On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Support on Friday, March 4, 2016.
Missourians who have an opinion about the state’s child support guidelines — and we are sure there are many — will have a chance to give their opinion to the state Supreme Court.
According to the Saint Louis American, the Court’s Family Court Committee is conducting a review of Missouri’s child support guidelines. Specifically, the committee is taking a look at the “assumptions, information and methodology” used to create the guidelines family law courts use to determine how much noncustodial parents must pay in support.
As part of that review, the committee is taking comments from the public in a series of hearings, at which people can give testimony. The first hearing is scheduled to be held at the St. Louis County Courts Building in Clayton on March 4. Similar events are planned in Independence, Springfield, Columbia and Benton later this month. People who cannot make one of these hearings can also mail written comments to the Office of State Courts Administrator in Jefferson City.
Keep in mind that the committee is not authorized to consider changes to the child support statute itself, or any related laws. Nor is the purpose of these listening sessions to consider issues around the child support collection process or modification of existing support orders.
Surely many, if not most, of the people who will participate have personal experience with child support, good or bad. The issue can be highly personal, but everyone agrees that no child should be financially deprived by the fact that his or her parents do not live together.
