About once a month, a person calls me and starts asking about their rights regarding their common law marriage in Minnesota. I then spend about the next 10 minutes explain that Common law marriage was abolished in 1941, despite what they may have heard. What is common law marriage? Well, individual states have different interpretation…
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes Key Takeaways The question of who gets the engagement ring after divorce often depends on whether the marriage occurred. If the wedding never happens, the ring usually returns to the giver, with rules differing by state. In Minnesota, the giver generally gets the ring back, while California may consider fault…
Minnesota Court – Family Law Cases | Pssst, wanna know the secret to winning in a family law case? Ready? Here it is, let the other side think they won… it’s that simple. If you let the other side think they won, that they pulled one over on you or you gave up, it often…
A common question asked is, “Why won’t the judge do anything when the other side doesn’t follow the order?” Well, the sad truth is that while an order in Minnesota is supposed to be followed and the police are often times supposed to enforce the order, all too often a judge’s signed order is ignored….
Stepparent Adoptions: What you need to know. Ready to make your spouse’s child officially your child too? Stepparent adoptions in Minnesota are specifically provided for under the state’s adoption rules. This makes stepparent adoption fairly uncomplicated (and less costly than other types of adoptions), at least in most situations. Before you start the actual adoption process,…
Your kids are grown, married, and have moved away, and now they’re having children of their own. It should be time to enjoy having the house to yourself and visiting your grandkids. But what if something unexpected goes wrong in this plan? Maybe your son passes away unexpectedly, and your daughter-in-law (whom, in all honesty,…
Costs Involved in Minnesota Child Custody Litigation Nobody wants to have to draw up a budget plan for their effort to get custody of their child. In fact, nobody wants to have to pay to get custody of his or her child. However, the reality is that having a good lawyer who can advocate strongly…
It’s a common misconception that In Minnesota Divorce Courts a woman has a big advantage over a man. After doing family law for over 26 years in Minnesota and going from Worthington to Rochester to Mankato on a daily basis I think I have a good perspective on how to answer this question. I can…
So you got divorced and started paying child support to your ex. But a few years later, you were laid off, making it difficult to pay the same amount as before. What happens to that child support order now? Can you change it? Do you still have to pay the same amount of child support?…
What is the talk? Well sometimes it starts with “It’s not you, it’s me” but it usually ends with the client picking up the file and going to a new lawyer. There is an old saying in the divorce world that is people tend to hire lawyers like themselves. It’s not always true, but more…
