Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 454.465 (2026)

State debt, defined, calculation

✓ current as of May 2026

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454.465. State debt, defined, calculation — rights of division regarding state debts — service of process, procedure. — 1. For purposes of sections 454.460 to 454.505, a payment of public assistance by the family support division to or for the benefit of any dependent child, including any payment made for the benefit of the caretaker of the child, creates an obligation, to be called "state debt", which is due and owing to the department by the parent, or parents, absent from the home where the dependent child resided at the time the public assistance was paid. The amount of the state debt shall be determined as follows:

(1) Where there exists a court order directed to a parent which covers that parent's support obligation to a dependent during a period in which the family support division provided public assistance to or for the benefit of that dependent, the state debt of that parent shall be an amount equal to the obligation ordered by the court, including arrearages and unpaid medical expenses, up to the full amount of public assistance paid; or

(2) Where no court order covers a parent's support obligation to a dependent during a period in which the family support division provided public assistance to or for the benefit of that dependent, the state debt may be set or reset by the director in an amount not to exceed the amount of public assistance so provided by the family support division.

2. No agreement between any obligee and any obligor regarding any duty of support, or responsibility therefor, or purporting to settle past, present, or future support obligations either as settlement or prepayment shall act to reduce or terminate any rights of the division to recover from that obligor for public assistance provided.

3. The division shall have the right to make a motion to a court or administrative tribunal for modification of any court order creating a support obligation which has been assigned to the family support division to the same extent as a party to that action.

4. The department, or any division thereof, as designated by the department director is hereby authorized to promulgate such rules pursuant to section 454.400 and chapter 536 as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter and the requirements of the federal Social Security Act, including, but not necessarily limited to, the opportunity for a hearing to contest an order of the division establishing or modifying support rules for narrowing issues and simplifying the methods of proof at hearings, and establishing procedures for notice and the manner of service to be employed in all proceedings and remedies instituted pursuant to sections 454.460 to 454.505.

5. Service pursuant to sections 454.460 to 454.505 may be made on the parent or other party in the manner prescribed for service of process in a civil action, by an authorized process server appointed by the director, or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The director may appoint any uninterested party, including, but not necessarily limited to, employees of the division, to serve such process. For the purposes of this subsection, a parent who refuses receipt of service by certified mail is deemed to have been served.

6. Creation of or exemption from a state debt pursuant to this section shall not limit any rights which the department has or may obtain pursuant to common or statutory law, including, but not limited to, those obtained pursuant to an assignment of support rights obtained pursuant to section 208.040.

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(L. 1982 S.B. 468 § 14, A.L. 1984 H.B. 1275, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1479, A.L. 1993 S.B. 52, A.L. 1997 S.B. 361, A.L. 2014 H.B. 1299 Revision)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 15 cases, 1984–2016 · leading case: Dycus v. Cross, 869 S.W.2d 745 (Mo. 1994).

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Dycus v. Cross, 869 S.W.2d 745 (Mo. 1994). · cites it 14× “Initially, Dycus claims that Section 454.465 violates his right to procedural due process in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 10 of the Missouri Constitution.”

State Ex Rel. Div. of Fam. Servs. v. Standridge, 676 S.W.2d 513 (Mo. 1984). · cites it 6× “I also agree that this case should be decided as a matter of common law without reference to § 454.465, RSMo 1983 Cum.Supp., adopted in 1982, which was apparently enacted to enlarge the state's right of recoupment.”

Jackson v. Rapps, 132 F.R.D. 226 (W.D. Mo. 1990). · cites it 7× “Mo.Rev.Stat. § 454.465 (1986). Director Rapps issued to Ms.”

Div. of Child Support Enf't v. Estrada, 916 S.W.2d 443 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 8× “1993), we held that an action which was clearly brought under the UPA 6 allowing recovery of necessary expenses for support of a minor child did not constitute an action for reimbursement of a state debt under § 454.465. 7 Because neither the term “state debt” nor any reference…”

State v. Hall, 867 S.W.2d 251 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 7× “The state claims that although the petition contains the term “necessary support,” Count III is not seeking reimbursement for “necessary support” under the UPA, but is seeking reimbursement of “state debt” under § 454.465, RSMo 1986. The “state debt” is comprised of the total…”

Dye v. Div. of Child Support Enf't, Dep't of Soc. Servs., 811 S.W.2d 355 (Mo. 1991). · cites it 2× “The Constitutional Issues The state relies on § 454.465, RSMo 1986, in its attempt to collect from Gary the monies that it paid to Sharon for *359 Dawn’s support.”

D.M.K. v. Mueller, 152 S.W.3d 922 (Mo. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 2× “501 provides: Nothing contained in sections 454.465 to 454.510 shall deprive courts of competent jurisdiction from determining the support duty of a parent against whom an order is entered by the director pursuant to the authority created by sections 454.”

Jackson v. Rapps, 746 F. Supp. 934 (W.D. Mo. 1990). · cites it 5× “Mo.Rev.Stat. § 454.465 (1986). Director Rapps issued to Ms.”

Eston v. Aman, 847 S.W.2d 902 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 2× “In point five, Father sets out the issue of retroactive application of § 454.465 RSMo 1986, which became effective August 13, 1982.”

Nathan T. Cooling v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., Fam. Support Div., 491 S.W.3d 253 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “Section 454.465 creates a legal obligation in a parent to repay the State for payments of public assistance made by the State for the benefit of a child whose parent does not fulfill his or her support obligation.”

Lewis v. Roskin, 823 S.W.2d 152 (Mo. Ct. App. 1992). “501 provides that nothing in §§ 454.465 to 454.510 shall deprive courts of competent jurisdiction from determining the support duty of a parent against whom an order is entered by the director, but such order shall not affect any support arrearage which may have accrued under…”

State Ex Rel. Fam. Support Div. v. Foster, 174 S.W.3d 589 (Mo. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 4× “Section 454.465 determines what a "state debt" is: a payment of public assistance by the division of family services to or for the benefit of .”

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