Disclaimer: All facts gleaned from the filings stated hereafter are only as truthful as the petitioner. The tone of this article expresses a style of writing historically employed by America’s greatest writers and, as such, is for opinion purposes only. No intentional harm is due. Do not read if the topic of divorce (even your own) causes you emotional distress. Continue at your own risk.
In the 11th Judicial Circuit of the Circuit Court of St. Charles County, a petition marked 2611-FC00209 asks the court to dissolve the marriage of Lanette DeRose and Richard DeRose. The filing, verified in early February 2026, proceeds by special process server and invokes Missouri’s statutory grounds for dissolution.
The petition states that both parties have been residents of Missouri for more than ninety days preceding the filing and that they share the same address in St. Charles County. Their marriage began on April 22, 1989, and was registered in Lee County, Texas. The document notes that the parties have not physically separated. It further affirms that there are no unemancipated children born to or adopted during the marriage and that the petitioner is not pregnant.
Neither party, the petition declares, is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. It asserts that there is no reasonable likelihood the marriage can be preserved and that it is irretrievably broken. The parties possess both separate and marital property, along with accumulated assets and debts. The petitioner requests that separate property be set apart accordingly and that marital property and debts be divided equitably pursuant to Missouri law.
The filing also states that the petitioner lacks adequate means to support herself and seeks an award of maintenance from the respondent, along with contribution toward her attorney’s fees. It asserts that the respondent is capable of supporting himself and contributing to those costs. In addition, the petitioner asks to be restored to her maiden name, Boriack, should she so choose.
Petitions such as this, entered at the outset of a new year, convert decades into numbered paragraphs: dates, addresses, statutory references. The court’s task is not to revisit the past but to allocate rights and responsibilities under the law. What follows will unfold through pleadings and orders, until the record reflects not only that a marriage began in 1989, but that it has been formally concluded within the framework Missouri provides.
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