Minneapolis Family Law Blog

One of the hardest parts of a divorce with children can be when a parent is separated from their children. This hardship can be minimized with a child custody order that not only determines who gets physical custody, but also outlines the time a non-custodial parent is allowed to spend with the child. Divorced, separated or unmarried Minnesota parents without a child custody order that sufficiently outlines parenting time can quickly find themselves in an escalating argument over the matter.

A parenting time dispute landed one mother in jail after police alleged that she failed to calm down. Neighbors called police after the mother and father got into a verbal argument outside of the father’s home. According to the mother, the argument started after the father resisted her efforts to pick up their daughter from his home. The arguing attracted onlookers who seemed to have taken sides with the father as they allegedly thanked the officers for arresting the mother after she became irate and verbally attacked them. It is unclear whether a child custody order was in place or whether the mother was merely trying to exercise her right to parenting time under that order.

The right to a driver's license may seem like an important right but not when it comes to child support payments. A Minnesota Appeals Court ruling indicated that the right to a commercial driver's license does not take priority over the responsibility to pay child support. Accordingly, under Minnesota's family law statutes, commercial drivers behind on their child support payments can legally have their commercial licenses suspended as a result.

The case was initiated by a Swift county father whose commercial driver's license was suspended when he was $27,000 behind on his child support payments. The father had not made any of his $200 monthly payments since 2009. The father alleged that he drove trucks for a living and said he could not pay his child support if he could not drive trucks. The District Court ruled in favor of the father reasoning that a Minnesota statute prohibiting a limited commercial driver's license in those cases was unconstitutional.

For some, divorce is a process in which emotions run high and it is an all or nothing battle to win. However, it does not have to be that way. Divorce mediation is a viable option for Minnesota families who want to work out their divorce issues through calm negotiation instead of a stressful fight.

In a nearby state recently, members of a professional association that included a judge, attorneys and mediators participated in a seminar that brought awareness to the use of divorce mediation. The association's goal is to build awareness of the mediation process through various channels of communication such as public speaking, internet and videos. According to one member of the group, everyone should try mediation because it gives the parties a chance to make their own decisions about their families instead of having a judge make those important decisions for them.

An ex-wife lost her right to pension benefits because she failed to file the proper documents. The benefits were originally awarded following a divorce, but the Minnesota Supreme Court recently held that the ex-wife forfeited those rights when she failed to file the proper documents in a timely manner. Minneapolis residents, who have been awarded pension benefits following a divorce, should follow up to ensure that proper documents were filed.

The ex-wife and her husband divorced in 1993 after a 30-year marriage. During the property division phase of the divorce proceedings, the court awarded the ex-wife a 50 percent interest in the ex-husband's pension fund, along with survivor benefits. However, enforcement of this court order required the ex-wife to file a domestic relations order, which was not done. Eleven years later, the ex-husband remarried and retired, naming his current wife as the beneficiary of his pension. Twelve years after the divorce, the ex-wife finally served the pension plan with a domestic relations order. The pension plan denied the ex-wife's request for benefits, a lawsuit was filed and several appeals later, the case made its way to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which ruled against the ex-wife. The Court reasoned that the ex-wife was not diligent in preserving her statutory rights to the pension.