Poor Conduct in a Divorce: Don’t be “Hoisted by Your Own Petard”
“Hoist with his own petard” is a phrase from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, referring to a bomb maker being harmed by his own creation. Though Minnesota divorces are not intended to end…
Tens Don’t Marry Twos
I clerked for a District Court Judge my first job out of law school. Prior to court hearings, the Judge regularly brought the lawyers back into his chambers to privately…
Who Decides Where the Kids Go to School?
Following a divorce (or custody cases where the parties were never married) parents often disagree about where their children should go to school. In most cases, one parent simply wants…
PARENTING TIME & CHILD CUSTODY DISPUTES: LEAVE YOUR KIDS OUT OF IT!
Parents should know better than to involve their children in parental disputes. After all, whatever the reasons for the breakdown of the parents’ relationship; it isn’t the kid’s fault. For…
NON-MARITAL INTERESTS: THE ROAD TO EQUITY IN A DIVORCE
Minnesota divorce law requires that Courts assume all property owned by divorcing spouses is marital; meaning both spouses have an interest in everything they own. Minn. Stat. 518.003,,subd. 3b. And…
Divorce Lessons from Kenny Rogers
If you’re still grieving over the loss of Kenny Rogers, you’re not alone. The Gambler left us with a myriad of soulful ballads set to melodies etched in our hearts;…
The Rules of Living Separately vs. Divorce
Quite often when a divorce starts, husband and wife are still living together. Other times, though, they may have been living separately for many months. And, whether or not a…
Even a ‘Slight Adjustment’ to a Parenting Time Schedule Requires a Parent to Meet a Burden of Proof
In Minnesota, the law says at section 518.175 that a parenting time schedule may be modified if it serves the best interests of the child and doesn’t change the child’s…
Just what is an Irretrievable Breakdown?
A local politician was in the news recently because she filed for divorce. In breaking the news, one of the headlines read “In a petition filed in Hennepin County, [politician]…
The Bezos Divorce: A Lesson Learned
Following a 25-year marriage, Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos divorced earlier this year. As the Founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff is the richest man in the world. The divorce settlement…