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The Missouri Supreme Court has recently (10 April
2001) cast aside the decade-old four-point test for determining if relocation of a child's
principal residence will be allowed.
In Stowe v. Spence, 41 S. W. 3d 468 (Mo. 2001), the Court
said that the 1998 revisions to the statute gave
us a new test, which has 3 points:
- (a) is relocation in the child's best interests;
- (b) is it made in good faith; and, if ordered,
- (c) does relocation follow the mandate of the statute (regarding change in parenting plan and what must be contemplated by the change in parenting plan).
The Court has also very recently (29 May 2001)
granted transfer in a WD Court of Appeals (Kansas
City) case, Kelling v. Kelling, possibly for
remand in light of the Court's decision in Stowe.
Relocation has been a hot issue in Missouri for
the last decade, and the Court's brief opinion in
Stowe doesn't exactly tell us as much as we might
like to hear regarding how trial courts are to
decide the cases they are considering. However,
all trial counsel should review their pending
cases -- and all parents should take their own
circumstances into consideration -- in light of
this development.
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A recent [June 26, 2001] Western District case follows the newly announced
standard in determining relocation. In that case, Romanetto v. Romanetto,
which is not yet final due to a pending motion for rehearing, the Western
District Court of appeals affirmed a Macon County decision allowing
relocation. The language in the case is quite favorable on the issue of
"good faith" reason for moving and seems to tie those "good faith" reasons
into the second prong, that is, "best interests", where the custodial
parent has performed the role of "custodial parent" to the child's benefit.
Stay tuned for more information as these cases develop.
Here is a
link to an opinion in a recent relocation case, in which
DivorceNet® attorney M. Corinne Corley
won an appeal of a case transferring custody from a custodial
dad to a noncustodial mom. The Court of Appeals reversed the
transfer of custody, and remanded for a retrial to determine
if relocation should be allowed.
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