Missouri Child Custody Agreement

Two things change. Mo. Rev. Stat. 452.375.2 applies a rebuttable presumption that equal or approximately equal parenting time is in the child's best interests, and provides that the presumption may be rebutted if the court finds that the parents have reached an agreement on all issues related to custody, or if the court finds that a pattern of domestic violence has occurred. Agreeing also switches off the duty to consider all relevant factors and enter written findings of fact and conclusions of law, which by its terms applies when the parties have not reached an agreement on all issues. The word all matters in both provisions, so an arrangement that leaves a custody question unresolved does not have that effect.

Yes, since August 28, 2024. Mo. Rev. Stat. 452.375.2 provides a rebuttable presumption that equal or approximately equal parenting time is in the best interests of the child, rebuttable only by a preponderance of the evidence and in accordance with all relevant factors, including the eight listed in the same subsection. The statute names two grounds for rebutting it: a finding that the parents have reached an agreement on all issues related to custody, and a finding that a pattern of domestic violence has occurred. That is the reverse of the usual pattern, where agreeing raises a presumption rather than displacing one.

Yes, and Missouri says so twice. Mo. Rev. Stat. 452.325.2 provides that the terms of a separation agreement are binding on the court except terms providing for the custody, support, and visitation of children, so the custody portion is a proposal rather than a contract the court must honor. Mo. Rev. Stat. 452.375.9 adds that in all cases the custody plan approved and ordered by the court is in the court's discretion and must be in the best interest of the child. The reassurance sits in the same statute: under 452.375.6, if a proposed custodial arrangement is rejected, the court must include a written finding detailing the specific relevant factors resulting in the rejection.

Yes. Mo. Rev. Stat. 452.310.8 provides that in a petition involving custody or visitation, or a motion to modify, the petitioner and respondent shall submit a proposed parenting plan, either individually or jointly, within thirty days after service of process or the filing of the entry of appearance, whichever occurs first. Parents who agree can file a single joint plan. If the plans differ or a party does not file, 452.310.9 has the court enter a temporary order containing a plan, and 452.375.9 has the court supply the plan in the final judgment where the parties have not. Under 452.310.11 a plan is not required for a child over eighteen for whom custody, visitation, or support is being established or modified.

More than most states ask for. Mo. Rev. Stat. 452.310.8 sets out twenty-five items under three headings. The residential schedule heading covers custody, visitation, and residential time for each child; major holidays and which party has each one each year; school holidays; the child's birthday, Mother's Day and Father's Day; weekday, weekend, and school vacation time; times and places for transfer; sharing transportation duties; telephone access times; procedures for requesting a temporary variation; and any requested restrictions on access with the reasons. The legal custody heading covers how decision-making is shared, education, medical and health care decisions, extracurricular activities, child care providers, communication procedures, a dispute resolution procedure, and reasons if a party proposes no shared decision-making. The third heading covers how the child's expenses are paid, the suggested amount of support from each party, health insurance and uninsured expenses, and educational, extraordinary, child care, and transportation expenses. The section was amended effective August 28, 2026, and the list is expressed as a floor rather than a ceiling.

There are eight, at Mo. Rev. Stat. 452.375.2(1) through (8): the wishes of the parents and their proposed parenting plans; the child's need for a frequent, continuing, and meaningful relationship with both parents and each parent's ability and willingness to perform their duties; the child's interaction with parents, siblings, and any other significant person; which parent is more likely to allow frequent, continuing, and meaningful contact with the other; the child's adjustment to home, school, and community; the mental and physical health of everyone involved, including any history of abuse; either parent's intention to relocate the child's principal residence; and the unobstructed input of the child, free of coercion and manipulation. The list is introduced by including, but not limited to, so it is open. These are the factors a court would apply if it does not accept the parents' arrangement.

No, and the difference is in the definition. Mo. Rev. Stat. 452.375.1 defines joint physical custody as an order awarding each parent significant, but not necessarily equal, periods of time. That definition now sits alongside the separate presumption in 452.375.2 favoring equal or approximately equal parenting time, so the label and the schedule are two different questions. Write out the actual schedule rather than relying on the label to carry it.

Mo. Rev. Stat. 452.377 sets out a complete notice and objection procedure, and the trigger is duration rather than distance. Relocation means a change in the child's principal residence for ninety days or more, not counting temporary absences, and there is no mileage threshold. Written notice must go by certified mail, return receipt requested, to any party with custody or visitation rights at least sixty days in advance, and the section prescribes six contents: the intended new residence including the specific address and mailing address, or the city if not known; the home telephone number of the new residence if known; the date of the intended move; a brief statement of the specific reasons; a proposal for a revised custody or visitation schedule; and a statement of the other party's right to file to prevent the relocation with a good faith affidavit within thirty days of receipt. The move may take place sixty days after notice unless a motion to prevent it is filed within that thirty day window, and the party seeking to relocate has the burden of proving that the relocation is made in good faith and is in the best interest of the child.

It is a mandatory consideration rather than a bar. A history of abuse is factor (6) at Mo. Rev. Stat. 452.375.2, and the same provision contemplates that a court may award custody to an abusive parent, requiring written findings of fact and conclusions of law if it finds that doing so is in the best interest of the child. Both 452.375.2(6) and 452.375.15 direct that custody and visitation be ordered in a manner that best protects the child and the parent or other family or household member who is the victim of domestic violence from further harm, and a found pattern of domestic violence is one of the two named grounds for rebutting the equal parenting time presumption. Separately and not to be confused with these provisions, 452.375.3 bars an award of custody or unsupervised visitation where the parent, or a person residing with that parent, has been found guilty of or pled guilty to certain sex and child endangerment offenses where a child was the victim.