Springfield Business Journal_2019-03-18

Split decisions common after a divorce trial Most parties want to settle their divorce amicably outside of court without a trial. For various reasons, some parties cannot reach a decision on every aspect of their divorce. Some parties might not even be able to reach an agreement on much of anything. Either way, this can result in a trial taking place. A trial is the only way to resolve a divorce where a complete settlement is not reached. When many think of the concept of a divorce trial, they can resort to mindset of thinking of winning or losing. The view is that one party wins and the other loses. They think of it much like an individual would think of a criminal case. In a criminal case, either the prosecution proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt and the defendant is found guilty. Or, in contrast, they do not prove their case and the defendant found innocent. If the defendant was found not guilty at trial, most would consider that a win for the defendant. On the other hand, if the defendant was found guilty, most could consider that a loss for the defendant. The reality is a divorce trial is not this simple. There is not always a clear winner or loser. In fact, the results are split decisions in many cases. In other words, one party might feel as if they won in certain areas. Yet, they might feel like they lost in other areas. Take a client who might feel as if the property and debt division result was a win for them. On the other hand, they might feel like they lost on child custody, child support, spousal support and attorneys’ fees. A Here to Help You Rebuild Your Life™ Greene County Office 901 E. St. Louis, Suite 404 Springfield, MO 65806 855-805-0595 www.stangelawfirm.com The choice of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based sole- ly upon advertisements. Kirk Stange is respsonsible for the content. Principal place of business 120 South Central Ave, Suite 450, Clayton, MO 63105. Neither the Supreme Court of Missouri/Illinois nor The Missouri/Illinois Bar reviews or approves certifying organizations or specialist designations. Court rules do not permit us to advertise that we specialize in a particular field or area of law. The areas of law mentioned in this article are our areas of interest and generally are the types of cases which we are involved. It is not intended to suggest specialization in any areas of law which are mentioned The information you obtain in this advertisement is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results afford no guarantee of future results and every case is different and must be judged on its merits. Paid Advertisement client in this situation might walk away very unhappy because they lost on four out of the five main categories of issues at trial. Of course, all these broad categories are broken down into very small parts in a divorce trial result. The family court judge has to decide what many would consider small details, like exchange locations, tax deductions for the children, who is covering health insurance, the sum- mer schedule for the children, etc. The family court judge also has to decide the length of spousal maintenance, if it is ordered, and phase down amounts for child support as children are emancipated. They might have to decide lengths of time for certain items. Take where a party has to refinance the mortgage on the house. Is that to be done with 30-days or 90-days? To some parties, these kinds of details might be huge for them. At the end of the day, a divorce trial result is unlike most other areas of the law. Some parties end up feeling fairly good about certain aspects of the result. Yet, they might feel terrible about other areas decided upon at trial. This is the reality of divorce law. It is also why many will tell you that almost nobody is completely happy after a divorce trial. Stange Law Firm, PC limits their practice to family law matters including divorce, child custody, child support, paternity, guardianship, adoption, mediation, collaborative law and other domestic relation matters. Stange Law Firm, PC gives clients 24/7 access to their case through a secured online case tracker found on the website. They also give their clients their cell phone numbers. Call for a consultation today at 855-805-0595. 12 · SBJ.NET MARCH 18-24, 2019 NEWS by Kyle Boaz · kboaz@sbj.net Missouri legislators are considering bills to legalize sports betting statewide after the U.S. Supreme Court last year repealed a federal regulation. Missouri Senate Bill 222, filed Jan. 7, would modify the definition of “gambling game” to include sports wagering in Mis- souri and allow bets on professional and college games on an excursion gambling boat or over the internet to persons located in the state. The bill, sponsored by Lincoln Hough, R- Springfield, had its first reading in the Sen- ate on Jan. 9, followed by a second reading on Feb. 7, according to the Missouri Sen- ate’s website. The Missouri Economic Development Committee voted to pass the bill on Feb. 26. It was scheduled to be debated on the House of Representatives floor for perfec- tion on March 14, at which point it would get scheduled for a third reading. The bill will need a majority of at least 82 votes in the House before being sent back to the Senate. There are four other similar bills – SB 44, SB 195, HB 119 and HB 859 – in front of Mis- souri legislators. SBs 222 and 44 are the only two on the calendar for perfec- tion, where amend- ments can be added by House members, according to the Missouri Senate’s website. “I see some version of this gaming space moving forward this session,” Hough said. The recent Supreme Court verdict allows states to decide how to handle sports gam- bling on their own. Currently in Missouri, bingo, lottery, horse racing, fantasy sports and casinos are legal under Chapter 313 of the state statutes. “This is an industry that is operating in the dark right now,” Hough said of sports betting. “This is a way to bring it into the light and capture tax revenue.” Hough said revenue from a sports betting bill would benefit Springfield via funding for Missouri State University’s equity fund- ing model through the Council on Public Higher Education and Ozarks Technical Community College’s planned Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Technology. “It allows us to grow the overall revenue pie of the state so we can focus on other pri- orities, like education,” Hough said of legal- ized sports betting. At OTC, Chancellor Hal Higdon has said the state set aside $5 million in its fiscal 2020 budget for the center, and the college will seeking another $5 million during the next year’s legislative ses- sion. Hough said through his role as vice-chair- man of the Appropria- tions Committee, he can provide a voice to lobby for public money to be disbursed to the Queen City for proj- ects like the OTC center. Game changer According to the language in Hough’s bill, sports betting could be conducted with chips, tokens, electronic cards, money or “other negotiable currency.” An area in ap- proved licensed casinos would be designat- ed for sports betting. If passed, approved licensed facilities would be able to apply to the Missouri Gaming Commission and pay an applica- tion fee of $10,000 with a renewal fee set at $5,000 every five years. If it’s an interactive sports wagering plat- form, such as International Game Technol- ogy PLC (NYSE: IGT), there is an annual renewal fee of $5,000. The license fees would go into a fund es- tablished for operation and investigation of companies partnered with casinos with tax revenue going into the Gaming Proceeds for Education Fund, said Ed Grewach, gen- eral counsel for the MGC. There would be two types of applications, one for casinos and an- other for sports wager- ing operators. “That would be a company that operates the sportsbook and provides hardware and software,” Grewach said. “We would need to investigate the sports wagering operators who would con- tract with casinos.” Revenues received from the 6.75 percent tax on gross adjusted receipts would be de- posited into the education fund, which is overseen by the state treasurer. The fund had a balance of $12.1 million in February 2019, according to a fund activity report from Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick. Hough said other states were considered Missouri legislators weigh sports betting bills Passage would legalize sports wagering in casinos and on the internet See GAMBLING on page 49 Lincoln Hough: Senate Bill 222 is a way to capture new tax revenue. $10,000 Application fee for sports gambling facilities under SB 222