St. Paul Divorce Law Blog
On behalf of Coodin & Overson, PLLP posted in Child Support on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A court in Minnesota came to the realization and decided to act on the fact that children are better off with two parents involved in their upbringing. In 2010, Hennepin County developed Co-Parent Court to help solve this problem. These courts are put in place in hopes of increasing the number of unmarried families with both parents involved, which in turn will allow for child support payments to come on a consistent basis.
The definition of a traditional family used to include a married man and woman and their children. These days, society is changing in terms of what constitutes a family. In Minnesota, and across the country, more children are being born to unmarried parents. While manageable, this arrangement may prove more difficult when raising a child.
On behalf of Coodin & Overson, PLLP posted in High-asset Divorce on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
While couples across Minnesota may struggle with the decision to remain together or divorce, a new report notes that the divorce rate may actually be dropping. As time has passed, the essential makeup of the American nuclear family has changed. This may have initially led to increases due to friction within the couple, but now may actually contribute to a fall in divorce numbers.
As a researcher from the University of Pennsylvania details, one of the major reasons for changing data on divorce rates comes from ever evolving marriage models. In the post-WWII era, women often stayed home while men were the "breadwinners." However, as time has passed more and more women have joined the workforce, which means an increase in two-income homes. This increase in earning power for women, along with divorce law changes, saw the divorce rate swell in the 1970's.
On behalf of Coodin & Overson, PLLP posted in Child Custody on Saturday, May 5, 2012
Minnesota lawmakers have been busy considering a bill that would have substantial effects on parents of minor children who are going through a divorce. Currently, state law provides that each mentally competent parent is entitled to 25 percent of the custody rights and courts divide the remaining portion of the custody rights as they see fit. The Children's Equal and Shared Parenting Act would change the law to require that each parent get at least 45.1 percent custody rights.
A previous post first covered the Shared Parenting Act about a month ago. Since then, both houses of the Minnesota legislature have revisited the measure, which seeks to look after the best interests of children by favoring shared custody instead of a predominant custodial parent. Recently, the House of Representatives approved the bill by a vote of 80 - 53. With the vote looming in the Senate, however, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Warren Limmer, is reported to have effectively prevented a Senate vote on the bill.
On behalf of Coodin & Overson, PLLP posted in Child Support on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Divorcing Minnesota couples must sort through many questions before they can come to a settlement. A complex divorce, for example, can involve a variety of issues, including division of various types of property, spousal maintenance and child support. It is imperative for parting couples to consider the future implications of their settlement. This point can be especially salient when the parting couple has minor children whom they plan to someday send to college.
Accordingly, Minnesota parents must negotiate this matter into their settlement. To avoid potential problems down the road, divorcing parents should be very specific when negotiating how they will pay for college costs.
On behalf of Coodin & Overson, PLLP posted in Child Support on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Minnesota law dictates that when parents divorce or legally separate, a court order for child support payments from one parent to the other can be issued. In addition, courts may also order child support where the parents are unmarried and have a minor child. In Minnesota, child support is determined by a combination of assessing both parents' gross income and percentage of parenting time, among other factors.
Child support can raise several questions: What happens when a mother bears a child from a sperm donor? Is the donor responsible to pay financial support for the child? A recent California case put this issue squarely in front of child support experts all over the country.
On behalf of Coodin & Overson, PLLP posted in Child Custody on Monday, April 9, 2012
Couples face many difficult questions and decisions when they go through a divorce. Where the couple has children, rarely is there an issue more important than determining child custody. Like other matters in a divorce, the couple is free to come to their own agreement on how to divide custody rights. If the parents cannot agree on custody rights, the courts will step in and apply state law to assign custody rights.
The primary goal of Minnesota's child custody laws is to find an arrangement that is in the best interest of the children. Under the current laws, each mentally competent parent gets 25 percent custody of their children. Courts then have discretion to award the remaining 50 percent custody as they see fit.
On behalf of Coodin & Overson, PLLP posted in Divorce on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Most people in the United States are aware that the country's divorce rate is roughly 50 percent. Moreover, many know that financial stressors, sexual frustration and communication breakdowns are some of the most common causes of divorce. But the Minnesota Couples on the Brink Project at the University of Minnesota aims at taking a closer look at some of the lesser-known factors underlying the country's high divorce rate.
According to the director of the Minnesota Couples on the Brink Project, a couple's educational level is inversely related to the chances that they will divorce. The director explains that although the country's overall divorce rate has remained constant over the last 20 years, divorce rates have decreased amongst couples that achieve higher levels of education. Conversely, the divorce rate has increased for couples with just a high-school education.
On behalf of Coodin & Overson, PLLP posted in Child Support on Monday, March 26, 2012
Raising a child as a single parent can be not only emotional taxing, it can be expensive. Often, non-custodial parents of children are ordered to pay child support in Minnesota. However, just because child support is court-ordered does not necessarily mean the payments are always made.
In a recent case in Dakota County, one parent struggled for years to collect financial support from the other parent. The Minnesota Department of Human Resources Child Enforcement Division stepped in with a new approach to collect the delinquent payments. The county refused to renew the parent's passport until the parent paid the overdue child support obligations. As result, the county collected $32,000 in payments from the parent.
On behalf of Coodin & Overson, PLLP posted in High-asset Divorce on Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Reality television star Kim Kardashian is back in the news again. While her marriage to Minnesota native and NBA player Kris Humphries only lasted for 72 days, their divorce is still ongoing. This blog first covered their complex divorce in November, shortly after Kardashian filed to end the marriage.
Allegedly, Humphries is demanding a $7 million settlement from Kardashian. Their high asset divorce has been media fodder since Kardashian filed for divorce in October 2011. Protecting assets was probably the primary reason that the couple signed a prenuptial agreement. Furthermore, avoiding a dragged out and highly publicized divorce may have been another reason behind the agreement.
On behalf of Coodin & Overson, PLLP posted in Child Support on Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Required child support payments in Minnesota are calculated mainly according to the income of each parent and the residency of the child with each parent. However, life can be unpredictable and at times the child support payments that were initially calculated may no longer accurately reflect life's circumstances. In Minnesota, instances of layoff, promotion, disability or a number of other significant life events could impact the child support level and mean a child support modification could be in order.
Famous football player, Terrell Owens, cited the recent NFL lockout as the source of his inability to make part of his child support payments. The football player has four children from four different women and each month owes over $40,000 in child support payments.
