All areas of Family Law:
Michael has served his clients family law needs, in all areas of family law. Michael has effectively assisted clients with their family law needs by developing a personalized strategy suited to meet the individual needs of each client, to obtain an outcome consistent with the client’s individual needs and desires. In most family law cases, our initial focus is on pursuing an amicable resolution of your case that is consistent with your needs and desires, especially cases that involving minor children. We do this by first assisting in reducing the emotions and conflicts that are a natural part of nearly all family law cases, with the hope of facilitating productive communication between you and your spouse or former spouse, with the goal of achieving your objectives by way of an amicable disposition of your case. By reducing the natural conflict associated with most family law cases and reaching an amicable disposition that is also consistent with your desired outcome, almost always results in the family being able to maintain a healthy relationship following the disposition of your case, which is almost always in the best interest of the minor children, while also keeping your legal fees to a minimum.
Unfortunately, there are certain family law cases that can not be resolved on an amicable basis because the conflict between the parties is not the result of emotions naturally associated with a family law matter but are instead based on emotions resulting from verbal, emotional and/or physical abuse of the client and/or the minor child or children. These cases can be very difficult to resolve on an amicable basis and require an aggressive, no-nonsense approach to obtain a result that is in the best interest of the client and/or any minor children and which protects all parties involved. Theses types of family law cases are often emotionally painful and can be confusing for both the client and/or the minor child or children. You can be assured that your case will be handled in an aggressive, no-nonsense but professional manner with the ultimate goal of achieving a disposition of your case that is consistent with your desires and which protects the client and the best interest of any minor child or children.
Click on the following topics to learn about each family legal matter:
Divorce and Legal Separation (Contested & Non-Contested)
Divorce is often stressful and even uncontested cases can reach a sudden snag or disagreement. In order to ensure that you receive the most from your case, it is always important that you have an experienced family law attorney, like Michael Kruse, on your side.
Child Custody
Child custody cases are often referred to in the legal profession as custody “battles” for a reason. When custody of children is involved in a family law case, emotions often run extremely high and become the center of the conflict. In these cases we look out not only for your interest but also the best interest of your minor child or children. We do this by initially attempting to reduce the conflict between you and your spouse and try to facilitate productive communication between you and your spouse regarding what is in the best interest of your child or children. We are always hopeful that we can assist you and your spouse in reaching an amicable resolution that also serves the best interests of your minor child or children. If our efforts to reduce the level of conflict between you and your spouse then you can be assurred that we will provide you with the aggressive, no-nonsense and professional representation necessary to protect your rights and to achieve the best possible outcome that serves the best interest of you and your minor child or children.
Child Support
Understanding Missouri’s child support laws can be difficult even for attorneys who do not regularly practice family law, but with our assistance you will become familiar with Missouri’s child support laws and can often settle your case on an amicable basis. We will work to negotiate the correct amount of child support and/or to enforce an already existing child support order.
Modifications of Custody, Child Support And/Or Maintenance (Spousal Support)
Many aspects of a divorce or legal separation case are modifiable under Missouri law. For example, child custody (visitation rights) and child support are always subject to future modification by the court and maintenance (also known as spousal support) may be subject to future modification by the court. If you Are seeking a modification of an existing divorce judgment or judgment of legal separation, you can rest assured that your case will be quickly and efficiently handled in a manner that results in the best possible outcome for you.
Paternity
Many couples today do not believe in the legal relationship of "marriage" or they do not want to "complicate" their relationship by entering the legal relationship known as "marriage" and some couples just put it off until it never happens. If you are in such a relationship, you have children together and the relationship ends, the father has no rights of custody or visitation and may or may not be what we refer to as a "presumed father" or "putative father". And, even if the father is a "presumed" or "putative" father and his name appears on the child/children’s birth certificate(s), father still has no rights of custody or visitation but does have a duty to support the child/children. If you are a father in this position and are seeking to establish rights of custody and visitation or if you are a mother who has been served with an action for determination of the father-child relationship, custody and support, you should contact us to discuss your rights and responsibilities in this situation. Paternity is much like a divorce case but involves the issues of paternity (establishment of the father-child relationship), child custody and child support but does not involve the issues of property and debt division and maintenance.
Adoptions
There are many different options available for families looking to adopt. Whether you are searching for a private placement adoption through an agency, a stepparent adoption or a guardianship that leads to an adoption. The majority of adoptions are non-contested. However, step-parent adoptions and adoption which arise from an extended guardianship or an extended placement of the child in your custody by the Missouri Children’s Division or a by third-party are often contested by one or both parents.
Guardianships
Establishing a guardian for a minor child, or for an adult family member who is no longer competent and capable of make decisions for themselves, can help bring you the peace of mind of knowing that the minor or the incapacitated adult will now be in the goods hands of a court appointed guardian. If you are seeking to be named as the guardian, or if you have already been granted a guardianship, you need to speak us about the rights and responsibilities of being a guardian and/or conservator of the estate.
Grandparent Visitation Rights
Under certain circumstance Missouri permits the awarding to grandparents rights of visitation with their grandchildren. If you are being denied visitation with your grandchildren and are interested in seeking a court order granting you specific rights of visitation with your grandchildren contact us and we will fight for your rights of grandparent visitation.
Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements
We live in a society today of a high divorce rate and an increasing number of blended families, and often times people do not think about what will happen with respect to your assets as it relates to your children who were born out of a previous marriage or relationship. Establishing a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement may be highly beneficial to you and your future spouse and may very well avoid much of the conflict that often arises in marriages and end in divorce, and can protect your assets for your children who were not born of the present marriage. These agreements are created either before or after marriage and are typically created at a time when the parties are happy and are not experiencing conflict and these agreements typically made provisions, in advance, for how the property and/or debt will be divided and whether or not maintenance (spousal support) will be paid by either spouse to the other, in the event of a divorce. These agreement can also provide for how property and/or debt is to be divided in the event of the death either spouse. If a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement will benefit you please contact us so we can walk you through the legal documents that are used to assure that your assets are protected.
