» Steps in the Legal Process

When Minnesota parents divorce or separate, their relationship doesn’t end. Instead, it transforms from a romantic relationship into a co-parenting relationship, in which the children are the focus of the parents’ interactions with each o… Read More

When is a father not a father? In Minnesota, the answer is sometimes, “when he’s not married to his child’s mother.” That is to say, even if a man is a biological father, if he’s not married to his child’s mother,… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

For parents going through a divorce or attempting to modify a custody order, this is a question that is often on their minds. In Minnesota, this question does not always have a simple answer. Under state law, custody is determined based on what is in… Read More

With some exceptions, almost all divorce cases in Minnesota will be required to participate in some form of alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, to resolve legal issues. In a divorce, couples often struggle to come to an agreement on is… Read More

A child custody order will invariably affect the wellbeing of your children and influence the dynamics of your family life. We often hear from concerned parents whether it be a mother anxious about her ex-husband’s drinking problem or drug abuse, o… Read More