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Divorce

Donaldson v. Donaldson: Court of Appeals Vacates Alimony Award

Francis King December 29, 2016

“The decision presents an instructive example of how a reversal may be obtained, when a trial court’s alimony award is not supported by sufficient factual findings.” Appellate court reversals of trial courts’ alimony awards are rare. The determination whether to make such an award is highly fact-driven and, in most cases, the trial court will write an alimony decision that

Sentimental Value and Division of Marital Property

Catherine Pavur October 11, 2016

Old photographs, family antiques and the autographed basketball. Sentimental value plays our heartstrings, but does it help clients get their special items at divorce? The short answer is generally no. North Carolina’s equitable distribution rules don’t address sentimentality. So what’s a practitioner to do when a client really wants a particular item? You can start by learning how the client

Antenuptial Agreements in MN Divorces: Not a Vote of ‘No Confidence’

Kathleen Newman September 4, 2016

Historically, antenuptial agreements have been seen as the antithesis of romance. What could be less romantic than planning for an ending that could be less than happily ever after? However, with a divorce rate at nearly 50 percent for first marriages and 60 percent for second marriages, many people are reconsidering the use of antenuptial agreements as a way to

Divorce Coaches: Providing Support for Attorneys and Their Clients

Kathleen Newman August 3, 2016

During the very difficult process of divorce, coaching from a qualified professional can provide support and problem solving assistance to successfully augment legal representation. Attorneys practicing matrimonial law often complain that they spend a lot of time “handholding” their clients, which can distract the attorney from the primary functions of investigating and valuing assets and income, and preparing the financial

Understanding How Personality Disorders Can Impact Divorce Cases

Kathleen Newman July 1, 2016

Attorneys who practice family law are often forced to deal with the challenging mental health issues of their clients and opposing parties. Some mental health issues can be addressed by referring a client to a psychologist for talk therapy or a psychiatrist for medication. Others, such as personality disorders, are much more difficult to address. Often, a client will refuse

The Art and Science of Building a Lifestyle Budget

Kathleen Newman June 3, 2016

Under Minnesota Statute 518.552, there are eight factors to be considered when determining spousal maintenance. Of these eight factors, defining the standard of living the parties established during the marriage is one of the more challenging ones. It is worth the effort and diligence to accurately assess and quantify the standard of living by means of a lifestyle budget to

Parenting Consultants: A Contractual Model for Resolving Parenting Disputes

Kathleen Newman April 27, 2016

Most family law attorneys would agree that of all the major disagreements that take place both during a divorce proceeding and post-divorce, issues that involve parenting minor children are most common. When parents share joint legal custody and parenting time, as most parents do, temporary changes to the parenting time schedule, vacation scheduling, participation in extracurricular activities, medical treatment, religious

Lowering Conflict in Paying for Higher Education: How Divorce Impacts the College-Bound Child

Kathleen Newman March 7, 2016

One of the unspoken problems in divorce today is the financial impact it has on adult or soon-to-be adult children, assuming that the adult child is not disabled. In Minnesota, a person is considered an adult when they reach the age of 18. Minn. Stat. §645.451 subd. 3. Under the divorce statutes, however, financial support for a child continues until

In the Best Interests of a Teenager: How Child-Centered Mediation Can Help Keep the Peace

Kathleen Newman January 25, 2016

Parents, lawyers, social services professionals and therapists all become involved in trying to work out a parenting schedule that works. The focus, however, is too often on what is fair to the parents versus what will meet a teenager’s needs. As a family law attorney, I have had several cases recently where the parties have inquired about parenting time for

Hide and Seek: Determining an Accurate Value of a Business in a Divorce

Kathleen Newman January 4, 2016

Divorce is as much a financial process as an emotional one. If a party does not receive his/her fair share of the marital property, that spouse may be left facing difficult financial circumstances for some time after the divorce. That is why the failure of a party to disclose all of the assets during a divorce is a critical violation

Divorce

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