Lee's Summit Divorce & Custody Attorney
 

actor #7 is one of the most consequential and frequently litigated factors in Jackson County custody and modification cases. Relocation directly impacts parenting time, school stability, community ties, and the child’s ability to maintain frequent, continuing, and meaningful contact with both parents. Missouri has a specific relocation statute (§ 452.377) that requires 60 days’ written notice and court approval if the move will substantially impair the other parent’s custody

Missouri law (§ 452.375.2, RSMo) strongly favors frequent, continuing, and meaningful contact between children and both parents. Factor #4 is often the decisive battleground in contested custody and modification cases in Jackson County — especially when alienation, gatekeeping, or outright refusal of parenting time enters the picture. This factor doesn’t just ask what a parent says they want. It examines what they have actually done and are likely to do in the future.