Category: Family Law
How Can I protect My Retirement Assets in a Minnesota Divorce?
February 21, 2014 | Elizabeth A. SchadingThis is a complicated question. There’s no action that you can take that will guarantee that you get to keep every cent of your retirement account. However, there may be things that you can do to keep more of your retirement account. Retirement accounts are often mixed property. Retirement accounts are often a mix of marital and non-marital property. This can help you keep more of your retirement account when assets are divided. Though there are situations where the court will award a portion of non-marital property to the spouse (up to ½) it seldom happens. So if you can prove that a portion of your retirement account is non-marital property you may keep more of that money. To do this you will have to gather all of your financial records, and you may need to consult with an accountant. It is up to you to prove that the property is non-marital. Make it a priority. If your retirement assets are your biggest priority, ask yourself what you’re willing to give up in order to keep all, or most, of that money. You may be able to put together and offer an equitable distribution package that your spouse will accept. Consult your attorney for help with this. Make sure the accounts are valued…
Read MoreI Think I Want to Get Divorced. What Should I Do Now?
February 17, 2014 | Elizabeth A. SchadingDeciding that you want a divorce can be confusing, upsetting, and stressful. It helps to understand exactly what your next steps should be. First and foremost, you should contact an experienced divorce attorney like the family law experts at Barna, Guzy & Steffen. You need a legal guide through this process. Do I Really Need a Lawyer? The advent of “do-it-yourself” divorces has misled many people into thinking that divorce is a simple process. But it’s very easy to make mistakes when you try to handle a divorce on your own. Issues of child support, spousal support, child custody, assets, and debts are far more complex than they appear to be on the surface. Even a simple turn of phrase can affect your future. And it’s easy to make serious mistakes during the divorce process that have a serious impact on the court’s judgments. You need someone on your side, someone who knows what to do. Next, you should decide what you want the major outcomes of the divorce to be. Are you hoping the kids remain with you? Do you want to keep the marital home? You may not get everything that you want, but knowing what you want and being able to articulate it can help you and your lawyer guide…
Read MoreWhat’s the Difference between Legal Separation and Divorce in Minnesota?
February 3, 2014 | Elizabeth A. SchadingThere is plenty of confusion about the terms “legal separation” and “divorce”, simply because the terms are misused so often. These assumptions may lead people to make mistakes that can affect their family law case later. You can “separate” from your spouse simply by moving out of the home. When this happens, you’re still married and you aren’t filing any paperwork with the courts. How you handle your bills, assets, and child-rearing responsibility is up to you—it’s still a marital matter, even though one spouse is not living in the home. If you want to end a separation you’d simply move back into the home. It is not necessary for you to do this before you get a divorce. In fact, in Minnesota, there can be significant consequences for moving out of the marital home while seeking a divorce. What kinds of consequences? The biggest consequence can be that it will tell the court that you are making certain assumptions about who should live in the marital home and be the primary parent. It may be difficult to go back on those assumptions later if you want to stay in the marital home or take sole custody of your children. If you are desperate to get out of a contentious situation you will…
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