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.
January has a way of telling the truth plainly. Filed January 5, 2026, in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, the petition by Marilyn Ann Thompson against George William Thompson reads not as a rupture in haste but as a reckoning long delayed. End-of-year filings, especially those squeezed between December 28 and 31, often carry the weight of deadlines and last chances. This one belongs to the beginning—where time is counted forward, and endurance is finally named for what it is.
The Thompsons’ marriage began on December 31, 1996, a date that once promised continuity. Nearly three decades later, separation came on or about November 1, 2025, with no children born of the union and no realistic path back. The petition states what the years have already taught: the marriage is irretrievably broken. Both parties are retired; both have means to support themselves. Yet the facts are not symmetrical. Marilyn Thompson, living temporarily with family, faces Parkinson’s disease and subsists on Social Security. George Thompson, also retired, supplements his income with part-time driving.
Represented by N. Rey Sindel of The Sindel Firm, LLC, the petitioner asks the court to dissolve the marriage; to set apart each party’s separate property; to divide marital property as the court deems appropriate; and to order the respondent to contribute to her attorney’s fees and court costs, which she cannot afford. She also seeks any further relief the court finds proper under the circumstances.
If December divorces feel like confessions whispered before the calendar turns, this January filing stands upright. It understands that the work of survival does not end with ceremony, and that dignity—like the year itself—sometimes begins only after the old promises are finally laid down.
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