Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 452.305 (2026)

Judgment of dissolution, grounds for

✓ current as of May 2026
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  452.305.  Judgment of dissolution, grounds for — legal separation, when — judgments to contain Social Security numbers. — 1.  The court shall enter a judgment of dissolution of marriage if:

  (1)  The court finds that one of the parties has been a resident of this state, or is a member of the armed services who has been stationed in this state, for ninety days immediately preceding the commencement of the proceeding and that thirty days have elapsed since the filing of the petition; and

  (2)  The court finds that there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved and that therefore the marriage is irretrievably broken; and

  (3)  To the extent it has jurisdiction, the court has considered and made provision for child custody, the support of each child, the maintenance of either spouse and the disposition of property.

  2.  The court shall enter a judgment of legal separation if:

  (1)  The court finds that one of the parties has been a resident of this state, or is a member of the armed services who has been stationed in this state, for ninety days immediately preceding the commencement of the proceeding and that thirty days have elapsed since the filing of the petition; and

  (2)  The court finds that there remains a reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved and that therefore the marriage is not irretrievably broken; and

  (3)  To the extent it has jurisdiction, the court has considered and made provision for the custody and the support of each child, the maintenance of either spouse and the disposition of property.

  3.  Any judgment of dissolution of marriage or legal separation shall include the last four digits of the Social Security numbers of the parties.  The full Social Security number of each party and each child shall be retained in the manner required under section 509.520.

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(L. 1973 H.B. 315 § 2, A.L. 1997 S.B. 361, A.L. 1998 S.B. 910, A.L. 2009 H.B. 481)

(1976) Held, a cross bill seeking separate maintenance coupled with an after trial motion to amend the dissolution decree to one of legal separation does not require court to enter a decree of legal separation.  Nichols v. Nichols (A.), 538 S.W.2d 727.

(1977) Held, that court must grant a decree of legal separation if either party requests it.  The court applies the rule that when conflicting provisions occur in an act the last in order of position shall prevail.  McRoberts v. McRoberts (A.), 555 S.W.2d 682.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 45 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1975–2021 · leading case: Simpson v. Strong, 234 S.W.3d 567 (Mo. Ct. App. 2007).
Simpson v. Strong, 234 S.W.3d 567 (Mo. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 16× “In pertinent part, § 452.305 RSMo Cum.Supp. (1975) originally stated: 1.”
Smith v. Smith, 561 S.W.2d 714 (Mo. Ct. App. 1978). · cites it 10× “On this appeal, the first contention of the husband is that, by reason of the provision of Section 452.305 2., the trial court, upon his request for a decree of legal separation, was obliged, upon finding that the marriage was irretrievably broken, to enter a decree of legal…”
Crouch v. Crouch, 641 S.W.2d 86 (Mo. 1982). · cites it 6× “Section 452.305, RSMo 1978, provides that the court may enter a decree of dissolution of marriage if it finds (1) that one of the parties has been a resident of Missouri, or as a member of the armed services has been stationed in Missouri, for 90 days next preceding the…”
Bridgeman v. Bridgeman, 63 S.W.3d 686 (Mo. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 5× “Jurisdiction In her first point, wife asserts that the trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction because neither party was a resident of Missouri for more than ninety days prior to the commencement of the proceedings as required by Section 452.305 RSMo (2000). In…”
Lewis v. Gibbons, 80 S.W.3d 461 (Mo. 2002). · cites it 4× “030 (coroner shall have resided "within the county for which he is elected, six months next preceding the election"); section 452.305 (party to a dissolution action must be a resident of the state "for ninety days next preceding the commencement of the proceeding.”
Starrett v. Starrett, 703 S.W.2d 544 (Mo. Ct. App. 1985). · cites it 6× “Wife first contends that husband failed to establish residence in Missouri for ninety days prior to filing his petition for dissolution of marriage, § 452.305(1), 2 for the reason he had earlier filed a petition for disso *546 lution in Illinois 3 averring residence in Illinois…”
Archdekin v. Archdekin, 562 S.W.3d 298 (Mo. 2018). · cites it 2× “In it, the trial court made the statutory findings required by section 452.305 for dissolution of marriage.”
Cregan v. Clark, 658 S.W.2d 924 (Mo. Ct. App. 1983). · cites it 4× “As prescribed in § 452.305, RSMo 1978, grounds for legal separation and grounds for dissolution of marriage are identical, "there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved and therefore the marriage is irretrievably broken".”
Goeman v. Goeman, 833 S.W.2d 476 (Mo. Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 6× “Goeman argues that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because George Goeman did not reside in Missouri for ninety days prior to filing his petition as set forth in § 452.305, RSMo 1986. The judgment of dissolution is vacated.”
Thomas v. Siddiqui, 869 S.W.2d 740 (Mo. 1994). · cites it 4× “" § 452.305, RSMo 1986. Criminal conversation and alienation of affection are species of the tort genus interference with contract.”
McRoberts v. McRoberts, 555 S.W.2d 682 (Mo. Ct. App. 1977). · cites it 4× “In this appeal from a decree of dissolution awarded the husband upon his prayer, the principal issue is whether the court was mandatorily required to grant the wife’s prayer for a decree of legal separation under § 452.305 2 (Laws, Mo. 1973, p. 470, § 2, eff.”
Lisa M. Rallo v. Pete S. Rallo, 477 S.W.3d 29 (Mo. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “1999) (“resident” in section 452.305 equivalent to “domiciled”).”
— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 452.305(1) — 2 cases
Starrett v. Starrett, 703 S.W.2d 544 (Mo. Ct. App. 1985). “Wife first contends that husband failed to establish residence in Missouri for ninety days prior to filing his petition for dissolution of marriage, § 452.305(1), 2 for the reason he had earlier filed a petition for disso *546 lution in Illinois 3 averring residence in Illinois…”
In Re Marriage of Mitchell, 545 S.W.2d 313 (Mo. Ct. App. 1976).
— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 452.305(2) — 3 cases
In Re the Marriage of Pate, 591 S.W.2d 384 (Mo. Ct. App. 1979).
Frerichs v. Frerichs, 704 S.W.2d 258 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986).
Frerichs v. Frerichs, 704 S.W.2d 256 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.