Child custody · St. Louis and across Missouri
The short answer. Not automatically, but equal time is now the starting point. Since 2023, section 452.375.2 has said there is “a rebuttable presumption that an award of equal or approximately equal parenting time to each parent is in the best interests of the child.” A parent who wants a different schedule has to rebut that presumption by a preponderance of the evidence, and the judge still decides custody based on the child’s best interests.
The presumption is for equal or approximately equal time, not an exact 50/50 split. In Chan v. Chan (W.D. 2025), the Western District said plainly that the statute “does not create a presumption in favor of exactly equal parenting time.” Bardol Law Firm handles family law and nothing else, in St. Louis County, St. Louis City, St. Charles County and Jefferson County. You can reach us at 314.918.0100.
- What Does the 2023 Law Say?
- What Counts as “Approximately Equal”?
- How Can the Presumption Be Rebutted?
- What Else Did the 2023 Law Change?
- Is Joint Physical Custody the Same as Equal Time?
- Does It Apply to Unmarried Parents and Modifications?
- What About Child Support With Equal Time?
- Practical Steps for Parents
- How Bardol Law Firm Helps
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Does the 2023 Law Say?
The presumption came from Senate Bill 35, passed in 2023. The key sentences of section 452.375.2 now say this.
The court shall determine custody in accordance with the best interests of the child.
There is a rebuttable presumption that equal or approximately equal parenting time for each parent is in the child’s best interests.
The presumption can be rebutted only by a preponderance of the evidence, considering all relevant factors, including the eight factors listed in the statute.
The presumption may be rebutted if the parents have agreed on all custody issues, or if the court finds a pattern of domestic violence.
A preponderance of the evidence means “more likely than not.” It is the ordinary civil standard, lower than the “clear and convincing” standard used in some other family law questions.
Before you agree to a schedule, know what the 2023 law presumes and how it can be rebutted.
What to say, what to sign, whether to move out, how to handle the kids’ schedule. One hour with an experienced Bardol Law Firm attorney before you decide can save you from choices that are hard to undo later. You will leave understanding your rights, your options, and what to do next.
$300 · One full hour · No obligation to hire us
What Counts as “Approximately Equal”?
No Missouri statute or case sets a number. In Chan, the court said it knew of no precedent that “mathematically quantifies” approximately equal time, and that the statute leaves courts to address the question in each family’s circumstances.
In that Boone County case, a father who had worked long hours as a surgical resident asked to modify the parenting plan for an exact 50/50 split. The court gave him more time than the original order, including evenly split summers, but not the extra school-year weeknight needed for an exact split. He appealed, arguing anything less than 50/50 was error.
The Western District affirmed. The difference was one day a week during the school year, and the court said the plan probably was approximately equal. It also noted the trial court’s findings that the children were better adjusted to the mother’s home and that frequent transitions were not in their interests.
If you want to see how a proposed schedule actually adds up across a year, including holidays, breaks and summer, our parenting time calculator shows every night of the year and the total for each parent. Our page on the 2-2-3 schedule explains one common equal-time rotation.
How Can the Presumption Be Rebutted?
The statute names two situations, then leaves the rest to the evidence.
The best-interest factors. Otherwise, a parent seeking a different schedule must show, more likely than not, that it better serves the child under the statute’s factors.
Each parent’s wishes and proposed parenting plan.
The child’s need for a frequent, continuing and meaningful relationship with both parents, and each parent’s ability and willingness to parent.
The child’s relationships with parents, siblings and others who significantly affect the child.
Which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent, continuing and meaningful contact with the other parent.
The child’s adjustment to home, school and community.
The mental and physical health of everyone involved, including any history of abuse.
Either parent’s intention to relocate the child’s principal residence.
The child’s unobstructed input, free of coercion and manipulation, about the custodial arrangement.
When the parents have not agreed on all custody issues, the court must enter written findings of fact and conclusions of law on these factors.
What Else Did the 2023 Law Change?
The child’s voice. The eighth factor used to be the child’s “wishes.” It is now the child’s “unobstructed input, free of coercion and manipulation.”
No default schedules. Courts may not adopt any local rule, form or practice requiring a standardized or default parenting plan for temporary or permanent orders.
Temporary orders need a hearing. An interim order may not include custody or parenting-schedule provisions without notice and a hearing, unless the parents agree.
Early temporary plans. The legislature encourages courts to enter a temporary parenting plan as early as practicable, consistent with the presumption.
Some protections were already in the statute and remain. Courts must consider joint physical and joint legal custody, and may not deny it solely because one parent opposes it. And no preference may be given to either parent because of age, sex or financial status.
Equal time is the starting point, and the evidence decides where a case ends up.
That is why Bardol Law Firm handles family law and nothing else. We spend every day in these courts, and we explain things in plain English. So we built a one-hour strategy session with you, an experienced attorney and your actual case, with clear next steps by the end.
$300 · One full hour with an attorney · No obligation to retain our firm
Is Joint Physical Custody the Same as Equal Time?
No. Missouri defines joint physical custody as “significant, but not necessarily equal, periods of time” with each parent, shared in a way that assures the child frequent, continuing and meaningful contact with both. A parent can have joint physical custody with less than half the overnights. The presumption is about the amount of parenting time, which is a separate question from the custody label.
