Cary J. Mogerman

Practice Areas

I represent individuals in complicated divorce cases and related family law matters in the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area. My goal is to provide useful advice, thorough and thoughtful analysis, and effective advocacy for my clients, combining the highest possible levels of skill and responsive client service. I am also a trained family law arbitrator, and I accept arbitration and special master engagements.

My practice is limited to divorce, matrimonial, marital and family law. This field includes dissolutions of marriage, modifications of prior divorce judgments, negotiating and drafting prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements, as well as appeals in family law cases. The central focus of my practice is upon matters involving complex assets and income, and I have substantial experience with cases involving business interests of all types, professional practices, family trusts and complex estate plans, as well as complex executive compensation in both privately held and publicly- traded corporations.

I represent clients in the St. Louis metropolitan area and its surrounding counties, and occasionally in other counties throughout Missouri. I welcome any call. If I cannot take the case, I will promptly assist in referring the matter to other capable counsel here in Missouri and throughout the United States.

Career

Carmody MacDonald PC, St. Louis, Missouri 2019-present (Shareholder)- My practice is limited to complex dissolution of marriage cases and related appellate practice. These cases frequently involve interests in family businesses, close corporations, or professional practices, as well as spousal and child support issues within the context of a substantial family income. Sometimes these cases may also involve sophisticated and pre-existing estate planning arrangements---they can be very complex cases. We excel at trying to make them less complicated, and at providing the highest quality, personalized legal representation possible.

Zerman Mogerman LLC 1989-2019 (Managing Member and Owner)

Stokes & O'Malley PC 1988-1989 (Associate)

Shifrin & Treiman 1986-1988 (Associate)

Hannegan, Stokes, Moerschel & Weber PC 1985-86 (Associate)

Professional Memberships

Fellow and Past-President (2022), American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers

Diplomate, American College of Family Trial Lawyers

Fellow, International Academy of Family Lawyers

Master of the Bench and President (2024), Theodore McMillian American Inn of Court

Former Commissioner and past-Chair, Missouri Commission on Removal, Retention, and Discipline of Judges (2017-2023), a six-member commission established by the Missouri State Constitution for regulating judicial conduct throughout the state; I was one of two members appointed at large by the Missouri Bar's Board of Governors.

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Member, The Missouri Bar and its Family Law Section

Member, American Bar Association and its Family Law Section

Member, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and its Family and Juvenile Law Section (Past Chair)

St. Louis County Bar Association

Fellow, American Bar Foundation

Publications

Author- with J. Kodner, “Boiling Down the Boilerplate: Important Drafting Considerations for Attorney Self-Preservation,” for a panel discussion called “Marital Agreements: Important Considerations When Untying the Knot,” for the AAML Mid-Year Meeting, Playa del Carmen, Mexico, March 15 2019.

Author- “Taxing Times in the United States: Tax Reform and the Alimony Deduction,” published in the newsletter of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, (IAFL), May 2018.

Author, with J. Kodner, A Guide to Divorce in Missouri: Simple Answers to Complex Questions (Addicus Books, Omaha NE 2017), ISBN 978-1-940495-65-1. This book is written as a guide for lay persons considering divorce, and is intended to explain the major precepts of Missouri dissolution of marriage law as well as to provide practical information and guidance to lay people about dissolution of marriage law and process in Missouri.

Author- with M. Niemira, “Domestic Tort Claims in the Context of Divorce,” in the ABA Family Advocate, Vol 39, No. 2, Fall 2016, a publication of the American Bar Association Family Law Section.

Author- with J. Kodner, “Joinder of Third Parties to Allocate Property Interests in Divorce Cases”, in the St. Louis Bar Journal, a publication of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, June, 2016.

Author- Foreword to S. Peskind, One Hundred Days Before Trial: A Family Lawyer’s Guide to Preparation and Strategy, ABA Publishing (2015).

Author- with S. Jones, “The New Era of Electronic Eavesdropping and Divorce: An Analysis of the Federal Law Relating to Eavesdropping and Privacy in the Internet Age,” Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Vol. 21, 2008, No. 2.

