Missouri Revised Statutes Title XXX. Domestic Relations § 454.455. Assignments by caretaker relatives, terminate, when, exceptions--caretaker relative defined

1. In any case wherein an order for child support has been entered and the legal custodian and obligee pursuant to the order relinquishes physical custody of the child to a caretaker relative without obtaining a modification of legal custody, and the caretaker relative makes an assignment of support rights to the family support division in order to receive aid to families with dependent children benefits, the relinquishment and the assignment, by operation of law, shall transfer the child support obligation pursuant to the order to the division in behalf of the state. The assignment shall terminate when the caretaker relative no longer has physical custody of the child, except for those unpaid support obligations still owing to the state pursuant to the assignment at that time.

2. As used in subsection 1 of this section, the term “caretaker relative” includes only those persons listed in subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of section 208.040.

3. If an order for child support has been entered, no assignment of support has been made, and the legal custodian and obligee under the order relinquishes physical custody of the child to a caretaker relative without obtaining a modification of legal custody, or the child is placed by the court in the legal custody of a state agency, the division may, thirty days after the transfer of custody and upon notice to the obligor and obligee, direct the obligor or other payer to change the payee to the caretaker relative or appropriate state agency. An order changing the payee to a caretaker relative shall terminate when the caretaker relative no longer has physical custody of the child, or the state agency is relieved of legal custody, except for the unpaid support obligations still owed to the caretaker relative or the state.

4. If there has been an assignment of support to an agency or division of the state or a requirement to pay through a state disbursement unit, the division may, upon notice to the obligor and obligee, direct the obligor or other payer to change the payee to the appropriate state agency.