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Parenting Time Modifications: Keeping a Child’s Best Interests in Mind

Kathleen Newman April 13, 2017

With custody labels having much less significance than in the past, parenting time – previously called visitation – is the issue that parents and lawyers spend a lot of time addressing in divorce decrees. Minn. Stat. Sec. 518.175 addresses parenting time, requiring the court to grant parenting time that enables the child and parent to maintain a relationship that will

From a War of the Roses to a Meeting of the Minds

Barri Payne March 4, 2017

Your family law clients might not be ready to draw a line through the center of the house as Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner did in “The War of the Roses,” but their divorces may be just as contentious. Whether contentious or not, family law matters can be skillfully resolved with the help of a mediator extensively experienced in family

The Forgotten Children of Divorce

Kathleen Newman March 4, 2017

As divorce rates for people older than 50 continue to rise, the impact on late teen and college age children has largely been ignored by lawmakers and courts. Although current research shows that older children are just as negatively impacted by their parents’ divorce as younger children, there are no formal considerations for them in the Minnesota statutes governing divorce.

Parenting Plan Modification: Changing Custody Versus Changing the Parenting Schedule

Francis King February 22, 2017

Williamson v. Lamm is an instructive example of how the standard applicable to determining whether a material change in circumstances has occurred with regard to a residential parenting schedule is different from that for determining whether such a change has occurred with regard to child custody. Williamson involved an equal time permanent parenting plan with the mother designated as the

Do Not Wait: Raise Your Concerns Timely or Risk the Run of the Status of Limitations

Alex Grager February 11, 2017

“Too often in our family law practice we are confronted with the problem of a non-disclosing spouse. Most typically, this is a self-employed spouse or a spouse who runs his or her own business.” All civil litigators must contend with the issue of the statute of limitations. Few things are worse than telling a client with a viable claim, “I

Key Questions and Considerations in Spousal Maintenance Cases

Kathleen Newman January 11, 2017

Family Law attorneys have been waiting impatiently for the release of the Minnesota Supreme Court decision in the case of Curtis v. Curtis. The decision, which was filed Nov. 16, 2016, represents the first decision by the Supreme Court in a long while on a substantive spousal maintenance issue and while it addresses the tax issue raised by the district

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

Parentage Actions for the Unmarried

Joshua Rogers December 16, 2016

In this issue, I will be addressing parentage actions related to children born out of wedlock. Actions to establish paternity are controlled by Tenn. Code Ann. §36-2- 301 et seq. In Tennessee, most actions to establish paternity are brought in the juvenile court. However, a petition to establish parentage can be brought in the circuit or chancery court, as the

5 Reasons Your Client Should Have a Premarital Agreement

Matthew Skarin December 6, 2016

In recent past, the words premarital agreement or “prenup” admittedly held a negative connotation, implying the parties are contemplating their relationship’s inevitable end before they’ve entered the sacred bond of marriage. In this modern age, premarital agreements aren’t so much about planning for divorce, as they are a way of establishing the parties’ expectations during their marriage. For this reason,

Family Law Practice in a Values-Based Culture

Mitchell Reichman October 23, 2016

Once most non-family law attorneys find out my specialty, they say “I would never do what you do!” Given that they’re on the outside looking in, it is easy to understand why so many lawyers feel that way. For those of us who have found our calling in helping people achieve sufficiently successful outcomes to thrive after the end of

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