Jennifer L. Rench

Jennifer L. Rench is a family law attorney and owner of J. Rench Law Firm, LLC | St. Louis Divorce and Mediation. Her law firm helps clients through divorce by offering divorce mediation services, collaborative divorce services, and divorce representation.

Her philosophy is to help clients resolve legal matters in the most effective way possible. She accomplishes this through communication, collaboration, interest-based negotiations, and other progressive strategies. Her values center on understanding her clients’ needs and meeting those needs using her legal experience and problem solving skills. While she has served in other areas of law, family law is especially fulfilling for Jennifer. She is particularly driven to create practical family-focused solutions for clients with children. Jennifer’s aim with every client is to ease high-conflict situations by developing well-informed solutions, while also protecting the rights of her clients. Her other aim is to educate her clients in order to bring clarity and understanding to a complex situation. She has extensive experience helping clients identify issues and negotiate agreements. Jennifer is a passionate supporter of the Collaborative Family Law Association, volunteering her experience and skills to help educate the public about a variety of divorce options, such as divorce mediation, collaborative divorce, and other alternative divorce resolution processes.

• Divorce Mediation
• Collaborative Divorce

• Free Consultation
  Consultation appointments can be made through our website at www.stldivorceandmediation.com or by calling the office at 314-725-4000.
• Credit Cards Accepted
  Visa, MasterCard, and Discover

Missouri

Since 2008

Federal Circuit

Since 2013

Attorney/Owner

J. Rench Law Firm LLC | St. Louis Divorce and Mediation

2016 - Current

Law firm focusing on divorce, divorce mediation and collaborative divorce in St. Louis, Missouri.

Attorney/Owner

Fortis Law Firm, LLC

2013 - 2016

Attorney/Owner

Greene & Taylor, LLC

2009 - 2013

Attorney

Fireman's Fund

2008 - 2010

Legal Assistant

Klar, Izsak & Stenger, LLC

2006 - 2008

Saint Louis University

J.D. (2008) | Law

2008

Saint Louis University

B.A. (2005) | Accounting

2005

Collaborative Family Law Association

Chair of Public Relations Committee

2016 - Current

Collaborative Family Law Association

Board Member

2016 - Current

International Academy of Collaborative Professionals

Member

2015 - Current

Activities: IACP is the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, an international community of legal, mental health and financial professionals working in concert to create client-centered processes for resolving conflict.

Collaborative Family Law Association

Member

2015 - Current

Activities: The Collaborative Family Law Association (CFLA) is a not-for-profit organization of independent, unaffiliated, attorneys, mental health, and financial professionals, committed to resolving family disputes through a non-adversarial process known as Collaborative Practice. CFLA offers a network of specially trained professionals to assist divorcing couples find their own solutions for their family’s future.

The Missouri Bar  # 61083

Member

2008 - Current

Activities: The Missouri Bar was created in 1944 by order of the Supreme Court of Missouri. Its mission is to improve the legal profession, the administration of justice and the law on behalf of the public. Through educational programs, publications, and more, The Missouri Bar serves as a valuable resource for members—and for the citizens of Missouri.

Adult Adoptees Can Now Discover Their Birth Parents

J. Rench Law Firm LLC | St. Louis Divorce and Mediation

December 27, 2017

Discussion of Changes to IACP Ethics Code, Clayton, MO

March 3, 2017

Collaborative Family Law Association

Divorce Public Education Seminar, St. Louis County Public Library, St. Louis, MO

November 11, 2015

Collaborative Family Law Association

Divorce Public Education Seminar, St. Louis County Public Library, St. Louis, MO

January 26, 2016

Collaborative Family Law Association

Divorce Public Education Seminar, St. Louis County Public Library, St. Louis, MO

March 31, 2016

Collaborative Family Law Association

Divorce: A Better Way. A Different Way, Saint Louis University School of Law, St. Louis, MO

April 13, 2016

Saint Louis University School of Law

Q. 17 y/o going to college. Her father is paying 0 support. He is not on birth certificate. What should I do?

June 8, 2020

A: First, you will need to establish paternity then you can request an order for child support. There are two different way in which to do this: (1) Establish legal paternity through the State of Missouri Family Support Division by applying for Child Support services, or (2) File a Paternity and Child Support case through the appropriate County Circuit Court.

In order to establish paternity, a biological father can sign an Affidavit Acknowledging Paternity, which may not be likely in your case if father has nothing to do with the child at this point. In an effort through the FSD or through the court, the the child, mother and father can also be ordered to take a DNA test. A DNA test alone does not establish paternity but it would be evidence in a case to request that the court name the man as the biological father of the child.

