mediation is really popular – it’s very trendy. Lots of people are interested in the idea of mediation and it makes sense because really the thought behind it is parties get together, they sit down, they talk through their disputes versus having a judge decide how things are going to work.

So I think that’s the big plus to mediation, and most people’s conceptions of it is pretty accurate. The big thing for most folks to really understand is that if they go to mediation, most commonly it’s the party’s going alone with a neutral mediator. And the neutral mediator then helps facilitate a discussion between the parties in terms of creative resolutions that might be out there. A big difference between mediation and simply having an attorney on the front end though is the mediator can’t divorce you. So if you reach an agreement in mediation, then generally speaking, one of the parties at least is still going to need to hire an attorney to file the divorce in court, file settlement paperwork in court, and conclude it.

But at the end of the day, if parties are able to do this, they can save a lot of money, they can save a lot of time, and certainly the heartache of going through a contentious divorce isn’t the case if parties can reach a resolution in mediation.

By: Kirk C. Stange

Clients in Missouri that need family law help should look to Stange Law Firm. Stange Law Firm has multiple offices throughout the area for the convenience of our parties. In a lot of law firms, parties have to drive to one central location to get to their attorney. At our firm, we’ve taken great pride in having offices throughout the area in various different counties to assist with family law matters. At our firm we exclusively practice family law. We don’t practice in any other area of law, which helps clients because we know the ins and outs of family law.

As a firm, we have seen almost every type of case that comprises the family law spectrum and know how to handle those situations in the best possible manner for clients given the unique facts of their case. We also return all phone calls the same day left before 5:00 PM. Clients also get 24/7 access to their file through “your case tracker” which is a feature on our webpage which is a tremendous tool for clients going through divorce or family law matters. So for those in Missouri that have a divorce or other family law matters, Stange Law Firm can help.

By: Kirk C. Stange

Lots of parties have heard about divorces where it’s acrimonious and there’s a lot of anger, and the proceedings end up being long and end up costing a lot of money. A prenuptial agreement can be a great tool because parties before entering into marriage are able to sit down with each other, talk about various scenarios, and consider what might happen if the marriage doesn’t ultimately work, and so it is a cost savings medium.

A prenuptial agreement is very useful, very effective. Lots of folks still think prenuptial agreements aren’t romantic and they’re kind of adverse to the idea of doing a prenuptial agreement. But at the end of the day, it really can save folks lots of money. It could keep people out of court. And if the marriage doesn’t work, it could be a much better process if parties at least consider the idea of having a prenuptial agreement.

By: Kirk C. Stange

High Asset Divorce Case

Those going through a high asset divorce really have a lot at stake, because a lot of those individuals have worked very hard to get where they are in life. And so, when they’re going through divorce, they’ve got a lot of concerns. They’re concerned about how they’re able to preserve their assets and kind of maintain that standard of living that they took so much effort and time to build up.

Industry Experts

And so lots of different things that folks going through a high asset divorce ought to at least consider doing, versus maybe individuals who don’t have a lot of assets, I would say is having expert help. In some cases you might want a forensic accountant. You might need an appraiser. You might need what’s called a business evaluator if a business is involved in the case. And so think about expert witnesses. They can become crucial in a high asset case. And then another key piece is really having a good inventory or list of the assets that are out there.

Obviously in a simple case there’s not a whole lot there, but the complex cases, it’s really critical to be very organized, very concise with your attorney, so your attorney knows how to best represent you in the process versus kind of finding out through the case, you know, there’s this asset and that asset that maybe the attorney didn’t know about from day one.

By: Kirk C. Stange

Collaborative law is very similar to mediation but there’s a couple of key differences. Again, the parties sit down, they talk. They try to have creative resolutions discussed amongst them, and the idea is that they can come to a resolution that works best for them versus simply having a judge decide it.

The key differences, however, is in collaborative law, you have an attorney who’s present with you during the collaborative proceedings, and these are attorneys that are trained in collaborative law. At Stange Law Firm, we’ve got attorneys that can help you if you need a collaborative divorce attorney. And then additionally, versus having a mediator, what you have in collaborative law is various professionals that can assist in the process. For example, financial neutrals can be present, help parties work through the financial issues that might take place in a case.

In some cases, there might be a lot of emotions, people might have hurt feelings in terms of the divorce. In these instances, a divorce coach can be useful to help the parties deal with the emotional issues that might take place in a case. And then you can have a custody professional as well, help give opinions in terms of what might be in the best interest of the kids in a particular case.

So collaborative law is kind of mediation plus because you have these various professionals that can help assist in the process. And I’d say, another key feature is your collaborative attorney can actually file the case in court and complete the divorce, unlike mediation, if an agreement is reached, and that is a key plus for collaborative law versus mediation. And then I would say, additionally, a good thing about collaborative law is there’s no court file littered with nasty motions, maybe embarrassing allegations. So if you’re able to do a collaborative divorce, it can be a good thing in terms of privacy.

By: Kirk C. Stange

Parties going through a paternity case should know that they’re in a common situation, that at the end of the day – next to divorce – paternity cases are really the most common type of family law matter that’s out there. Paternity cases are really just custody and child support disputes among parties that had kids that weren’t married. These cases are common.

It’s important to have an attorney throughout the process helping you if you’re going through one of these cases. Again, 40% of kids are born out of wedlock in the United States as things stand today.

So, next to divorce, paternity cases are really a very common case. They’re important cases and the ramifications for parties and the children are really tremendous. So, it’s important to have representation that’s effective if you’re going through a paternity case.

By: Kirk C. Stange

For those going through a divorce or family law matter, there’s certain cases where parties should at least consider hiring a private investigator for their case. It’s not necessary in every case. But in cases, for example, involving allegations of martial misconduct, a private investigator can often times assist. They can often assist in child custody cases, child support cases, and spousal support cases.

Really the information they can provide is really from a fact-based scenario. Often times they’re able to get information that can help present the case to the judge in the best possible light. So if you’re going through a divorce or family law matter, you’re interested in terms of hiring a private investigator, Stange Law Firm can help lead you in the right direction.

By: Kirk C. Stange