Divorce In Minnesota
Divorce, also known as marital dissolution, is a court proceeding to legally end a marriage. It can include a court hearing to decide temporary relief of various issues in the early stage of proceedings. Ultimately, Minnesota law states the parties must either agree on their own or have a judge decide how they shall permanently provide for the care and access of marital children (custody and parenting time), who must pay child support and how much, who must pay alimony (otherwise known as spousal maintenance), if any, and how to divide marital property (debts, personal property, vehicles).
Divorce is hard, complicated and life changing. DIYdivorce’s video is a valuable resource to make your divorce as approachable and simple as possible. The chapters in the video discuss the legal issues you need to know and prepare for in this traumatic life event. COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT DIVORCE Do I need an attorney for a divorce? Each person’s situation is different. Some couples can sit down and discuss and agree upon a parenting time schedule, child support, and the division of debts and assets on their own so the need for a divorce attorney is less. Others cannot or will not reach an agreement because their communication with each other is poor on some or all the issues involving their children and the division of debts and assets. Couples who have sizeable assets or businesses may consider hiring an attorney to best protect their assets.
The best way to know if you need an attorney is to schedule a consultation with one in Minnesota or in the state in which you live who represents clients in divorces. Having a one-on-one discussion for the attorney to understand you and your situation will provide you with the best information to know if you should represent yourself or retain an attorney. How to choose a divorce attorney? The best way to choose an attorney is to schedule a consultation to meet and talk with that attorney. A consultation is a one-on-one conversation to discuss one’s situation, assets and debts, children’s needs and the wants and wishes if there is a divorce. If the divorce is taking place in Minnesota, you want to talk with a family law attorney who practices law in Minnesota. Having this conversation allows one to get to know the attorney’s knowledge, experience, and personality. Scheduling a consultation with two or three attorneys helps one find an attorney to hire who is the best fit for his or her needs. Who pays attorney fees in a divorce? Each person going through a divorce pays his or her own divorce attorney fees unless the parties decide to either split the fees or the judge orders a spouse to pay those fees for the other spouse. If a Minnesota judge must decide if one person has to pay the other’s attorney fees, Minnesota Statute Section 518.14 says:
the court shall award attorney fees, costs, and disbursements in an amount necessary to enable a party to carry on or contest the proceeding, provided it finds:
(1) that the fees are necessary for the good faith assertion of the party’s rights in the proceeding and will not contribute unnecessarily to the length and expense of the proceeding;
(2) that the party from whom fees, costs, and disbursements are sought has the means to pay them; and
(3) that the party to whom fees, costs, and disbursements are awarded does not have the means to pay them.
If the parties’ incomes are the same or close to it, judges are hesitant to order one party to pay the other’s attorney fees. The best chance for a judge to order a party to pay the other’s attorney fees is if there is a significant difference between their incomes. How much does a divorce attorney cost? It depends. The more the couple can agree upon – custody of the kids, the parenting time schedule they will have with the kids, and the division of debts and assets – the less they pay their attorney. One way to keep attorney fees low is using mediation, a process that allows couples the power and ability to try to reach an agreement on their own rather than having a judge do it. Divorce attorney costs can vary widely so consider calling several Minnesota family law attorneys where the divorce is going to take place and ask what they charge. Or better yet, consider scheduling one or more consultations with those attorneys to best understand the Minnesota divorce process to best narrow down how much a divorce may cost you. Why purchase DIYdivorce’s video if I might hire an attorney? Knowledge is power. The video is the first step to best understanding how a divorce in Minnesota takes place. Knowing what laws are important helps you know how they apply to you and your situation so you can assess if or when you need an attorney. Watching the video before meeting a Minnesota family law attorney can help you think through the issues to best prepare for the consultation. You may also learn from the video legal issues you did not know or think about and with this new information you can discuss them with that attorney.
After watching the video, you may feel you have the information at hand to start and complete the divorce all on your own saving you time and money when all is said and done. DIY divorce: Is it possible to get divorced online? Yes, a do-it-yourself divorce is possible. There are two key elements to a DIY divorce. First, both parties must be amicable to an uncontested divorce. This means you and your ex must have every one of the decisions hashed out like custody and parenting time, where everyone is going to live, how to divide the finances, and who is going to get the house. They can complete every one of the Minnesota state courts provided fill-in-the-blank forms at this link to complete the divorce on their own.
DIYdivorce’s video breaks down the legal issues for those who find a Minnesota divorce is imminent and takes away some of the angst, confusion and worry about what the process entails and how to complete a divorce with or without an attorney. Read more about getting divorced in Minnesota