Missouri 2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

SB 1371 — Modifies provisions relating to child custody arrangements

Last action — Second Read and Referred S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced December 01, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Stalled 14% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

SB 1371 - This act modifies the definition of "joint legal custody" as used in child custody determinations to remove references to allocating, apportioning, or decreeing a division of joint decision-making, responsibilities, and authority between the parents. This act also modifies the definition of "joint physical custody" to change the amount of time with the child awarded to each parent from "significant, but not necessarily equal" to "equal or substantially equal". In current law, there is a rebuttable presumption that an award of "equal or approximately equal" parenting time to each parent is in the best interests of the child. This act changes "approximately" to "substantially". This act modifies the factors a court shall consider when awarding custody to parents, including the willingness and ability of parents to cooperate in the rearing of their child; any substance abuse history experienced by either parent; the history of domestic and child abuse of any individuals involved; the distance between the residences of the parents; and the unobstructed input of the child as to the child's custodial arrangement. This act is identical to SB 638 (2025) and similar to SB 1013 (2026), SB 805 (2025), SCS/SBs 744 & 1026 (2024), provisions in the perfected SS/SCS/SBs 767 & 1342 (2024), HCS/SS#2/SB 862 (2024), and provisions of the perfected SS/SCS/SB 129 (2023). SARAH HASKINS

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Second Read and Referred S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee

  2. S First Read

  3. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 198 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (198)

198 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 198 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 1371 do?
SB 1371 - This act modifies the definition of "joint legal custody" as used in child custody determinations to remove references to allocating, apportioning, or decreeing a division of joint decision-making, responsibilities, and authority between the parents. This act also modifies the definition of "joint physical custody" to change the amount of time with the child awarded to each parent from "significant, but not necessarily equal" to "equal or substantially equal". In current law, there is a rebuttable presumption that an award of "equal or approximately equal" parenting time to each parent is in the best interests of the child. This act changes "approximately" to "substantially". This act modifies the factors a court shall consider when awarding custody to parents, including the willingness and ability of parents to cooperate in the rearing of their child; any substance abuse history experienced by either parent; the history of domestic and child abuse of any individuals involved; the distance between the residences of the parents; and the unobstructed input of the child as to the child's custodial arrangement. This act is identical to SB 638 (2025) and similar to SB 1013 (2026), SB 805 (2025), SCS/SBs 744 & 1026 (2024), provisions in the perfected SS/SCS/SBs 767 & 1342 (2024), HCS/SS#2/SB 862 (2024), and provisions of the perfected SS/SCS/SB 129 (2023). SARAH HASKINS
Who sponsors SB 1371?
SB 1371 is sponsored by Rick Brattin.
What is the current status of SB 1371?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced December 01, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 1371?
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