Author- “Family Law Update,”- a series of articles published quarterly in Barristers' Quarterly Review, for the membership of the St. Louis County Bar Association, September, 1998 to 2006.

Author- "IRC Section 72(t): A Method for Providing Penalty-Free Access to Retirement Funds Prior to Age 59 ½, " materials for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, national mid-year meeting, Sanibel, Florida, March, 2002.

Author - with A. Zerman, Chapter 27, "Conflict of Laws", 2 Mo. Family Law, (MoBar 6th ed., 2004 and 2006 supplement; 7th ed. and supplements) Also, chapters and cumulative supplements for MoBar 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th editions, supplements published 1991,1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2012 2019 (2007 through 2019 co-authored with Joseph J. Kodner). Drafts for 2023 edition pending.

Author- Chapter 15, "Characterization and Division of Property in Divorce," 2 Mo. Family Law, (MoBar 6th ed., 2004 and 2006 supplement), and chapter and cumulative supplements for MoBar 4th ,5th, 6th and 7th editions, published 1999, 2001, 2007, 2009, 2012 (2007 through 2019 co-authored with Stephanie L. Jones). Drafts for 2023 edition pending.

Author- with A. Zerman, "Discovering Undisclosed Assets in Divorce Cases," St. Louis Bar Journal, October, 1995.

Author- with A. Zerman, "Wiretapping and Divorce: A Survey and Analysis of the Federal and State Laws Relating to Electronic Eavesdropping and their Application in DivorceCases," Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Vol. 12, No.2, Winter, 1994.

Author - with A. Zerman, "Jurisdictional Issues and Conflicts of Law in Missouri

Domestic Relations Practice", St. Louis Bar Journal, Winter, 1990 Edition.

Author- with A. Zerman, "2001 Family Law Update: A Survey and Analysis of Developments in Family Law," for the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Family Law Section, Clayton, Missouri, December 6, 2001.

Author- with A. Zerman, "The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997: A Summary for the Domestic Relations Practitioner," materials for the Second Annual Annual Institute, An Advanced Seminar and Update on Family Law in Missouri, sponsored by the Missouri Chapter, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, October 24 and 31, 1997, in Kansas City and St. Louis, respectively.

Author- with A. Zerman and M. Neimira, "What's New in Separation Agreements?" materials for the Ninth Annual Missouri Bar Family Law Institute, Summer, 1996.

Author- with A. Zerman, "Division of Separate and Marital Property at Divorce," for the Missouri Bar Family Law Section 1995 Annual Institute, August, 1995.

Author- with A. Zerman, "Discovery and Treatment of Hidden Assets in Divorce Cases," paper presented at the Mid-Year Meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, March, 1994, and at the Missouri Chapter, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers' First Annual Family Law Institute, St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, January, 1995.

Author- with A. Zerman, "Trial of Domestic Tort Matters Under the Family Court Act," Missouri Bar Family Law Section Newsletter, Fall, 1993.

Author- with A. Zerman, "Keep Up or Give it Up!- An Update on Missouri Divorce Law," materials for the Fifteenth Annual Family Law Institute sponsored by the University of Missouri, and for the Missouri Bar's Sixth Annual Family Law Institute, both held Summer, 1993.

Author - with A. Zerman, "Marital Torts- The Case for Mandatory Joinder," in the "Point of Law" segment of the St. Louis Countian and St. Louis Daily Record, (legal newspapers), April 24, 1992.

Author - with A. Zerman, "Maintenance in Missouri," materials prepared for the University of Missouri - Kansas City Continuing Legal Education department for its 1991 Domestic Relations Seminar, December 6, 1991.

Author - with A. Zerman, "Update on the Law: Noteworthy Developments in 1990", Family Law Section Newsletter, Winter, 1990, published by the Missouri Bar Family Law Section.

Author - with A. Zerman, "Survey of Developments in Missouri Divorce Law - 1990", Third Annual Family Law Institute sponsored by the Missouri Bar Committee on Continuing Legal Education, Fall, 1990.

Education

Awards