When sections 452.300 to 452.415 shall apply
These rules about divorce and separation in Missouri apply to any case that started on or after January 1, 1974. For older cases that were already in progress before that date, the new rules still apply to any issues not yet decided. Cases started after that date to change an older court order also fall under these rules. If a case was already being appealed or sent back for a new trial before January 1, 1974, the old law that was in place at that time still applies to that case.
452.415. When sections 452.300 to 452.415 shall apply. — 1. Sections 452.300 to 452.415 apply to all s commenced on or after January 1, 1974.
2. Sections 452.300 to 452.415 apply to all pending s and proceedings commenced prior to January 1, 1974, with respect to issues on which a has not been entered. Pending actions for divorce or separation are to have been commenced on the basis of . Evidence after January 1, 1974, shall be in with sections 452.300 to 452.415.
3. Sections 452.300 to 452.415 apply to all proceedings commenced after January 1, 1974, for the of a judgment or entered prior to January 1, 1974.
4. In any in which an was pending or a new trial was ordered prior to January 1, 1974, the law in effect at the time of the order sustaining the appeal or the new trial governs the appeal, the new trial, and any subsequent trial or appeal.
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Source & history notes
(L. 1973 H.B. 315 § 24) Effective 1-01-74 (1975) Where plaintiff filed divorce action in 1972, case was heard in 1973, statutes on dissolution of marriage became effective January 1, 1974, and no judgment had been entered on case pending; the issue for decision then became whether marriage was irretrievably broken and not whether plaintiff was entitled to a divorce for indignities. Bishop v. Bishop (A.), 521 S.W.2d 26.
Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.