Amanda M. Showalter

Child custody is the legal term that helps us understand when a child is going to be where and who is going to make what decisions for the child. The court will enter an order for child custody in both dissolution of marriage actions and paternity actions. Child custody has two sub-parts – physical custody and legal custody.

The legal term in Missouri for divorce is “dissolution of marriage.” Please see our website for a more indepth discusion:

Family law is the practice of law in the areas of dissolution of marriage, legal separation, paternity, child custody, child support, guardianship, name change, and can include DFS/CD and juvenile court cases.

Probate is the legal process that provides for the orderly transfer of a decedent's property to his or her heirs (usually children and family members)– whether through the rules of intestacy or pursuant to the directions in the will. Probate also functions to determine the legitimacy of claims against the estate and insures the payment of proper claims.