St Louis Divorce Lawyer Blog

Many Missouri television lovers have probably watched an episode of ABC's "The Bachelor" at some point. The reality show is one of America's favorite guilty pleasures. The series is filled with heartbreak and passionate love--all distinguished by a recurring rose ceremony at the end of each episode. If you are a fan, you may have already heard that Chris Harrison, host of this series, is getting a divorce from his wife of 18 years. Within this process, the TV personality will undoubtedly have to deal with property division matters and issues regarding his children.

Harrison and Gwen Jones announced that they would be separating after nearly two decades together. Currently, the couple lives in California with their two children. California is a community property state; however, most states are common law property states. In community property states, assets acquired during marriage are split down the middle in a divorce; assets are owned equally. On the other hand, common law states, such as Missouri, permit each spouse to retain separate ownership of their individual property if a divorce results. Assets are shared only by choice. The court makes a fair evaluation.

This past week, another study on divorce was released, triggering watercooler debates in St. Louis offices. This latest study says that 79 percent of married couples who go through a legal separation wind up getting a divorce.

While these studies can be interesting to discuss, we should remember that no study can determine how individuals will behave in their lives. Studies simply give us an idea of what the averages might be -- and let's face it, sometimes the researchers get it wrong.

An unusual child custody case is making news far from us in St. Louis. The case involves an Indiana man who's fighting for custody of his son in Maine. The 24-year-old is anxiously awaiting results of a court-ordered DNA test that could enable him to get custody of the two-year-old boy.

Back in January of 2010, the Indiana man got some startling news: he was father of a four-month-old baby. More than that, he was also informed that a couple in Maine had been named temporary guardians of the infant.

Missouri is far from the only state in which it's difficult for an unmarried father to gain visitation rights or child custody when the mother objects.

One man recently featured in news articles has seen his daughter only one time in the past four and a half years, but he has waged a nonstop battle in courts spanning two states to get the right to visit his girl.

It can seem like a battle of spies: James Bond vs. Evelyn Salt, perhaps. But the spying done in divorce cases and child custody battles is typically by the spouses themselves, rather than sleuths with exotic accents and designer clothes, according to media reports.

Because of the proliferation of affordable technological advances, many suspicious St. Louis spouses have taken it upon themselves to snoop on undercover activities by their partner, or look for evidence that the ex or soon-to-be ex is not a fit parent deserving of custody.

The numbers are staggering: more than 845 million people use Facebook every month. Nearly a half-billion around the world use it every single day. If you're one of those St. Louis people who use the site to stay in touch with friends and family, it's a good idea to be extra careful with Facebook -- or any other social network -- if you're contemplating separation or going through a divorce, especially one likely to include a child custody dispute.

A recent survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers showed that more than 80 percent of responding attorneys said that the number of divorce cases involving evidence gathered from social networks has risen dramatically since 2006.

A five-year-old boy awaiting a heart transplant is safely back at his Missouri home after his father allegedly abducted him from a St. Louis hospital and took him to Illinois.

The boy was found at a Chicago-area motel with his father, 33, who now faces charges of kidnapping, child endangerment and interfering with child custody. The father lost custody of his son in a December divorce.

Former football star Deion Sanders' bitter divorce from estranged wife Pilar Sanders took another bad turn earlier this week. The pro football Hall of Fame member posted online a photo of himself and his two young sons filing out a police report against the boys' mother.

Sanders posted the photo on Twitter, along with a pair of messages, including one applauding the social network: "filling out police reports now! Thank God for this platform to issue the Truth." Sanders played two sports professionally -- football and baseball -- appearing many times in front of St. Louis crowds.