Minnesota Divorce Lawyer

The Relationship Between Client and Minnesota Family Law Attorney

Michael — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:05:28 +0000

Who is the captain of the ship is very important in divorce and family law matters. The attorney you are hiring should guide you through the process, answer your questions, give legal advise and advocate on your behalf. What your attorney should not be doing is artificially creating or adding to custody, child support or property division problems. Discussions about courses of action on legal principals and cost benefit of the strategy should occur on a regular basis. Hijacking of your divorce or family law matter should never occur.

In the worst case scenario an attorney who does hijack your case can add many extra months to the divorce or family law matter and can add many extra cost and fees. If you are unsure why your Minnesota family law attorney is doing what they are doing, ask questions.

It is vitally important that you and your MN family law lawyer have a good working relationship. Good working relationships begin with communication.

How long will a Divorce in Minnesota Take?

Michael — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:39:26 +0000

One of the most common questions asked by my clients or potential clients is how long will my divorce take. Generally, a divorce in Minnesota can take anywhere between 30 days to over 1 year. MN courts such as Hennepin, Dakota and Ramsey at times are faster at processing divorces than Scott, Carver and Anoka.

30 day Minnesota divorces are accomplished where individuals engage in an uncontested or collaborative divorce, hire an knowledgeable attorney to guide them through the process and file the correct documents with the court.

MN divorces that take 1 year or more can involve contested issue related to custody, child support, spousal maintenance, and division of assets and debts.

It is better to have a divorce take longer than you hoped than to rush the process and have to go back to court later to readdress issues that should have been resolved in the first place.

I Just Want to Be Done with my Minnesota Divorce

Michael — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:08:35 +0000

“I just want to be done with my MN divorce” is one of the most dangerous statements I hear from clients. The reason the statement is dangerous is because the statement implies a kind of surrender or lack of interest in the final outcome. Given this statement, I will remind my MN divorce clients that they were married often times for years, so it takes time to unravel the complexity of a marriage. One month will generally not do it. Minnesota divorce becomes a grind.

Part of the reason that divorce becomes a grind is most individuals in America do not like to negotiate. Just as most people prefer a bottom line price on their car, and a sticker price at the farmers market, most of my clients do not revel in the back and forth process that is a divorce.

To make the process easier most of my clients do not want to do the actual negotiating because of the emotions that negotiations can bring up. Clients should be hiring an attorney to negotiate and problem solve. Ultimately the client has the final say on agreements stemming from negotiations.

Minnesota Family Law Attorney Price

Michael — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:32:45 +0000

The key that I stress to all of my clients and potential clients is to spend their money wisely. Why spend thousands of dollars over a low value item, essentially arguing over who gets a toaster. At the same time certain issues are worth spending the money to ensure that they are permanently resolved. Keep your eye on the prize, aim to resolve custody, parenting time, property division, spousal maintenance first. Find an MN attorney you are comfortable with who is not trying to stir the pot causing you to spend more than you need to.

Minnesota Divorce Cost

Chad — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:18:28 +0000

Cost of divorce in Minnesota is tough to pin down given the variables that can occur in a divorce. On the low end, divorce with the representation of a competent attorney can cost as little as $2,000.00 start to finish. Typically lower cost divorce revolves around a couple wishing to separate but not knowing all of the potential pitfalls and not understanding how to go about the process. Many of these divorces are uncontested, where individuals need to know their rights in a divorce. On these uncontested cases you should expect communication with your attorney, including your questions being answered. You should also expect the price to include determining the best way to accomplish your divorce given your circumstances. Finally, your agreement will be reduced to a divorce decree and filed with the court. Ultimately the cost for doing the divorce wrong is much higher than doing it correct the first time.