Welcome to our website about divorce in Minnesota. We hope you find as much information as you will need if you are either facing divorce or considering it. Also please visit our “Why Hire Us” page to find out if we are the right Divorce Law firm for you.

If you have been served with divorce papers, the attorneys at The Law Offices of “Insert Attorney Name here” in Minneapolis can help you.  This will be an emotional and stressful time for you and your loved ones; we are compassionate divorce attorneys in the Minneapolis area.  We strive to give you one-on-one personal service.

Steps to Divorce
Each divorce case can take a different amount of time to arrive at the “Final Decree”.  This depends on issues involved and whether it is a contested or non-contested divorce.

1. A legal petition or complaint stating why you want a divorce and how you want to settle financial, custody, and other issues.

2. The petition is filed with the court.

3. The petition and a summons are served on the other spouse.  The summons requires a response.

4. The served spouse has 3 weeks to respond.

• The spouse either agrees or disagrees.
• If there is no response, the court assumes that he or she agrees to its terms.

5. The couple exchanges information about property and finances.  This will help in determining how to divide the property, deal with child custody and alimony.

6. Sometimes, you can come to a settlement without going to trial.

7. If a settlement is reached, it is shown to a judge at an informal hearing.

8. If the judge approves the agreement, a divorce decree is issued.

9. If the judge does not approve or there is no agreement reached, the case will go to trial.

10. At trial, after each side speaks, the judge decides the unresolved issues:

• child custody
• child support
• visitation
• spousal support
• property division

     11.  Once all issues are resolved, the judge grants the divorce.

Child Custody
One of the most important issues a court must decide on in a divorce is custody of any minor children.

Legal Custody
Minneapolis law states that the parent with legal custody has the authority to make major decisions regarding the child’s

• Day-to-day upbringing, such as:
• Medical care
• Education
• Religion

Physical Custody
If you have physical custody, you have the responsibility to

• Give your child a safe and happy home
• Maintain everyday care
• The control of your child’s activities and life
• Best interests of the child

Joint Legal Custody
Minneapolis law believes that joint legal custody should be awarded to both parents.  However, the court considers the following:

• Can both parents cooperate in the raising of their child?
• What methods will be used to resolve disputes?
• Will the child be okay if one parent has sole authority?
• Was there any domestic abuse in the household during the marriage?

• The court encourages the parents to agree on custody and parenting (visitation) time between themselves.
• If they cannot agree, the court will request they attend a custody evaluation in the courthouse.  This can be expensive.
• If you still cannot agree on custody issues, the judge will decide for you after reading all reports submitted by the court-evaluator.
  

Child Support
Effective January 1, 2007, Minneapolis enacted a new Child Support Law of the “Income Shares” model.

• This fairly new law considers both parents incomes in determining child support.

• The gross income of both parents is added together and applied to all minor children to determine what is supposed to be spent on each child.

• The non-custodial parent is entitled to a parenting expense reduction.
• The payment is reduced by the amount of time spent with child
• If Parenting time is
• less than 10% of the time – receive no reduction
• 10 to 45% of the time – receive a 12% reduction
• 45 to 50% of the time – receive about a 50% reduction

• Child support also includes medical insurance and day care.

Spousal Maintenance - Alimony
In Minneapolis, there is no chart to determine the amount of spousal maintenance to be paid – if any at all.  The court takes into consideration:

• Your spouse lacks marital property

• Your spouse cannot provide adequately for herself or himself
• Used to a higher standard of living
• The custodian of your child

• The award can be for several months, several years or permanently.  Some of the factors used in determining whether support should be paid, how much and how long:

• the financial resources of the party seeking maintenance
• property settlement
• ability to meet needs independently
• the time needed to find employment, etc.
• standard of living during the marriage
• how long was the marriage

• Courts will award temporary spousal maintenance when the spouse needs time to get back on their feet.

• A spouse will receive a permanent award when the marriage was long-term and the other spouse was the traditional breadwinner.

• Spousal maintenance can be modified if there is a change in the circumstances.

Property Division
In Minneapolis, the law requires a just and equitable division of the marital property.  Each party will receive half of the assets and half of all debts.

• The discovery phase
• Both parties discuss the value of the assets and debts that are in their names.
• When all property is accounted for, the parties will try to negotiate a property settlement.
• If you cannot agree on a fair settlement, the judge will order the final division.

Non-Marital Property

• Any property that you owned before the marriage took place remains in your name.
• An inheritance
• A gift received

• If you commingled non-marital property with marital property, it becomes community property.

Conclusion
The Law Offices of “Insert Attorney Name here” knows that this is the most difficult ordeal anyone can go through.  We will make every effort to get you a fair and amicable settlement.  We will communicate the divorce process to you in easy terms, step by step.

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