FAQs

Divorces in Minnesota are usually handled on an hourly basis. We ask for a certain amount of money to be put in the trust account. This means that if you have a relatively simple or straightforward case that involves only children or limited property distribution, it will cost less than a complex case that involves business and non-marital property. A “normal” divorce can run from $1,500 – $5,000.

Again this is a question that really depends on your case and how complex it is. If you agree on just about everything it can take less than a month. However, if you don’t agree, then the other party will have to put an Answer in (which, in Minnesota, is due 30 days after he or she was served). Then you will usually have to go to a hearing called an ICMC or the Initial Case Management Conference to see if mediation or trial is more appropriate. A “normal” divorce usually takes 2-6 months, but this is a very vague estimate and really depends on your specific cases.

Divorces are started in Minnesota by serving the other side with a legal document called a Petition for Marital Dissolution. The other party then has 30 days to reply with an answer and usually discovery is next. Discovery is where questions are asked and answered, in writing, under oath. Once this is done, the lawyers typically talk about ways to avoid trial, such as ICMC , mediation, or ENE (early neutral evaluation). One key issue is that just because lawyers are involved it does not mean that the case will go to trial or will end up “in court”. The goal of a divorce lawyer is really to be sure that you are being protected and to move the case forward as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

First, you need to make the decision, do you feel you have to get divorced? If you have been served with a petition for dissolution, then you should call and set up an initial consultation right away. If you haven’t been served, but need a divorce, call and we can go over your options. To officially start the divorce, we need three things: Written retainer Payment of the retainer amount A completed intake packet Once we get these documents we can start working on your divorce.

The short answer is, maybe. If you are married and living together you each have an equal right to the property. This means that if you change the lock on your door, your husband or wife has the right to break in (after all they do own ½ the door!). You may need to file what’s called a motion for temporary relief in order to get the Judge to order your soon to be ex-spouse to move out.

Minnesota has two distinct types of custody; legal and physical. Legal custody deals with education and most of the time you will have joint legal custody with your ex. This means that if you have joint legal custody you will have to agree on where the kids to school. If you can’t decide together, the Court will ultimately decide for you.

Medical insurance premiums are considered a form of child support in Minnesota. This means that over and above cash child support payments, the court will take both parties incomes, divide them out and assign a percentage to each parent to cover the kid’s health insurance. This law was changed in 2007/2008 and we rarely argue about this any longer.

This is a tricky question and one that isn’t very clear. If the divorce decree is silent as to who pays, then you’ll have to work it out with your ex. While the cost of activity fees, camps, clothing, etc. can be very expensive it is not dealt with under Minnesota Child Support laws.

You can almost always leave the state with your kids, as long as you intend to return. This is true both during the divorce and after. The issue that comes up very frequently, however, is moving out of state.

Every state is unique in how they calculate child support. Minnesota looks at the percentage of overnights each parent has and takes into account the income each parent has to come up with a monthly payment that is owed. For overnights, the court looks at everything up to 10.1% of overnights as the same and then up to 45.1% of overnights as the same.

Most parents have to pay until either 1) emancipation 2) the child turns 18 and is legally an adult or 3) the child graduates high school. There are rare occasions where a MN court can order child support past those three instances, such as the child having a very serious health condition or other need-based reason.

Medical insurance premiums are considered a form of child support in Minnesota. This means that over and above cash child support payments, the court will take both parties incomes, divide them out and assign a percentage to each parent to cover the kid’s health insurance. This law was changed in 2007/2008 and we rarely argue about this any longer.

Just as the court looks at the PICS (parental income available for child support) amount and determines the percentage each parent has available for health insurance, the same is done for daycare. There are instances such as when the county or state is involved and provides Minnesota Care or Minnesota Assistance where the formula is different, but generally, it’s the same percentage as health insurance.

