Minneapolis Family Law Attorney Minnesota Divorce Lawyer St. Paul MN

Before embarking on the process of obtaining a Divorce, it is important to first gather important information (facts about income, resources, investments, property, debt, and children). If you do not have access to this information, this can always be obtained later through the course of “Discovery.” However, if this information can be obtained prior to “Discovery”, it typically provides a head start to both the party initiating the Divorce and his or her Divorce attorney in terms of strategizing and charting a course of action. It is also important to consult with an attorney once you have gathered this information so that you have a good idea of what the issues are in your specific case and what information may be missing. For example, one of the issues may be a business that may be owned in one of the parties names or jointly. In such a case, the lawyer may advise the client to obtain a business valuation from an expert.

Once the Divorce case is filed, either party can ask the Court through written pleadings for certain relief on a temporary basis. The Court’s relief is set forth in a “Temporary Order” and lasts until the parties settle the case on a permanent basis or the case is decided at trial.

A request for Temporary relief is optional. Sometimes, it makes sense for a spouse to ask the Court for temporary relief because parenting time may be at issue or one of the parties may have moved out of the marital home and the other spouse needs financial support (in either the form of child support or spousal maintenance) to meet the basic monthly obligations. Another important consideration at the Temporary Hearing is to ask for the involvement of other professionals. In a Divorce case, where custody may be an issue, the Court may Order a custody evaluation. In a case where one of the parties is operating a business, the Court may Order a business valuation. Depending upon the particular County, there are also other avenues which are used by the Court to settle a proceeding on either a temporary or permanent basis. The Court may Order the parties to engage in mediation or to go through a social early neutral evaluation or a financial early neutral evaluation.

• Read temporary orders statute: link
• Read temporary spousal maintenance statute: link

The “Summons” is a legal document that directs both parties not to harass the other party; not to change or cancel any insurance policies or beneficiaries to insurance; not to dispose any property unless it is to meet necessary living expenses or to pay for a lawyer for the Divorce proceeding. The concept behind the Divorce Summons is to preserve assets (e.g. continuing to make mortgage payments on the homestead) and to keep things in status quo (e.g. not to change any insurance policies).

Read summons statute: link

Minnesota is a “no fault” State. Simply put, this means that a spouse does not have to prove that the other spouse is “at fault” or has acted inappropriately to get a Divorce. In Minnesota, one spouse only has to assert that there has been an “irretrievable breakdown” of the marriage relationship and at that point, it becomes a question of when and not if the Divorce Decree is issued. If one spouse wants the Divorce and the other spouse does not, the Court still must issue a Divorce.

Although “at fault” conduct is not relevant to the issue of whether or not a Divorce can be requested, it may become an issue relative to issues regarding custody (for example, one spouse could be neglecting the minor children or engaging in conduct that adversely impacts the best interests of the minor children involved in the proceeding). Therefore, it is very important to distinguish any “fault” conduct that may impact the best interests of the children for purposes of determining custody and parenting time of the minor children.

Residential requirement

In Minnesota, one spouse must reside in the State of Minnesota for at least six (6) months before starting a Divorce proceeding. This is a “jurisdictional” requirement and cannot be waived. Minnesota Courts only have jurisdiction or power over people and property in Minnesota. Therefore, if there is real estate or other property issues that are out of the State of Minnesota, it is very important to get appropriate legal advice.

A Pretrial is a Court Hearing that is typically used as an opportunity to settle the case (sometimes, with the Judge’s assistance) on a permanent basis. If the parties cannot agree as to all of the issues, the Court issues a Pretrial Order which indicates the date of trial, the disputed issues for trial, along with other requirements (such as serving and filing of witness lists, exhibit lists and exhibits). A Pretrial is typically the last hearing before the trial date.

The “Petition for Dissolution of Marriage” is a legal document that contains the facts of the marriage (e.g. minor children, marital property, non-marital property, debt owed, etc) from the initiating party’s perspective. At the end of the document, it requests certain relief (e.g. an award of custody of the minor children, award of child support, division of property, etc.).

Serving (delivery in a certain way) of the Summons and Petition is the beginning of the legal process of a Divorce.

Once the Summons and Petition are personally served, the other spouse has thirty (30) days to respond to the Petition for Divorce. This is done by serving a written “Answer and Counter-Petition” on the initiating party or his/her attorney (if represented).

Read petition statute: link