Minnesota, like other states, operates on the premise that it is in a child’s best interests to have regular, frequent, and meaningful contact with both parents. While it’s difficult to argue with this premise, the way parents and courts…
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Every nine seconds in this country, a woman is battered by a spouse or intimate partner. The American Medical Association (AMA) and FBI estimate that between three and four million women are battered each year in the United States. In Minnesota in 20…
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Its getting to be that time of year again, back to school. Which for some parents is a great relief, but for separated parents it can be quite stressful. What happens when you have joint legal custody and you disagree with your ex about where your ch…
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We’ve all heard the statistic: roughly half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. This translates to one divorce every thirteen seconds, and well over 6,000 divorces every single day. Looking at the big picture, divorce is a com…
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Everyone understands that divorce is hard on the couple whose marriage is ending, and of course for any children they may have. Fewer people think about the impact of a divorce on the parents of the divorcing husband and wife, but watching your adult…
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The most preposterous statement I ever heard from another attorney was that clients who hire me expect me to use big words that they (the clients) do not understand. I think that attorney was trying to cop out of explaining our legal shorthand or jar…
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You may have seen cars sporting bumper stickers that say, “If you think education’s expensive, try ignorance.” There could just as easily be one that says, “If you think hiring an attorney is expensive, try representing yourse…
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For many people, the idea of budgeting–for anything–is unpleasant. Budgeting involves putting pencil to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and taking a hard look at finances in black and white. That hard look can reveal realities that are dif…
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We’ve already discussed in this space the basics of awarding spousal maintenance in Minnesota, but we’ve touched only briefly on the concept of modifying spousal maintenance. Normally, once an award of spousal maintenance has been granted…
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What is Spousal Maintenance? Spousal maintenance is simply what used to be known as alimony. In Minnesota, there are two types of spousal maintenance: Short-Term or Temporary Spousal Maintenance is paid to one spouse by another for a specified period…
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Hardly a client comes to our office who hasn’t been given some great divorce advice by a brother, sister, great aunt, girl friend, guy friend, neighbor, or coworker. The topic seems to attract quite a bit of input from others, who are more than…
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Clients always ask, “What is this divorce going to cost?” As attorneys our answer is, “It depends.” There are a range of factors that affect the cost of a divorce making it difficult to say with certainty how much it will ultimately c…
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Divorce is undoubtedly a challenging time as parents and children adjust to necessary changes in home life, daily routine, and new roles within the family. It is a time of transition, and it is to be expected that such a significant event in the life…
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We have a number of clients that come to us, who have been subject to some form of abuse or harassment and are seeking legal protection. Others have had an Order for Protection (OFP) or a Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) filed against them and need…
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Understanding the different actors in family law can be challenging for those who are unfamiliar with legal terminology or who are new to the family law system in Minnesota. The following terms will hopefully serve to clarify the common players in va…
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