A Major Change to Missouri Divorce Law

Missouri recently passed legislation allowing courts to grant divorces while a spouse is pregnant. Historically, Missouri courts generally would not finalize a divorce until after the child was born. The rationale was straightforward: courts wanted certainty about paternity and did not want to make custody determinations involving an unborn child/fetus.

Now, that longstanding approach has changed.

Supporters of the legislation argued that some women become trapped in marriages because they cannot finalize a divorce while pregnant. In some situations, advocates contend, a husband may intentionally impregnate his wife during a deteriorating marriage, effectively delaying the divorce process for months.

Where Is the Data?

That concern may exist in some cases. But one major question remains unanswered: how often does this actually happen? The public debate surrounding this legislation featured strong emotional arguments, but there appears to be little statistical data showing how frequently women are unable to leave marriages because of pregnancy-related divorce delays.

The lack of empirical data raises an important policy question. Before changing longstanding family law procedures, lawmakers typically rely on evidence showing a widespread problem exists. In this situation, it remains unclear how common these circumstances truly are.

Another Scenario Courts Frequently Encounter

At the same time, there is another scenario that may occur more often in practice: a husband seeks a divorce after learning his wife became pregnant by another man during an already broken marriage.

Under the historical system, the husband could still be forced to wait until the child was born before finalizing the divorce. Courts traditionally wanted time to determine paternity because, in many cases, DNA testing could not occur until after birth.

Yet many spouses already know the likely answer long before any test is performed. In some marriages, the parties have been separated for months, and there has been no sexual relationship during the relevant conception period. Even so, the case could remain pending because of the pregnancy itself.

The new law attempts to address these situations by allowing the divorce to proceed.

The Biggest Problem: Custody and Support of an Unborn Child/Fetus

While the legislation changes the timing of divorce, it creates a significant legal dilemma that lawmakers did not fully answer: how should courts handle custody, parenting issues, and support involving an unborn child/fetus?

That question becomes far more complicated than it initially appears.

If a divorce is finalized before birth, courts may know very little about the child or the future parenting circumstances. The court may not know whether the baby is healthy, whether there are medical complications, whether the child has special needs, or even whether the alleged father is truly the biological parent.

The court also has no way of knowing how either parent will function after the child is born. Some fathers become highly involved and excellent parents. Others do not. Some mothers handle the transition well, while others may struggle with postpartum depression or other serious challenges after birth. These realities often become clearer only after the child arrives.

Historically, that uncertainty was one of the main reasons courts delayed finalizing divorces during pregnancy. Judges generally did not want to create custody orders involving an unborn child because the factual circumstances were simply unknown.

The Paternity Issue Remains Complicated

Paternity has historically been another major concern in these cases.

For decades, courts wanted certainty regarding who the father was before finalizing divorce matters involving custody and child-related issues. While DNA testing has become more advanced, courts still often must wait until after birth for definitive answers.

This creates practical complications. A husband may strongly believe he is not the biological father based on the timeline of the marriage and separation. However, courts generally prefer objective proof rather than assumptions before entering final orders involving parental rights and obligations.

The new law may allow divorces to proceed more quickly, but paternity disputes themselves are not necessarily eliminated.

Does This Law Indirectly Raise Abortion Questions?

This legislation also creates a philosophical and legal tension that lawmakers may not have fully considered. In many ways, the statute indirectly touches on broader societal debates regarding unborn children/fetuses.

Is the unborn child/fetus treated as a child for purposes of custody and parental rights? Or is the pregnancy viewed differently until birth occurs? The law does not clearly answer these questions, yet courts may now be forced to confront them in practical ways.

These issues become difficult because family courts traditionally deal with custody and parenting matters involving children who are born with known circumstances. Here, courts may be asked to make decisions involving a child/fetus that has not yet been born.

Rare Bipartisan Agreement

Perhaps most notably, this legislation received bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats — something increasingly uncommon in today’s political climate.

That broad support suggests many lawmakers believed the prior rule created unfairness or unnecessary delay. Yet bipartisan agreement does not necessarily mean the difficult legal questions have been solved.

Missouri Courts Will Likely Shape the Answers

The largest issue may ultimately be the absence of guidance. The new law changes the result, but it does not clearly explain how courts should navigate custody, paternity, parenting plans, support, or future disputes involving unborn children/fetuses.

Missouri judges will likely be left to develop solutions on a case-by-case basis.

As these cases begin moving through the courts, it will be interesting to see how judges address the complicated intersection of divorce, paternity, custody, and support involving unborn children/fetuses. The legislation may have solved one problem while simultaneously creating several new ones.

If you need help with a divorce during pregnancy, Stange Law Firm can help. Contact us online or at 855-805-0595.