Parents’ & Grandparents’ Rights; Fundamental and Protected
In Minnesota, and the United States, parents have a fundamental and protected right to make decisions about their children’s care and custody. This right is recognized by the United States…
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…
Why Words Matter
Words, and their interpretation, can be the heart of any misunderstanding, and misunderstanding can be the heart of any legal dispute; sometimes with drastic consequences. When looking at words in…
Posting Your Kid’s Images on Social Media
Recently, the Minnesota Court of Appeals was asked to consider whether a Family Court judge can prohibit a parent from featuring or mentioning his children in YouTube videos and remove…
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]…
Are Lottery Winnings Split with an Ex-Spouse?
A man from Michigan made the news recently when he was ordered to share his $80 million lottery jackpot with his ex-wife. That’s what all the headlines said anyway. But…
Game of Thrones and Prohibited Marriages in Minnesota
If you watch the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” you know that incest is a thing. Brother and sister Jamie and Cersei Lannister conceived multiple children. There are other…
KEVIN GARNETT AND CHILD SUPPORT
Whenever a celebrity gets a divorce, the media likes to focus on the dollar amounts as a way to sensationalize the story. When Tiger Woods divorced, for example, the headlines…
Physical Discipline or Domestic Abuse?
I hope this is not a distinction we need to spend a lot of time worrying about; either way someone’s getting hit, and unless we’re talking about contact sports or…