Missouri Is Changing When Pregnant Women Can Get Divorced
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Pregnant women in Missouri have long faced legal hurdles in dissolving their marriages, but a new law taking effect later this month will explicitly bar judges from delaying divorce proceedings solely because a spouse is pregnant.
While women can file for divorce in all 50 states regardless of pregnancy status, judges in some states have historically been reluctant to finalize dissolutions before a child is born. In Missouri, courts routinely required custody and paternity issues to be settled first, a practice critics said trapped vulnerable individuals—particularly domestic violence survivors—in marriages against their will.
The measure, signed by Republican Governor Mike Kehoe in April, goes into effect August 28. It amends state statutes to clarify that pregnancy status shall not prevent a court from entering a judgment of dissolution or legal separation.
Legal experts note that the traditional delay stemmed from a need for legal certainty.
"Divorce is often postponed when a wife is pregnant to permit a court to handle custody and support issues at the same time other divorce matters are resolved. Delay will also ensure that medical expenses resulting from the pregnancy and birth continue to be covered by the husband’s family medical insurance (which may not cover the wife after a divorce)," Marsha Garrison, a professor emerita at Brooklyn Law School, told Newsweek .
Kirk Stange, a founding partner of Stange Law Firm, one of the largest family law firms in the country, said Missouri courts historically interpreted existing statutes to require waiting until paternity could be definitively established. However, he noted that questions remain regarding how courts will navigate unresolved child-related issues under the new statute.
"The statute does not explain whether courts should postpone the fetus/unborn child’s issues until after birth or enter paternity, custody, and support orders while the baby/fetus is still in the womb," he said. "In my years practicing family law, I have not seen Missouri courts bifurcate divorces in this manner where they deal with custody after granting the divorce."
The legislation advanced through the Missouri Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support and no opposing votes as lawmakers and advocates highlighted the dangers the previous practice posed to abuse survivors.
“If we are serious about protecting life, we must also be serious about protecting vulnerable women and mothers,” Kehoe said in a statement after he signed the bill.
The governor also thanked state Representative Cecelie Williams, a Republican and survivor of domestic violence, for pushing to get the bill passed. Williams has publicly recounted how she attempted to leave an abusive marriage while pregnant with her fourth child but was told by a judge that she could not finalize the divorce because of her pregnancy. Her experience became a centerpiece of the campaign to reform Missouri law.
At the bill-signing ceremony, she described the moment as her "personal Independence Day."
"Knowing that no other woman will be forced to stay in a situation that they don't want to be in just because of their pregnancy status is everything to me," Williams said.
No state explicitly bars a judge from finalizing a divorce if one of the spouses is pregnant, but in Texas, it's often difficult to get divorced until after the baby is born. Bryan Fagan, a Texas family attorney, told Newsweek that the issue isn't a legal one, but a procedural and practical one.
Since Texas courts prefer to enter one comprehensive Final Decree of Divorce, it needs to cover every issue related to the marriage, including division of property and all matters involving children. If the child isn't born yet, the issues related to the children cannot necessarily be resolved, thereby delaying the finalization of a divorce.
Fagan noted that in Texas, a man is presumed to be the father of a child if the child is born during the marriage or within 300 days after the marriage is terminated. If parentage is disputed or someone outside of the marriage is the biological father, Fagan said the court wants to resolve those issues before finalizing the divorce to allow "the court to accurately identify the legal parents and enter enforceable orders regarding the child."
Hannah Hembree Bell, founder and CEO of Hembree Bell Law, a family law firm in Texas, said in most cases, a judge in Texas won't finalize a divorce while a woman is pregnant. And delaying the process can have "real financial consequences."
"The community estate continues to grow while the divorce is pending. Depending on the circumstances, that could mean additional income, retirement contributions, bonuses, or other assets earned during that time may become part of the community estate that has to be divided. The longer the case remains pending, the more there may be to untangle," Bell said.
Garrison added that in most states, judges have discretion about the timing of a divorce decree. So, if one person in the marriage requests a delay and there's a good reason to delay it, the judge might grant the request.
"In the vast majority of states, a judge may enter a divorce decree when one spouse is pregnant or may delay the decree, depending on the parties’ positions and the judge’s conclusion about whether delay is warranted," Garrison said. "The judge does not need any specific statutory authorization."
When Missouri's law takes effect later this month, courts will no longer be able to rely on pregnancy status alone as a basis for withholding a divorce judgment.
That does not mean every divorce involving a pregnant spouse will move quickly. Judges will still retain authority to delay proceedings for many traditional reasons, including disputes over property, custody battles, health…
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