More information would need to be known to answer questions about what may be included in an order for child support. A child support order can include the amount of child support and any expenses that might be ordered on top of child support, like college tuition or health insurance expenses. The length of time a child support order is in effect for most people has to do with the age of your child and how long she attends college. There are other factors too that might be outside of the scope of this question.

Going through each process has pros and cons. The processes, length of time, cost, and potential outcomes are different. It would be helpful to have an attorney if the father's location is unknown or if he is not cooperative. You should speak with an experienced child support lawyer in your area for the best advice regarding your particular situation.

I wish you well! ... Read More

Q. Can my 16 yr old refuse paternal visitation due to his contentious relationship with his dad? We share joint custody.

April 18, 2020

A: I understand this can be a difficult situation to navigate. Sometimes divorced parents can feel stuck between following a court order and supporting their child's wishes. This might be an excellent opportunity to use those co-parenting skills and have a conversation with your x-spouse. This isn't always easy, and it can be even more difficult when relationships are unhealthy and strained. But there are divorce professionals that can help that you can reach out to before heading into a courtroom fight. This is especially true in these times where access to a judge may be severely limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are a few suggestions:

- Have a conversation with your x-spouse. Focus on the concern you both have for the well-being of your son and how you can support him to work on a healthier relationship with your son's father.

- Ask your child's father if he would be willing to talk to a co-parent counselor or a parenting coach. Mental health professionals that offer these services can help x-spouses communicate better as parents and can help the parents talk to their child about the stress that they are feeling.

- Talk to your child's father about getting your son some time with a counselor or social worker to give him an outlet and support him in navigating this situation.

- See if your x-spouse would be willing to talk to a mediator as a lower conflict out-of-court option. A mediator can help you explore the issue and reach an agreement for a temporary plan or a plan that you use to permanently modify your current order. An attorney mediator cannot represent either parent or give legal advice, but with her legal knowledge and experience she can provide some information to both parents about what hashing it out in court might look like. The goal would be have a structured place to communicate using a professional that has experience with child custody issues in court so that you and your x-spouse can reach a mutual agreement without having to battle in the courtroom. As a bonus - you can almost always get to a mediator much quicker than you can get to a judge.

Many people don't know they have these options. I think when faced with less litigious alternatives, most people are willing to try one of these lower-conflict options to resolve the issue and stay out of court. As a bit of background, I've been litigating child custody cases in court for over 10 years and I am also a divorce mediator and collaborative divorce lawyer that has helped many other people resolve these issues in out-of-court processes as an alternative to litigation. It might be worth reaching out to a co-parent counselor or mediator in your area to get some information about these options. Best wishes! ... Read More

Q. Custodial parent will not terminate CS even though child lives with us. Do we have options?

July 19, 2019

A: To clarify, I am going to assume that the "we" you are referring to is the child's father and maybe his now significant other? While I prefer Mom and Dad to be able to recognize that there is an issue that needs to be resolved and be able to work out the best way to resolve it by agreement, it may not be possible.

There are a couple issues that would dictate the best way to handle this: If the child is close to 18 and will not be attending college full time, the support provisions terminate on her 18th birthday unless your parenting plan says otherwise or there is some exception under the law that applies to your situation. That is statutory and no further action is needed. However, if child support is being withheld via a wage withholding then that is an issue to deal with. And depending on the practices of the court in your area, your judge may not want to terminate the child support order or withholding until they know for sure that the child will not enroll in college by waiting until October 1st since that is the statutory deadline for enrollment. This really depends on your facts, the cooperation of your x-spouse (you may not have that here), and the judge. The custody provisions of the parenting plan don't apply once she turns 18 either. If she just turned 17, then you may want to call an attorney to see what can be done for the next year.

You also mentioned arrears. This is tricky too. A court order cannot retroactively modify a child support order. It can only modify a court order for child support going forward. This means that if you are in need of a modification you should file it ASAP (preferably after you get the advice of a child support lawyer). But depending on if you have had your daughter for 30 consecutive nights, you may be able to get periods of child support abated. Depending on how much in arrears you are, it may be beneficial to pay an attorney to try and help you grapple with this.

This situation tends to be so fact specific and you really need to get the advice a Missouri child support attorney. If you are in St. Louis County or a nearby surrounding county, feel free to call my office at 314-725-4000. Good luck! ... Read More