Marital and family law can require extra care and consideration because of the emotional aspects involved in dissolving marriages, child custody and property division. When you are involved in a family law proceeding, emotions and feelings can be deeply intertwined in every aspect of the case, and I fully understand these circumstances. Brodin Legal can offer you experienced legal advice, support and representation in any of the following areas:
Alimony, or spousal maintenance as it is called in Minnesota, is governed by Minnesota Statute 518.552. This is commonly a contested issue as some people worry that they won’t be able to make it financially after divorce without spousal maintenance; others worry that having to pay maintenance will sink their financial ship.
In Minnesota, Divorce ends an existing, valid marriage; annulment declares a marriage was never a legal marriage at all. In the eyes of the law, an annulled marriage never existed.
There are extremely limited grounds for annulment in Minnesota. They include:
1. Lack of capacity to consent to marriage at the time of the marriage due to mental incapacity or the influence of drugs or alcohol. The other party must not have known of the incapacity at the time of the marriage.
2. Consent to the marriage was obtained by force or fraud, and the parties did not voluntarily live together afterward.
3. Lack of physical capacity to consummate the marriage by sexual intercourse, and the other party was unaware of this at the time of the marriage.
4. One party could not legally consent to the marriage due to being underage. In this case, the party’s parents or guardian may petition for the annulment.
Whether or not the husband and wife voluntarily lived together after the ceremony, and whether one party kept living with the other party after learning about the incapacity may affect the annulment decision.
The time for requesting an annulment is limited and may be as little as 90 days or less depending on the circumstances. If you believe you are eligible for an annulment in Minnesota, or would like to learn more about the process you should contact Brodin Legal for a free initial consultation at 612-888-4542.
In Minnesota there are two types of custody: Legal and physical.
There are no set rules on who will automatically get custody of the children. There are statutory factors that the court must consider in awarding any decision regarding minor children.
Due to changes in the law, child support in Minnesota no longer depends on the custody label or on net income. Child support is almost always determined in accordance with the Minnesota Child Support Guidelines. Although deviations from the Guidelines are allowed, it is a rare occurrence unless the parties agree, and even in that case the Court will not necessarily allow it, particularly when public assistance is involved. Child support pursuant to the Guidelines is based on the following factors:
Due to changes in the law, child support in Minnesota no longer depends on the custody label or on net income. Child support is almost always determined in accordance with the Minnesota Child Support Guidelines. Although deviations from the Guidelines are allowed, it is a rare occurrence unless the parties agree, and even in that case the Court will not necessarily allow it, particularly when public assistance is involved. Child support pursuant to the Guidelines is based on the following factors:
1. The gross income of both parties.
2. The cost of work and education related childcare.
3. The children’s portion of the cost of medical and dental insurance.
4. The number of non-joint children of each party (entitles you to a discount).
5. Each party’s percentage of parenting time.
Calculations of child support under the Minnesota Guidelines are very complicated. A good way to get an idea of how it would compute in your situation is to type your data into this very user-friendly Minnesota Child Support Calculator.
Child support may be modified any time there is a substantial change of circumstances, which in practice usually means a substantial increase or decrease in either party’s income, or a change in parenting time, or a change in child care costs. Should this occur, it is very important to serve and file a motion to modify child support immediately, because the general rule is that the Court cannot modify child support retroactive to the date of service of your motion.
The advice and actions of an attorney like Jake Brodin can go a long way to ensuring that your rights are enforced and you obtain the best possible outcome in your respective case.
A default divorce is when the respondent doesn’t respond to the petition for divorce within thirty days of the summons. They not only don’t sign any paperwork, but they also don’t appear in court as requested. This is perfectly legal, but it isn’t in their best interest. Since they never responded to tell the court their side of things, the court gives the petitioner everything they have asked for—by default.
It isn’t as easy when children are involved.
If minor children are involved or if the respondent has made an appearance but hasn’t sufficiently addressed the petitioner’s issues, the court will give the respondent 50 days to make their case before granting a default hearing in these situations. Whereas with no children and no response, the divorce can be granted with no hearing at all.
In order to be afforded their parental rights, unmarried fathers must establish paternity through a recognition of parentage or court order.
When children in Minnesota are born to married women, it is assumed that their spouses are the fathers. There is no such presumption, however, when children are born out of wedlock. In order to be legally viewed as a child’s father and gain access to their father’s rights, unmarried men must establish paternity through a recognition of parentage or a court order.
Establishing paternity is beneficial for fathers and children alike. The Minnesota Department of Human Services points out that taking this step legally recognizes a man as a child’s father and affords him the right to seek custody and visitation. For children, establishing paternity allows them the opportunity to know both sides of their family. Additionally, it enables them to receive support and benefits from their mothers and their fathers.
An Order for Protection (OFP) is a court order to stop household or family violence (domestic abuse). It orders the abuser not to hurt you. It can also:
An OFP is not a criminal case. It takes place in family court. If the police have been called, they may start a separate criminal matter because it is against the law to hurt or threaten people.
Some people talk about “no contact orders” but those are different. They generally mean a criminal court has ordered an abuser to have “no contact” with the victim.