No. The Attorney General’s Office can provide general information, direct you to pertinent agencies, or provide copies of statutes. However, the Attorney General is the attorney for the State of Missouri and its agencies and cannot offer legal advice or act on behalf of individuals. The Office does offer several publications that can be downloaded or received in hard copy. Likewise, The Missouri Bar’s Legal Topics webpage offers similar access to multiple publications. You may also want to contact a private lawyer to discuss your individual rights and remedies.

The Missouri Bar’s Find A Lawyer webpage includes a statewide Lawyer Search that can help you locate a private attorney based on practice area and geographic location. In addition, the page offers links to an online Lawyer Directory and to information about discounted and pro bono services. 

For further information about finding a lawyer, you may also wish to contact:

The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis through its online Lawyer Referral and Information Service or by calling BAMSL’s LRIS staff at 314-621-6681; or the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association through its online Lawyer Referral Service or by calling the SMBA at 417-831-2783.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, Missouri has four legal aid programs that offer free assistance in certain circumstances: Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Legal Aid of Western Missouri, Legal Services of Southern Missouri, and Mid-Missouri Legal Services. These programs provide legal assistance to qualifying low-income Missourians. However, these programs generally do not handle child support, adoption, workers’ compensation, wills, personal injury cases, or criminal cases that would be assigned to a public defender.

For more information about these four programs and the geographic regions they cover, you can visit the Legal Services of Missouri Web site.

Local prosecuting attorneys and sheriffs are elected by city or county voters, and police chiefs are typically hired and overseen by cities’ elected officials. Local prosecuting attorneys, sheriffs, and police chiefs are not employees of the Attorney General’s Office and are not supervised by this Office. A local prosecutor determines whether charges should be filed in a case. If you disagree with a decision made by a local prosecuting attorney, sheriff, or police chief, you may want to consult with a private lawyer to discuss your individual rights and remedies. 

If you need to find a private lawyer, the Missouri Bar’s Find A Lawyer webpage includes a statewide Lawyer Search that can help you locate an attorney based on practice area and geographic location. In addition, the page offers links to an online Lawyer Directory and to information about discounted and pro bono services. 

For further information about finding a lawyer, you may also wish to contact:

The Attorney General’s Office does not supervise private lawyers.

Complaints against lawyers may be filed with the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel.

The Attorney General’s Office does not supervise judges.

Complaints regarding judges may be sent to the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges.

Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges
2190 South Mason Road, Suite 201
St. Louis, MO 63131
314-966-1007

There is no specific process or procedure provided by Missouri law to officially “recognize” foreign marriages. As a general rule, a marriage entered into in a foreign country will be considered valid in Missouri if: (1) it was lawful in the country where it was performed; and (2) it is not contrary to Missouri’s public policy (for example, a foreign marriage between young children).

For marriages abroad, the embassy or tourist information bureau of the country where the marriage is performed may be the best source of information regarding the validity of marriages formed in that country.

Missouri law provides that our state courts treat a foreign country as a state of the United States for purposes of recognizing a foreign divorce decree. Before a Missouri court would recognize such a decree, it would have to be certified or authenticated to establish its genuineness. Typically, the validity of a divorce decree can be confirmed by the local United States embassy or consulate.

Upon authentication, Missouri courts will presume a divorce decree valid, and a party challenging that decree would have to disprove its validity by clear and convincing evidence, a high legal standard.

The Attorney General is the attorney for the state and its agencies and cannot offer legal advice or act on behalf of individuals. If you have questions about the validity or recognition of a foreign divorce decree, you may want to contact a private lawyer.