The label in the judgment matters, and the appeals courts disagree on one part of how to read it. “Primary physical custody” is not a custody category under Missouri law. If a judgment expressly says “joint physical custody,” the Eastern District gives that label weight as long as each parent has significant time. In O.H.B. v. L.Y.S., four overnights in fourteen, plus alternating holidays and summer weeks, was enough.
If a judgment never says joint or sole, the Eastern District has classified an every-other-weekend schedule of two overnights in fourteen, plus one weekday evening, as sole physical custody, in Morgan v. Morgan (2016), and it declined to revisit that rule in White v. White (2020). The Western District has refused to follow Morgan’s focus on overnight counts, as its decision in King v. King (2017) explains, and in King it found joint custody with five overnights in fourteen. Eastern District decisions govern cases in the St. Louis area.
Does It Apply to Unmarried Parents and Modifications?
Unmarried parents’ custody cases are decided under the same best-interest factors.
Chan arose from a motion to modify an earlier order, and the court addressed the father’s presumption argument on the merits, without deciding that the presumption governs every modification. No Eastern District decision on that question has been located. Before a court reaches the presumption in a modification, the parent asking for the change must meet the right standard, which Morgan sorts into three groups.
Rearranging joint custody, or moving from sole to joint custody. A change in the circumstances of the child or a parent with custody, which does not have to be substantial, plus a finding that the change serves the child’s best interests, under section 452.410 and the Supreme Court of Missouri’s decision in Russell v. Russell (2007).
Moving from joint to sole custody, or switching sole custody to the other parent. A substantial change in circumstances, plus best interests. The Supreme Court of Missouri called a switch of sole custody from one parent to the other “drastic.” The same applies to changing joint legal custody to sole. Asking for the final say on one category of decisions while keeping joint legal custody uses the lower standard (Kull v. Farahat, Eastern District, 2026).
Adjusting the other parent’s time when the same parent keeps sole custody. Section 452.400.2 applies, and the court need only find that the change serves the child’s best interests. Restricting a parent’s time, such as supervised visits or no overnights, requires a finding that unrestricted time would endanger the child’s physical health or impair the child’s emotional development.
Because the custody label in the current order decides which standard applies, it is worth having a lawyer read yours before you file. Our custody modification page covers the process.
What About Child Support With Equal Time?
Equal time does not automatically mean no child support. Section 452.375.14 says an award of joint custody does not prevent an award of child support. Form 14 gives the parent paying support a credit for overnights, which reaches its maximum of 34 percent of the basic amount at 181 to 183 overnights a year. Our child support calculator runs the full worksheet.
Bring your current order or your proposed plan. Leave knowing how the presumption applies to you.
Spend a full hour with an experienced Bardol Law Firm attorney going through the details of your case, understanding your rights, and leaving with clear next steps. It is personalized guidance you can use whether or not you hire us afterward.
$300 · One full hour with an attorney · No obligation to retain our firm
Practical Steps for Parents
Propose a specific schedule that works with both homes, the child’s school and both work schedules. Courts look at the actual plan, not a percentage.
Build your evidence around the eight factors, especially the child’s routines, school and relationships.
Support the child’s relationship with the other parent. Which parent will allow contact is its own factor.
Give written notice before any move. A parent planning to relocate a child generally must give 60 days’ written notice by certified mail, and an unannounced move can count against you. Our relocation page explains the process.
Keep records of the time you actually exercise and how your child is doing. In Chan, testimony about how the children had adjusted under the temporary schedule shaped the result.
Our pages on parenting plans, child custody and paternity cover the rest of the process.
How Bardol Law Firm Helps
Bardol Law Firm handles family law and nothing else, in St. Louis County, St. Louis City, St. Charles County and Jefferson County. Every attorney at the firm has at least two years of family law experience. We build parenting plans around the presumption, present the evidence that supports a different schedule when equal time would not serve a child, and handle modifications under the 2023 law.
You can start with a one-hour, one-on-one consultation with an attorney in our office for $300. The consultation fee is not credited toward a retainer. We return calls from potential clients as quickly as possible, and usually within minutes. Call 314.918.0100 or use our contact page.
Not sure how this applies to your situation?
Bardol Law Firm handles family law and nothing else, in St. Louis County, St. Louis City, St. Charles County and Jefferson County. We return calls from potential clients as quickly as possible, and usually within minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Missouri a 50/50 custody state?
Missouri presumes equal or approximately equal parenting time is in a child’s best interests , but the presumption can be rebutted and the court decides based on the child’s best interests.
When did Missouri’s equal parenting time law take effect?
August 28, 2023 , through Senate Bill 35.
What can overcome the presumption of equal parenting time?
An agreement between the parents on all custody issues, a pattern of domestic violence, or evidence under the best-interest factors showing, more likely than not, that a different schedule better serves the child.
Does my child get to choose?
No, but the child’s input counts. The court considers the child’s unobstructed input, free of coercion and manipulation, as one of eight factors.
Does 50/50 custody mean no child support?
No. Joint custody does not prevent a child support award, and Form 14 still applies.
This page gives general information about Missouri law as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts.
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