Third Party Custody Rights: When a Child’s Best Interests Override Parent’s Rights to 25% Parenting Time
A Minnesota court will award custody rights to a third party (often a grandparent) when a child has been living with that third party for extended periods, without the presence…
Upward Deviations: Making a Parent Pay More Than Guidelines Child Support
Minnesota child support obligations are determined using guidelines established by the legislature. These guidelines (called the ‘Child Support Guidelines’) provide a presumed support amount for courts to use when making…
“Get to Work!” What is ‘Voluntary Underemployment’ and How Does it Affect Child Support?
When it comes to determining child support, Minnesota’s child support laws require that parents work to support their children; accordingly, courts will assume parents can work full-time to financially support…
What About My Efforts?: Marital and Non-Marital Property Interest in a Divorce
In a Minnesota divorce, property acquired by either spouse during marriage is presumed marital (joint property) that a court awards equitably to each spouse. The burden of proving that property…
When Alleging the Conduct is Worse than the Conduct Alleged.
Like the boy that cried wolf, losing credibility can be a parent’s undoing in a child custody dispute. For example, calling the cops on mother for serving your child mac…
Bad Faith Conduct: Don’t Risk The Court Flexing Its Muscles!
Be careful when thinking of defying a mediated settlement agreement in Family Court. Courts will use their inherent authority to impose sanctions as needed to protect their vital functions of:…
PreNuptial Agreements – Choose Your Words Wisely!
Minnesota law allows spouses-to-be to enter into enforceable agreements which can dictate the terms of a property division in the event of a divorce. These agreements, called prenuptial agreements or…
Retroactive Child Support – How Far Back in Time Can The Court Go?
When parents are involved in a divorce proceeding, Minnesota law requires that the court consider the child’s financial support, and the parents’ obligations to contribute to that support.Part of that…
Obtaining an Order for Protection in Minnesota: the Importance of Legal Counsel
Recently, the Court of Appeals was asked by a Father to overturn an Order for Protection, which the child’s Mother obtained against him, on behalf of the parties’ child. In…
What Can Cher Tell Us About an Order for Protection?
In 1989, the immortal chanteuse, Cher, recorded the song ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’, along with a music video performed atop the cannon of a Navy Destroyer, wearing basically…