“More Than Words”: Domestic Abuse Orders for Protection
Coming of age in the 90’s meant living through the music industry’s emergence from the nascient, arena rock/power ballad era; where rock immortals like ‘Poison’ and ‘Aerosmith’ (to name a…
Custody Rights & the Path to Redemption
You may remember the film, Shawshank Redemption, a 1994 film starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, based on the Stephen King short story, Rita Hayworth & Shawshank Redemption. A fantastic…
A Parent’s Duty to Support a Child: Broad & Sweeping
Minnesota Courts have broad discretion in providing for the support of minor children. This has been explained many different ways by the Minnesota appellate courts. In Minnesota, our lawmakers established…
Grandparent Visitation Rights: Potential Hazards!
Minnesota law grants rights to grandparents to visit their grandchildren, if they can prove any of the following: The grandchild has a deceased parent The grandchild has lived with the…
When Can a Child Choose?
I often get asked by divorced or separated parents, at what age their child can decide which parent they live with. It’s a fair question; but one which unfortunately has…
Fraud: Anathematic to an Otherwise Enforceable Divorce Agreement
Divorces are frequently resolved by agreement, rather than litigation. Courts have long favored settlement of disputes without litigation. Hentschel v. Smith, 153 N.W.2d 199, 204 (Minn. 1967). In family court,…
“Words Speak Louder than Action”: Child Support & Parenting Time in Minnesota
I was reviewing a recent Minnesota Court of Appeals decision, Nelson v. Nelson (A22-0077) and, came to the conclusion that the old adage “actions speak louder than words” rings true…
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…
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…