Equal Parenting Time – What does Missouri law say?

Media Coverage vs. Statutory Reality

When Missouri’s statute addressing parenting time in dissolution of marriage cases was amended in 2023, it was widely proclaimed in the media that Missouri is now an “equal” or “50/50” custody state. A lay person using a simple Google search might assume that is true, but what the statute says is, in fact, different.

Best Interests of the Child Still Control

The paramount standard guiding custody decisions in Missouri continues to be the best interests of the child. What the legislature did in 2023 was to insert a “….rebuttable presumption that an award of equal or approximately equal parenting time to each parent is in the best interests of the child.”

Missouri’s 2023 Rebuttable Presumption Explained

A rebuttable presumption means that the presumption of “equal or approximately equal” parenting time can be disproved (rebutted) as not being in the best interest of the child in appropriate cases. The statute also requires that the presumption be rebutted by a “preponderance of the evidence” in accordance with all relevant factors, including, but not limited to, eight factors outlined in the statute. The “preponderance of the evidence” standard means that the presumption may be overcome by showing that it is more likely than not that some arrangement other than “equal or approximately equal” parenting time is in the best interests of a child.

What “Approximately Equal” Parenting Time Means in Missouri

It is also significant that the statute does not by its own terms presume that exactly equal, fifty-fifty, parenting time is in the best interests of the child. The rebuttable presumption applies to “equal or approximately equal” parenting time. So, what does “approximately equal” mean in this context? A recent decision by the Court of Appeals for the Western District of Missouri addressed this question.

Recent Case Interpreting the New Standard

In that case, a father challenged the judgment’s allocation of parenting time because it was not equal during the school year. While the opinion notes that the plain language of the statute does not require or presume that exactly fifty-fifty parenting time is in the best interests of a child, the court was unable to cite to any earlier case mathematically quantifying what would equate to “approximately equal” parenting time.

The court found the schedule ordered by the trial judge to be at least probably “approximately equal” where there is a one day per week difference in parenting time during the school year with the parents sharing other time equally, including holidays, special days, and summer vacation time.

In upholding the trial court’s decision, this opinion reaffirms that the legislature intended for Missouri courts to address the best interests of children in the context of the family’s specific circumstances, rather than follow a rigid formula or mandate exactly equal parenting time.

Discuss Your Family’s Circumstances with Counsel

It is important to discuss your family’s specific circumstances with your attorney where custody of a child is at issue to determine what factors might be at issue in your case, particularly if you believe that equal, or approximately equal, parenting time is not in the best interests of your child.