Getting Married In Jail?

December 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
minnesota bride and groom

It’s your right to get married…even if you’re in jail This could also be called Five Brides Go To Court.  No, it’s not a budget summer movie of dubious quality, it’s a real lawsuit from Missouri.  Missouri (like a lot of states) had a law which required that each applicant for a marriage license sign the application in the presence of the recorder of deeds or their deputy.  That sounds fine, right?  The problem is, it means that one of the license applicants can’t be in prison, since they wouldn’t be able to sign in front of the recorder (County Recorders …

Filed Under: Current Divorce Events Tagged With: , ,

When Do I Start The Divorce?

October 11, 2013 By 1 Comment
divorcing couple

Do I Call A Divorce Lawyer? This is always a tough question to answer because, believe it or not, I’m not happy when people get divorced! Yes, I know I make my living as a divorce attorney and I still have a few student loans that need to be paid, but one of my favorite phone calls is when a client calls and tells me that it looks like they are getting back together and please stop the divorce.  Because of this, I believe that it must be the client’s choice when they should get divorced, not the lawyers. Ok, …

Filed Under: Basic Divorce Questions, Dividing Property Tagged With: , ,

Death Of A Legend: The Kirby Puckett Divorce.

October 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Kirby Puckett

A Look Back at Minnesota Twin Kirby Puckett’s Divorce It was 10 years ago this past month or so so that Minnesota Twins Fans woke up and learned that our favorite little outfielder, the plucky fireplug who was the perfect major league ballplayer, was, perhaps,  not quite so perfect.  Of course, I’m talking about Kirby Puckett and his legal troubles.  Kirby, who needs absolutely no introduction to anyone vaguely familiar with the Minnesota Twins or Major League Baseball, was charged with sexual assault of his past longtime mistress at a dance club in the Minneapolis suburbs (which the stall where …

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Child Support & Dependency Exemptions

June 11, 2013 By 1 Comment
Taxes Can Be Fun?

Who Gets To Claim The Kids After The Divorce? It’s not uncommon for there to be some dispute about who gets to claim the children for tax purposes.  Over the years I have heard many myths about who gets to claim what for taxes, some people think it’s automatically split equally, others say that if you pay child support you get to claim the kids every year, both of these are only partially correct. First, let’s look at the IRS regulations.  The Internal Revenue Code 152(c)(3)(a) says that the custodial parent gets to claim the child unless the parent “affirmatively …

Filed Under: Basic Divorce Questions, Child Support, Finances and Divorce Tagged With: , ,

Child Support: Soviet Style

June 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Picture of Russian child support

Parenting, Soviet-Style–in the U.S. Or, how much money do you really have for child support?   If a married couple in Minnesota gets a divorce and child support is awarded, the amount awarded largely depends on the parties’ incomes.  So, say you’re a soon-to-be ex-husband and the court is awarding child support to your ex-wife.  If you want to minimize your child support obligation, what do you do?  What can you do?  You could always move to Bora Bora and change your name, but that’s not very responsible or ethical.  Perhaps a better and more appropriate way to do this …

Filed Under: Child Custody, Child Support, Current Divorce Events Tagged With: ,

Minnesota Adopts Freedom to Marry Law

May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
MN Gov siging gay marriage amendment

by Jason Kohlmeyer Gay Marriage Is Now The Law Of The Land In Minnesota.  On Tuesday, May 14, Governor Dayton signed into law Minnesota’s “Freedom to Marry Act,” making Minnesota the 12th state to permit same-sex marriage.  Minnesota was previously the first state to reject a constitutional amendment which would have defined marriage as being between one man and one woman.  After the defeat of that amendment, lawmakers went to work to enact legislation which would affirmatively allow gay marriages.  The newly-passed law will take effect August 1. What does the new law say? Minnesota law previously stated explicitly that …

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Social Security Benefits And Minnesota Divorce

May 6, 2013 By 1 Comment
SSD minnesota benefits

Ex-s With Benefits: Collecting social security benefits after a Minnesota divorce Did you know that if you are divorced, you may be able to collect social security benefits based on your ex-spouse’s payment record?  You can be ex’s with benefits—of the financial kind.  To make things even better (or worse, depending on the friendliness of your relationship with your ex), if you collect benefits based on your ex’s record, this does not reduce the amount of benefits that your ex receives. Before I cover what is required to get social security benefits, it’s important that you understand this.  Many people …

Filed Under: Alimony, Retirement Assets And Divorce, Settlement Tagged With: , ,

Divorce and Domestic Abuse In Minnesota

April 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Pic o Alleged Perp.

Domestic Abuse and Divorce in Minnesota  By Jason Kohlmeyer Victims of domestic violence have many difficulties on their plate at any given time:  dealing with the physical effects of abuse, seeking help with mental trauma, and finding a positive care situation for children.  Going through a divorce can often exacerbate these issues.  Emotions run high in almost any divorce process, and the increase in tension can make a bad situation worse.  If you are a victim of domestic violence and are considering a divorce, or are already started on the divorce process, here are some things you should keep in …

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Brendan Fraser Broke Due To Alimony?

March 10, 2013 By 1 Comment
reduce alimony

Brendan Fraser Broke? It looks like it just might be that America’s favorite frozen caveman, Brendan Fraser, might very well be broke do to his family law situation. According to reports (and yes I’ll be the first to admit that Wetpaint.com does not have the same journalistic chops as NY Times) Mr. Fraser is trying to reduce his alimony and child support payment. Apparently he is paying over $900,000 to his ex-wife and his three sons. It’s was a ten year marriage (from 1998-2008) and if you recall, Mr. Fraser was a darling of Hollywood in the early 2000′s e …

Filed Under: Alimony, Current Divorce Events, Divorce and Bankruptcy Tagged With: , ,

No Thanks, I’m Fine: Waiving Alimony In A Prenup?

March 8, 2013 By 1 Comment
Picture of Cash

No Thanks, I’m Fine: Can you waive alimony through a Minnesota prenuptial agreement? In many divorces, alimony and acrimony go hand in hand:  the biggest fights often revolve around how much, if any, money one spouse should pay to the other following the divorce.  Alimony, a.k.a. spousal maintenance, a.k.a. spousal support, is generally awarded at the discretion of the judge and is intended to provide support for a spouse who may have insufficient income to support himself or herself after the breakup of the marriage.  But if you’re already planning to execute a prenuptial agreement to protect your property and/or …

Filed Under: Alimony, Pre-Divorce Issues Tagged With: , , ,
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