What is going on with child custody in 2026?

After an 8 year absence, I decided to blow the dust off my blog and provide some updates to people on what is going on in the world of Family Law here in Kansas City, MO.

First of all, child custody is a completely different animal now than it was in 2018. In 2018, there was no presumption of equal periods of parenting time. What that used to mean is that you might have joint physical custody, but you might not have the same amount of parenting time as the other parent. You were safe around your kids, and didn't need supervision, but that was about it.

In 2026, however, we now have a presumption that both parents should have equal (or approximately equal) periods of parenting time. Personally, I think this is a great change. I think everyone agrees that, for the average family, the kids need both parents. Both parents are capable and competent to take care of their kids. Both parents are responsible and active participants. This is a very good 90% solution for most cases and it really cuts down on litigation costs for everyone.

With that said, the other 10% of the time, at least one of the parents is not really able to handle being a parent as much as any of us would like. They have addiction issues, abuse issues, negligence issues, or general responsibility issues.

Fortunately, the change in law doesn't sacrifice the 10% of cases for the benefit of the 90% of cases. While we presume it should be equal parenting time for both parents, you still have the ability to demonstrate the other parent can’t do what they need to do in order to take care of their children.

The presumption for equal parenting time changed in 2023, and it has been a significant change to the way litigation has progressed.  I’ve personally noticed initial cases (divorces and paternity/custody cases when first filed) that most judges are strongly leaning into the presumption of equal parenting time.  I’ve had discussions with clients who are still convinced Missouri is not an equal custody state – but I beg to differ.  These last three years have really demonstrated the benefit of these changes.

There is still some disagreement as to whether the presumption still applies in modification cases – and there really hasn’t been a lot of appellate decisions that address this question.  A modification case is where one parent wants to go back to Court because they believe circumstances have changed so much since the last Judgment that the old Court order is no longer right for the kids.

Some judges believe that, if circumstances have changed, you go back to the equal custody presumption and go forward from there (meaning you have to prove why it shouldn’t be equal custody).  Some Judges believe that you start out wherever the last case left off as the presumption – meaning if you had less than equal parenting time, that is now the default instead of equal parenting time. 

The question of whether the presumption of equal time applies to a modification case is likely going to take several years before we get a clear answer from the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court. 

Obviously, every case is different.  I’ve been on the side arguing to get equal parenting time.  I’ve also been on the side arguing the kids aren’t safe with equal parenting time. There are times when each of those positions make sense - and it really depends on a lot of factors.

I don't know which one your case is, I'd probably need to talk to you and figure out what your circumstances are. Unfortunately, we're pretty busy over here and we can't always get back to everyone who wants to reach out to us as quickly as they like. I apologize to you folks who really want to talk to me and have trouble getting in. There is a reason I haven't written a blog post in 8 years, and largely it is because we have been focused on taking care of our clients. 

 At the same time, I think I owe it to people who need information to do a better job of putting things out there so people who can't hire us can be a little better informed on custody cases. I'll try to do a better job of that going forward.

Thanks for reading, and good luck out there.