Neal v. Neal
Missouri Supreme Court
941 S.W.2d 501 (1997)
- Written by Denise McGimsey, JD
Facts
Melissa Neal (plaintiff) and Bruce Neal (defendant) married in September 1994 and separated in February 1995, at which point Mrs. Neal was pregnant. Mrs. Neal filed for divorce in March 1995. Her petition included a request that she legally regain her maiden name, Gintz. When the couple’s son was born in July, she gave him the surname Gintz and did not include her husband on the birth certificate. The couple was granted a divorce in September 1995. The trial judge refused to restore Mrs. Neal’s maiden name, however, without supplying any reason for the denial. The judge also ordered, upon Mr. Neal’s request, that the child’s name be changed to Neal and that Mr. Neal be added to the birth certificate. Mrs. Neal appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Covington, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
