father and daughter

“Children Are Not Backpacks:” Whose Needs Does Your Parenting Schedule Serve?

February 12th, 2016
When parents can no longer live together, one of the first orders of business is to figure out how each of them will spend time with their children. There are any number of possible configurations for parenting time, and parents are often focused on… Read More
People shaking hands

Cooperating in Co-Parenting: How it Affects Custody

January 26th, 2016
One of the “best interests” factors that Minnesota courts consider in custody disputes is “the willingness and ability of parents to cooperate in the rearing of their child; to maximize sharing information and minimize exposure of the child to… Read More
Woman in front hallway holding young girl's hands and smiling

Keeping Your Child Connected to Their Other Parent

January 11th, 2016
You probably had excellent reasons for ending your marriage or your relationship with your child’s other parent. Those reasons may have included behavior on your ex’s part that made it seem like spending time with them would not be good f… Read More
Father and son

Parenting Time with Both Parents: How it Matters

December 28th, 2015
How important is it for your children to spend time with you? If you’re like most parents, you’d say it’s very important. When you spend time with your children, you’re communicating, sharing about things as mundane as what ea… Read More
People profile graphic

“I Should Have Known Better:” First-Person Divorce Stories

December 11th, 2015
We at Mundahl Law regularly blog about family law issues, but from time to time, we’ll be sharing this space with clients and others who have experienced the Minnesota family law system from the client’s perspective. This is one such stor… Read More
3 Generation family at home

Maintaining Your Child's Important Relationships

December 10th, 2015
“It’s not just about you!” How many times have you heard someone say that? Ordinarily, it’s meant to snap people out of a self-centered bubble. But when it comes to your child’s custody, it’s literally true: it’s not… Read More
Girl with moving box

How Major Life Changes Affect Your Child, and Your Custody

November 25th, 2015
Studies have shown that when undergoing life changes, the more control people have over a transition, the more successfully they navigate it. Divorce, naturally, is one of the largest and most disruptive changes that any of us can go through. That… Read More
brother and sister

Are You Willing and Able to Meet Your Child's Ongoing Needs?

November 10th, 2015
How willing and able are you to fulfill your child’s various ongoing needs? How you answer that question may have a serious impact on your custody matter. Minnesota resolves custody disputes based on what’s in “the best interests of the… Read More
Word Cloud Health

Physical, Mental, and Chemical Health: How They Affect Your Minnesota Custody Case

November 6th, 2015
In this latest installment of our series of blog posts on Minnesota child custody law, we’ll focus on parents’ health issues, and the impact they may have on the outcome of a custody matter. As you likely know, in 2015, the “best intere… Read More
Illustration of woman and two children

Caretaking and Custody: What Has Changed in Minnesota

November 5th, 2015
Not all that long ago, two assumptions were prevalent in family law: one parent, almost always the mother, was the “primary caretaker” of the children; and the primary caretaker should receive some degree of preference in custody determinations.… Read More
Sad looking girl with her fighting parents behind her

Domestic Violence and Minnesota Custody Disputes

October 6th, 2015
In our last several blog posts, we’ve discussed the recently amended “best interests” factors that Minnesota courts consider in deciding custody and parenting time disputes. In general, the language in the statute has been changed to focus… Read More
kids smiling faces

“The Reasonable Preference of the Child” in Minnesota Custody Cases

September 14th, 2015
As we’ve discussed in recent blog posts, Minnesota custody law, which is based on the “best interests of the child,” has recently updated the factors used to define a child’s “best interests”, including greater focus on the needs… Read More

Why do I need an Estate Plan?

August 25th, 2015
A common response when I mention that I help clients with their estate plans is “I don’t need an estate plan. I don’t have anything.” Usually my response is “Do you have kids?” If you do, then you need an estate plan. An estate includes a… Read More
Disabled four year old boy studying or reading in wheelchair

Children with Special Needs and Minnesota Custody Determinations

August 24th, 2015
In our last blog post, we reviewed the state legislature’s significant changes to the “best interests” factors that Minnesota judges must consider when determining custody of a children in a divorce or action between unmarried paren… Read More

Minnesota's “Best Interests” Factors: What's New in 2015

August 10th, 2015
In Minnesota, child custody decisions are made based on the “best interests” of the children involved. Like other states, Minnesota has a list of factors that courts must consider when determining what custody arrangement would be in the children… Read More