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.
There are endings that unfold like a whisper, and others that declare themselves plainly—etched in court records and measured in years. On May 20, 2025, Richard P. Bland filed a petition in Jackson County, Missouri, to dissolve his marriage to Karen L. Bland, a union that began on October 20, 2001. What once began in Independence now returns there to be disassembled, quietly, deliberately.
Represented by attorney Les D. Wight of the Law Offices of Les D. Wight, LLC, Richard Bland asserts that the marriage is irretrievably broken, that reconciliation is not only improbable, but impossible. The couple, who separated in March 2023, share two children—both now emancipated. No future custody disputes await resolution, only the division of history: property, debts, and names.
The petition requests that marital assets be divided equitably by the court, or that any mutual agreement the parties may reach be adopted as just and conscionable. Both parties are described as financially self-sufficient, with no maintenance sought or warranted. Karen Bland may also seek the restoration of her maiden name, Gilmore—a return not just to a former surname, but to a self once carried before the long arc of marriage began.
It is a formal unraveling, procedural yet deeply human. What remains is for the court to determine how to mark the boundary between what once was shared and what now must stand apart.
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