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Joseph, Hollander & Craft’s Kansas City divorce lawyers know that going through a divorce can be one of the most difficult challenges you will face in a lifetime. Decisions made in a divorce proceeding will impact your family’s well-being and your finances. JHC’s top-rated divorce attorneys know what it takes to navigate the complex proceedings of a divorce and help you find peace in the process.

Our Kansas City Divorce Lawyers: Ready for Anything in Your Divorce

We have successfully represented individuals in everything from simple and uncontested dissolutions where spouses agree about every issue to highly contested litigation where everything is in dispute. No matter the scope, difficulty, or obstacles of your divorce, we are dedicated to helping you achieve your goals. In addition to dissolving the marriage, the skilled divorce attorneys in our Kansas City office will help you with:

• Property Division. Our top-rated Kansas City divorce attorneys focus on ensuring your assets and ownership interests are divided in a manner that is just and equitable. Property subject to division in a divorce may include your home, business, bank accounts, pensions and other retirement plans, and vehicles. Associated debts will need to be divided as well. JHC’s Kansas City divorce lawyers adeptly manage the legal issues that arise with property division, including complex issues involved in high net worth divorces and divorces involving closely held businesses. Our divorce lawyers listen carefully to what you want and need and devise a legal strategy that reflects those goals. Once your divorce is finalized, we can also help with the transfer of assets awarded to you by preparing titles and deeds.
• Alimony / Spousal Maintenance. Referred to by many as alimony, spousal maintenance is a court ordered payment from one spouse to another spouse. It is generally intended to assist a spouse who did not work outside the home during the marriage or a spouse who earns less—to ensure appropriate provisions for his or her financial needs after the divorce. The divorce attorneys in JHC’s Kansas City office are well-versed in the factors the court will consider in making decisions about spousal maintenance awards. We will advise you regarding the likelihood of such an award in your case and whether negotiating for the provision of spousal maintenance is in your best interest. We will also help you understand the risks and benefits of ongoing spousal maintenance.
• Child Custody, Residency, and Parenting Time. When a couple with minor children divorces, the divorce court will enter orders governing how and how much each spouse may interact with the children and with whom the children will reside. The orders will govern who can make decisions about important issues like the children’s healthcare and education; who the children will live with; and how much time the children may spend with each parent. The court will make these decisions based on the best interests of the child. When it comes to these sensitive issues, you can trust JHC’s Kansas City divorce lawyers to provide candid and compassionate advice about what to expect and how to make your best case in or out of court.
• Child Support. Child support orders require one parent to pay another parent a certain sum for the financial maintenance of a child. Child support is based on each parent’s income, the number and needs of the children, and relevant expenses. Parents can negotiate certain aspects of child support, including provisions for special needs. Child support litigation can continue long after a divorce decree, as there may be issues with untimely payments and the court retains jurisdiction to modify a child support order after it has been entered. JHC’s Kansas City divorce attorneys work to obtain a fair child support order in initial divorce proceedings and assist parents with child support issues that arise after the divorce has been entered. We can advise you regarding how the court will calculate child support on its own, what is negotiable, and when a modification is appropriate.

Reasonable Negotiators and Fierce Advocates

Our Kansas City divorce lawyers are reasonable negotiators and fierce advocates when it comes to defending and negotiating spousal support and division of property. In marriages with children, we fight tirelessly to ensure your child custody, parenting time, and child support interests are fully realized. To conserve time and resources, our Kansas City divorce attorneys frequently utilize mediation or settlement negotiations before turning to trial. However, in the event a settlement cannot be reached, our litigators will fight zealously for you in the courtroom.

Whether you have already received divorce papers or are considering filing, JHC’s Kansas City divorce lawyers can help. Call us today.

FAQs About Kansas City Divorce

Does it matter who files for divorce?

Filing for divorce first does not give you any more rights than your spouse. However, doing so can give you some more control over the situation. In instances where more than one county or state has jurisdiction over the marriage, the person filing first may have the benefit of choosing where to file—thereby choosing what law or local rules will govern the case. Filing first may also give you more time to prepare for what happens next (i.e. having a better sense of the timeline of future court dates, discovery deadlines, etc.).

In Kansas, you may also have the first opportunity to file temporary orders, such as orders pertaining to who may possess certain property (like the marital home), orders prohibiting the sale of certain property, or orders establishing child custody, child support, or spousal maintenance. It is important to note that these orders are not permanent, but they may affect how matters are handled while the divorce is still being litigated.

Will I get spousal support/maintenance?

The short answer is: it depends. Every marriage brings about unique circumstances that courts will factor into a maintenance determination. Even when maintenance is ordered, the amount and the duration of maintenance differs in each case and may even be modified as the parties’ circumstances change.

In Kansas, courts look at many different factors when determining maintenance. However, the weight a court gives to each factor is largely left up to the discretion of the judge. A judge might look at the length of the marriage, each party’s earning potential and resources, each party’s age, the standard of living the parties were accustomed to during the marriage, and other factors the court deems relevant. In Kansas, maintenance may not be ordered for any period longer than 121 months, though in rare instances a maintenance determination may be reassessed after 121 months if the judge so orders.

In Missouri, courts look at various factors when determining maintenance, as well. However, the time limit to maintenance is very different. In some instances, where the court finds that a spouse has significant need, permanent maintenance may be ordered even until retirement age.