There are some things about divorcing in Minnesota that are very predictable. There are some things about divorcing in Minnesota that are very unpredictable.
Child Custody and Parenting Time: More often than not, the custody and parenting time arrangement resembles the parenting contributions of each party prior to the divorce. If one parent was clearly the primary parent prior to the divorce, that parent often is the primary parent after the divorce. However, there are ways of changing this during the divorce process.
Child Support: the amount that a parent pays for child support is fairly predictable. It is a result of a computer calculation that takes into account both parent’s incomes, the number of children, each parent’s percentage of parenting time, and whether a parent has children from a prior marriage or relationship. Once these factors are know, the dollar amount of child support is very predictable.
Spousal Maintenance: In Minnesota, spousal maintenance is all over the map. By this I mean that the appellate courts give the trial judges wide latitude in establishing spousal maintenance. Different judges have different opinions. A judge with white hair who went to law school in 1975 is going to have a different attitude about spousal maintenance than a younger judge who went to law school in 2003.
Daniel Fiskum is a Minnetonka family law attorney with over 20 years experience. Call now for a free divorce case analysis. (952) 270-7700. Minnetonka Family Law, LLC.