A premarital agreement or prenuptial agreement is not the most romantic thing to do prior to marriage but can save an enormous amount of money and stress if you get divorced. Even if you are not wealthy, if you are bringing either assets or you anticipate gifts from your parents or others into the marriage then it’s important to at least consider having a prenuptial agreement prepared.

The short answer is not to co-mingle the property. The commingling property is where you take non-marital property and mix it with marital property. An example would be if you had an IRA prior to getting married and kept contributing after you were married. This causes the money to mix together and makes it hard to determine exactly what was non-marital.

A better solution is to keep the accounts separate or start a new account, leaving the old one untouched, while you are married.

Yes. If the technical requirements are not followed exactly, then the prenuptial agreement will usually be held to be invalid. These requirements can be a little strict, such as having the document done at least 24 hours prior to the marriage, disclosing all assets, having each party have the opportunity to have an attorney review the document, just to name a few.

Probably. This depends on the facts of the case. One of the requirements for a prenuptial agreement is that it must be an equitable agreement. This can be a little hard to understand, for example, if one party becomes a world famous neurosurgeon while the other stays home and raises all the kids and 25 years later they divorce it would be unfair to put the non-doctor out on the street after all those years with nothing.

Non-marital property is the property that you either bring into the marriage or if someone leaves you assets in their will OR if it’s a gift to just you (not your spouse and you) then it’s considered non-marital property and if you divorce you generally get to keep all of your non-marital property.

This is different than marital property which is generally everything you acquire during the marriage and is divided equally if you divorce.

If you have a joint mortgage, meaning you are both on the note from the home the bank will except to be paid and they don’t care by whom. While your credit may take a hit if you don’t pay, generally until the court issues a temporary order, neither of you “have” to pay.

If you decide to leave the home and get divorced, there is no clear cut law on what you can and cannot take. Since most of the items are probably marital property, you are entitled to ½ the value. The only restriction is that once the divorce is filed you cannot

Most of the items (and debt) that you acquire from the date you are married until the date of valuation (this is a technical term that is either the date of the pre-trial hearing OR whatever is more equitable) are divided equally. This means the car, the home, retirement or pension plans should be divided equally. Remember, just because one person has their name on a title or asset, it doesn’t mean it is not marital property.

This can get tricky, if you owned a home before the marriage and you haven’t co-mingled the funds by refinancing and taking all the equity, then you may be entitled to have that portion of the down payment to be non-marital. This can get tricky and remember if you are the one claiming the asset is non-marital, then you have the burden to prove it.

Divorce mediation is very common in Minnesota. It’s usually faster and cheaper than going to trial. Most people who mediate will choose to have their lawyer present during the mediation to advise them if they are getting a fair and equitable settlement.

The mediator is neutral and they have only one concern and that is to settle the case. They can’t advise you or the other party. This is important to keep in mind because some people have the belief that a mediator will try and divide the property or the kids in a fair manner, but that’s not what they are they for.

If you cannot agree how to resolve the case during mediation the mediator will notify the court and will usually set up a pre-trial hearing. This is the last chance to try and settle the case short of going to trial. Most cases do settle short of trial, either at ENE, mediation or through some other alternative dispute resolution.

Minnesota law indicates that unless there is physical abuse, the parties should attempt mediation. While most Courts in Minnesota will not require you to mediate, they will strongly encourage it.

The short answer is a lot less than a trial. Typically mediators charge from $140-$250 per hour. Some charge for travel and prep time, some do not. The thing to remember is that trial and trial preparation is what you are attempting to avoid as it can be incredibly expensive.

The short answer is no. Generally, if you are an unmarried father and even signed the birth certificate at the hospital, you have very few rights until the Court adjudicates you as the father of the child. This is different than if you are married and the child is born. If the child is born during the marriage, it’s legally presumed that you are the father.

Yes. As long as there has not been a motion to establish parenting time or custody, even if the father has signed a Recognition of Parenting Time the mother can leave the state without obtaining either court or the father’s permission.