Kansas City Divorce Lawyer

Divorce Lawyer Kansas City, MO

A divorce lawyer Kansas City, MO clients know that the process can be painful and difficult for everyone involved. No matter the reasons for the divorce, it is not an easy decision to make. It impacts all parties in significant ways, especially if you have children. You don’t have to go through it alone, however. Seek assistance from a trusted divorce lawyer who has experience helping clients go through a divorce as smoothly as possible, like one at the Law Office of Daniel E. Stuart, P.A. 

Table Of Contents:

• How a Divorce Lawyer Can Help You
• How to Find a Quality Lawyer
• Why You Should Stay Off Social Media During Your Divorce
• Kansas City Divorce Law Infographic
• Things to Think About Before a Divorce Proceeding
• Things to Think About During a Divorce Proceeding
• Domestic Violence and Divorce
• Kansas City Divorce Law Statistics
• Kansas City Divorce Law FAQs
• Assistance From an Experienced and Professional Law Firm

Divorce Lawyer in Kansas City, MO 

The team at the Law Office of Daniel E. Stuart, P.A. knows how to take care of all of your legal needs relating to family law. Personal injury and family lawyer Daniel E. Stuart has been assisting clients since 1994, and he knows what it takes to successfully represent his clients and provide them the results that they are seeking. If you are searching for a dependable and knowledgeable lawyer who can guide you through your complex legal challenges, schedule an appointment with him by calling our firm. 

How a Divorce Lawyer Can Help You

Divorce is a complex process, and it can be time-consuming and confusing because of the many elements involved. It requires parties to make tough financial decisions that not only impact them, but their families as well. A divorce lawyer can help you in many ways and is able to provide you with a variety of legal services. They can help you understand the law and the detailed steps of a divorce proceeding.  As your legal advocate, a divorce lawyer will strive to ensure that you receive the best outcome that is fair. Some of the specific tasks that they can assist you with include: 

• Handle paperwork
• Provide legal counsel
• Explain your legal rights 
• Explain state and federal laws
• Evaluate your assets 
• Develop a payment plan for debt
• Assist with child or spousal support 
• Determine a fair divorce settlement
• Represent you in court 

How to Find a Quality Lawyer 

Searching for a divorce lawyer in Kansas City, MO that you can depend on can be a long process. It is critical that you take the time to do your research and look for a lawyer who exhibits the right qualities so that they can properly assist you and handle your case. You should hire a lawyer who is communicative, experienced, knowledgeable, and empathetic. Their background should include experience handling cases that have similar elements to yours. 

Schedule a Consultation 

When you hire a professional and experienced divorce lawyer, your chances of getting the case outcome that you want are much higher. While hiring a lawyer is a significant investment, it is worth it for the results that you are able to get. When it comes to something as important as divorce, you want to make sure that you get everything right. For more information about the benefits of obtaining legal help, contact a divorce lawyer in the Kansas City, MO area near you.

Why You Should Stay Off Social Media During Your Divorce

A common mistake a divorce lawyer Kansas City, MO residents trust sees divorcing people do is use social media. While it may be tempting to get on your social media profiles to vent, it is not a wise move. Here are a few reasons why you should stay off social media during your divorce.

• You may showcase your spending habits. When you are going through a divorce, you definitely do not want to make your spending habits public. It can make it more difficult to obtain spousal support. For instance, if you post about your restaurant and shopping trips with friends, your ex could argue that you don’t need any support.

• You could hurt your child custody case. If you want to get custody of your children, you need to be especially careful with your social media use. You do not want to post anything that might make you look like an unfit parent. For example, if you post a photo of yourself drinking at a bar, the other side might tell the judge that you are not a responsible parent.

• Your friends can expose you. Even if you are not posting anything on your social media pages, you can still get into hot water if your friends tag you. Their posts may expose information that you do not want to be public. As such, your Kansas City divorce lawyer may advise you to tell your friends not to tag you in posts.

• You could reveal your new relationship. Although it is generally not a good idea to date other people while getting divorced, some people do not follow this advice. If you plan to get into a new romantic relationship during divorce proceedings, you will want to significantly reduce your social media use. If your ex finds out that you are dating someone else from your social media, it could make your divorce more difficult.

• Your words can come back to bite you. Going through a divorce can be incredibly stressful and challenging. You may want to rant about your ex on social media to blow off some steam. However, you should resist the urge to do this. Remember that what you say on social media can come back and bite you later on. If you, for example, make a post bashing your ex, you may be seen as unstable in court.

• Your mental health matters. Even if you do not post anything incriminating on social media, using it too frequently can take a toll on your mental health during this trying time. You might be able to see what your ex is up to via your social media, which could be upsetting. Protect your mental well-being by staying off social media during divorce proceedings. Instead, you should participate in healthier activities, such as reading a good book or exercising. 

