Divorce

Divorce, called Dissolution of Marriage in Minnesota law, is a difficult process for the parties involved on many levels.  The emotional impact of a divorce can make it difficult for a person to make important decisions.  The financial impact of a divorce can be devastating for a family.  Linda works to understand how the divorce is affecting her client as she works to guide the client through the process.

Divorce in Minnesota is a no-fault process, which means the actual dissolution of the marriage will be granted without determining whether one party is at fault for the end of the marriage.  The legal issues usually involved in a divorce include division of the property acquired during the marriage, allocation of responsibility for payment of debts incurred during the marriage, determining whether spousal maintenance should be paid by one of the parties and addressing responsibilities for custody and support of minor children of the marriage. 

Property and debts of a marriage are to be divided equitably between the parties.  An equitable division does not necessarily mean an equal division, though most often parties and courts attempt to divide property and debts as equally as possible.  Finding an equitable division often involves determining which assets and debts were accumulated during the marriage and are subject to division and determining the value of these assets and debts.  Linda has experience with the complicated issues involved in addressing whether assets or debts are marital or nonmarital.  She is comfortable working on cases that involve complex valuation issues such assets of a farm operation or business. When necessary, Linda consults with qualified professionals to provide the information needed to resolve these issues.

Spousal maintenance usually takes the form of monthly payments from one party to the other for a period of time following the divorce.  Spousal maintenance is paid if one of the parties is unable to support themselves for valid reasons and the other party has the ability to pay support to their former spouse.  Spousal maintenance is becoming less common as our world has changed with men and women in the workplace.  However, there are many couples who choose to modify their employment or career plans as they raise their children.

Custody of the minor children is decided as part of the divorce proceeding. This means that a formal decision is made as to how the children’s time is divided between their parents and how responsibility for major decisions about the children is divided.

Both parents of all children have an obligation to financially support the children. Minnesota laws concerning child support determine how income is shifted from one household to another for the benefit of the children.