How Do Minnesota Courts Decide Custody of a Child?
October 27, 2014 | Elizabeth A. SchadingMinnesota law considers the best interests of the child, so a wide variety of factors are taken into consideration and no one factor takes precedence over another. The courts may award joint physical custody if the arrangement is practical and in the child’s best interest. Some factors that the courts take into consideration are: Where the child goes to school and the local community. If a child is already well adjusted in his or her current school and community, it may not be in the child’s best interest to force the child to move. The opposite can also be true. If a child is not well adjusted in their current environment, he or she may be better off moving to a new community and attending a new school. The parent who will remain in the family’s home. If one parent will remain in the family’s home and can provide a stable environment, they will have an advantage over the parent who is constantly moving from one home to another. How long the child has been living in the family’s home. The parent’s wishes. The parent who has served as the child’s primary caretaker. In some cases, one parent acted as the child’s primary caretaker. He or she was responsible for the child’s day-to-day…
Read MoreA Spooky Halloween Tale (True Story!) from BGS
October 23, 2014 | Scott M. LepakPeople may think that lawyers don’t have ghost stories. While it may be true that no self respecting ghost wants to bother trying to scare someone who is skeptical as a profession (and often does not stop talking long enough to hear ghostly noises), you might be surprised that some lawyers have spooky tales. Anoka, Minnesota is the Halloween capital of the world. It is famous for inventing trick or treating. It also has many interesting ghost stories. The Anoka County Historical Society has ghost walking tours in the summer (it is not really ghosts that do the walking – the people on the tours walk while hearing stories about ghosts). The main fire station in Anoka is relatively new and very nice. It is also reputedly haunted with strange noises and unexplained events. Some say they are from a firefighter who tragically died many years ago when a horse drawn fire wagon tipped over on him crossing rail road tracks. Others think it is someone or something else. I stopped in the fire department this week to visit with the Fire Chief. He was busy giving an interview to a grade school reporter so I thought I would let my secretary Sarah know that I was running a little late. I texted…
Read MoreHabitat for Humanity: Building Hope Together
October 15, 2014 | Scott M. LepakOn October 3, 2014 BGS helped build its most recent Habitat for Humanity house. This house was a single story house specially constructed to meet the needs of a disabled family member. Another great thing about this house was that it is located in Columbia Heights, a City where we have been honored to serve as City Attorneys for the past 23 years. Our work crew arrived expecting to put on siding but the wet weather from the previous day had put the project slightly behind schedule. We spent the morning disassembling scaffolding and hauling it through the mud before we could get to our main jobs of putting up a center post on the porch and installing fascia and trim. The work crew of Tracie Davis, Lynn Geistfeld and Liz Schading turned out to be the best fascia installation crew with flawless teamwork and attention to detail. The work crew led by our best carpenter (who is our IT pro in his regular job) Brian Harvison showed flashes of productivity but work periodically slowed as the lawyers on the crew, Dan Ganter, Scott Lepak and Jon Erickson, periodically paused to engage in spirited debate and instruction to each other on the proper way to perform simple tasks. The Habitat for Humanity job…
Read More