Kansas City Divorce Law Infographic

Things to Think About Before a Divorce Proceeding

 There are many things to consider before a divorce proceeding. The end of a marriage can either be a feeling of relief for some or a feeling of dread and depression for others. While it may be difficult to go through a divorce the things to think about before going through one are important. If you have children then it is important to consider their thoughts and feelings about the divorce. Consider finding a peaceful and good time to tell them as the news to them could completely change their world. Talking them through what the plans are for the future is something else to help them feel at ease. It’s especially important to let them know that things may be changing but that things don’t have to become vastly different than they currently are. As for the divorcing spouses, they too need to think about child custody as well as child support and alimony payments. These financial items will be determined later on in court or in legal proceeding agreements. If you think that you need assistance with all of these different items then contact us today at the Law Office of Daniel E. Stuart, P.A. A Kansas City, MO divorce lawyer from our firm is standing by and ready to assist you. 

Things to Think About During a Divorce Proceeding 

Once you and your future ex-spouse have agreed to divorce then it’s time to start thinking about the different details of what will come about in divorce. There will be a financial split taking place that generally sees finances divided in half. Assets and other financial items will be divided up between the spouses. Alimony payments may be required depending on the circumstances involved with the divorce. This is when one spouse is ordered to pay for the other spouse’s monthly expenses. Child support will also be determined depending on if there are children involved in the divorce. Divorce can be a tricky thing to get through and fighting has been known to take place both verbally and even physically between the two divorcing spouses and their families too. For a better chance at having an amicable divorce and ensuring that everything is taken care of, seek out a Kansas City divorce lawyer from the Law Office of Daniel E. Stuart, P.A. Our firm has helped many people overcome divorce and we believe we can help you too. 

Domestic Violence and Divorce

While every divorce has its own unique set of circumstances, a Kansas City, MO divorce lawyer knows that when there have been incidents of domestic violence in the marriage, the process can become much more difficult and, in some cases, potentially dangerous. Domestic violence has become too common a problem in the United States, affecting more than 1.5 million survivors every year.

Fortunately, the state has put laws in place that can provide victims of abuse with options for keeping their abuses away and keeping themselves and their families safe. These options include orders of protection, mutual restraining orders, civil no-contact orders, and no-stalking contact orders. Each of these remedies varies in what protection they provide and who qualifies, but they are all designed to keep victims safe and prevent abuse.

Kansas City Divorce Law Statistics:

According to the latest available statistics from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, in 2020, there were a total of 19,886 divorces granted in the state of Missouri. This represents a decrease from the previous year, when there were 20,311 divorces granted.

In terms of divorce rates, the rate of divorce in Missouri in 2020 was 3.2 per 1,000 population, which is slightly lower than the national average of 3.7 per 1,000 population.

It’s worth noting that these statistics do not provide information specific to Kansas City, MO. However, they do offer a general sense of divorce trends in the state of Missouri.

Kansas City Divorce Law FAQs

How is domestic abuse defined?

In order to understand the options available to prevent domestic violence, it can help to understand how the law defines it. The law considers domestic abuse to be any abuse between “family or household members.” Importantly, the law takes a broad view of what constitutes abuse and what constitutes a household member.

Abuse means “physical abuse, harassment, or intimidation.” This definition includes physical violence, but also goes much further, encompassing acts like interfering with someone at their job, repeated telephone calls, and making violent threats against the person.

Who is considered a “family or household member” when it comes to the law?

As a Kansas City divorce lawyer can explain, the law defines family or household members expansively. Some examples of household members include:

• Spouses or ex-spouses
• Parents
• Children or stepchildren
• People who live together or have lived together
• People who were engaged or who date
• People with a common child

 What exactly does an order of protection do?

One of the most commonly used tools to prevent domestic abuse is the order of protection. This is a legal order that a judge issues that forbid certain behaviors, keep abusers away from certain places, makes abusers attend counseling, and even forces them to move out of the home. The process for getting one of these orders depends on their term and on the seriousness of the situation. Short-term orders can be granted on an emergency basis without needing to bring the abuser in for a hearing, but a longer-term order will require a more formal process in which both sides can present their cases.

What is a mutual restraining order?

There is also a variant of the order of protection available known as the mutual restraining order. These come into play in relationships where both members exhibit abusive tendencies. The mutual restraining order places restrictions on both partners. A Kansas City divorce lawyer knows that sometimes the abuser’s lawyer will attempt to make it sound as if the victim is also an abuser. Your lawyer will present all available evidence to defend against these charges.

Are there any other options to stop an abuser?

There are also some legal options available for people who do not fall into the household member classes but are still experiencing abuse. These include civil no-contact orders for experiencing sexual harassment or violence and no-stalking contact orders for other harassing behaviors.

Assistance From an Experienced and Professional Law Firm

Our law firm is both experienced and knowledgeable about divorce law. We know the different angles and strategies that the other spouse will take to either try and gain child custody or to get more favorable financial terms for themselves. Let us help you overcome divorce with our skilled team. Divorce can be a tough thing to get through on your own and without a professional on your side. Contact our firm today to get help from a Kansas City divorce lawyer who will work on your behalf.