Missouri recently followed many other states by making equal parenting time a rebuttable presumption in divorce and child custody matters. The rebuttable presumption was enacted as part of Senate Bill 35, which went into effect in Missouri on August 28, 2023.

How Does The Rebuttable Presumption Work?

Under the new law’s terms, there is a rebuttable presumption when determining child custody arrangements that equal or approximately equal parenting time for each parent is in the child’s best interests. The new law also urges courts to enter a temporary parenting plan as soon as practicable to ensure both parents participate in custody decisions and have frequent, continuing, and meaningful contact with their children.

The presumption can be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence that equal or approximately equal parenting time is not in the child’s best interests. In situations where the parties agree to different arrangements or a pattern of domestic violence has occurred, the presumption can be overcome more easily.

However, in cases where nothing unusual is taking place, it might not be possible to overcome the presumption. In this way, the law is set to make it difficult to overcome the presumption of equal or roughly equal parenting time.

The new law also requires that the court instead consider the child’s unobstructed input, free of coercion and manipulation, as to his or her custodial arrangement. This new language is a change from the prior language that only required that the court make findings as to the child’s wishes.

Why Did Missouri Enact This New Law?

While many courts in Missouri were already starting with equal parenting as a presumption for a long time, this new law has done much to ensure this is taking place throughout the state. For example, some still worried that many courts gave one parent most of the custody time, while the other received weekends, holidays, and summertime custody. More often than not, some worried that the father often had less custody time.

Many also worried that hearings on temporary custody motions at the outset of a divorce or custody case took too long due to busy court dockets. In such situations, one parent was sometimes unable to see their child or be an active participant for a long time. When the minor child was an infant, many fathers also complained that they would not get overnight visitation with their child for a substantial time.