To File or Not to File?
In Minnesota, a divorce case commences when the Petitioner serves the Summons and Petition for Marital Dissolution (and usually some other documents, too) upon the Respondent. The law requires that…
Who Claims The Kids? The Riddle of Claiming Tax Dependency Exemption
If you’re a parent, and you’ve filed taxes, you’re probably aware that the US tax code permits a taxpayer to claim an exemption for each of his or her dependents….
Family Court Lessons to be Learned from Prince
As we all know, Prince died last year. He died without a will, and the battle over his estate wages on in Carver County District Court. As we’ve also learned,…
Post-Decree Motions: Better to Let a Sleeping Dog Lie?
If you ever meet with an attorney to discuss a possible general civil litigation case (e.g. contract dispute, personal injury, defamation, patent infringement, or any number of other types of…
WHEN SCIENCE IS NOT ENOUGH; MAKING THE CASE FOR PATERNITY IN MINNESOTA
If you’ve ever wondered how a father can ‘prove’ he is dad, you wouldn’t be wrong in assuming that a genetic test, or a ‘paternity test’ is the way to…
THE COST OF INACTION – CHILD CUSTODY MODIFICATION BY ACQUIESCENCE
Remember when our parents warned us not to make goofy faces lest they get stuck that way? Sadly, this kind of, sort of, happened recently when a parent failed to…
Tim Simonson Receives Tubman’s Family Law Volunteer Attorney of the Year
Tim was selected by Tubman Family Crisis and Support Services as their Family Law Volunteer Attorney of the Year for 2016. This award is presented by Tubman to an attorney…
Temperament and Public Service
If you’ve listened to recent discussion about the presidential election, you may have heard the issue of ‘temperament’ come up. One of the candidates recently questioned the other’s ‘temperamant’ and…
Getting a Domestic Abuse Order for Protection in Minnesota – What Do I Need To Prove?
I hope this is a question you will never face, but, leaving an abusive partner or family member is not an simple decision, let alone following through with that decision….
Minnesota Cohabitation and Spousal Maintenance: The Law Has Changed
The law has long been that unless agreed otherwise in a divorce decree, if a spousal maintenance recipient remarries, the remarriage terminates the spousal maintenance award. The rationale, based largely…