One of the most important things in preparing your estate plan is naming the appropriate person to act as your Personal Representative (or Executor).  Some people feel there is a “right” person to name, by virtue of relationship, birth order, or proximity – these reasons can lead to disastrous results if the wrong person is [...]

As a divorce lawyer, one of the questions I frequently get is “How do I tell my spouse I want a divorce?”  My answer is always “It depends.”  I don’t know your spouse, I don’t know how he or she is likely to react.  But I do know 5 ways to tell your spouse that [...]

A growing trend in the legal community is the concept of unbundled (or limited) legal services.  With unbundled legal services, clients hire an attorney for a specific, or limited, purpose, as opposed to hiring an attorney for full-representation on all matters of the case.  The client otherwise is representing him/herself and proceeding pro se.  As [...]

Now that you understand the Basic Concepts behind Minnesota’s Child Support law, know how to calculate income, and have gathered other necessary information, it is time to learn how to compute child support under Minnesota’s new child support laws.   Although the statute does explain how to calculate child support under the new income shares model, [...]

Perhaps you have heard something about “Will Parties.”  This new trend is a take on the Tupperware Party and another way that our society is learning to take care of business in between work, soccer practice, and bed time.  With a Will Party, you and your friends can get together (with or without the kids), and [...]

A legal annulment (as opposed to a religious annulment) is a court process that ends a marriage (similar to a divorce). The difference is, with an annulment, the marriage is treated like it never happened. There are specific legal requirements for an annulment. The Minnesota Courts Self Help Center provides a good [...]

This is only one misconception that we tend to get from Hollywood. In Minnesota, a legal separation is not a prerequisite for a divorce. A legal separation is an entirely separate legal proceeding.
Whereas a dissolution of marriage (divorce) terminates the marital relationship between the parties, a legal separation does not. Parties to [...]