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 shadowed corners of Jackson County, Missouri, where the hum of everyday life masks deeper struggles, Justin Rigot stepped into the Family Court Division at Independence on April 1, 2025, carrying the weight of a marriage he could no longer sustain. His petition for dissolution, a stark document filed with Spiegel Law, LLC, through attorney Michael M. Spiegel, laid bare the fracture with Sheryl Rigot, his partner since their vows in Blue Springs, Missouri. Though they still shared a roof, the separation was official on the day of filing, a quiet acknowledgment that their bond, once sealed in Jackson County, was now irretrievably broken.

No military service complicated their story, no children beyond a single minor demanded custody battles—yet the stakes felt monumental. Justin sought joint custody, his home designated for the child’s schooling and care, backed by a forthcoming parenting plan he believed served the child best. Both he and Sheryl, employed and able-bodied, stood financially independent, needing no maintenance, their lives intersecting only in the division of marital property and debts, still unresolved, and the care of their child, whose medical needs loomed large.

The court would weigh fairness, not sentiment, as Justin asked that non-marital assets be preserved and marital ones divided equitably. Spiegel’s firm, a steady presence in Blue Springs, guided him through the legal maze, where every clause hinted at the personal toll. In this Missouri courtroom, amid the routine of filings, a family’s unraveling became another case number, 2516-FC02454, a number that held the echoes of love lost and lives to be rebuilt.

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