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Starting a Divorce in Minnesota

By Rebecca Leis, Family Law Attorney, www.CundyAndMartin.com  

Most individuals have never been through a divorce, yet based on popular culture or the experiences of family and friends most people know what the process entails. Relying friends and family for emotional support during a divorce is reasonable. Reliance on your social group for legal advice, however, is not the best idea. Divorce cases are as unique as the individual parties to a marriage. The outcome of your neighbor’s divorce will likely be very different than the outcome of your marital dissolution.  That is why you need a divorce lawyer who will take the time to analyze your specific case and give you the best options to resolve your divorce.

The purpose of this article is to give you a general overview of the process, paper work, and court hearings that accompany a divorce or “dissolution of marriage.”  More information and details about each of the issues highlighted below can be found throughout our website.  You may also call our office with any questions about divorce in Minnesota as well.  Our family law attorneys are located in Bloomington, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis, and centrally located near many of the county court houses in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Starting a Divorce

Divorce in Minnesota falls under the area of law called Family Law.  The divorce papers are filed in the county where either spouse resides, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, Scott County, etc.  A divorce does not formally start until the Summons and Petition is filed with the Court.

The Summons and Petition are two separate documents. The Summons informs the other spouse that you have filed for divorce. The Petition (which is served at the same time as the Summons) tells the court what you are asking the court to give you, e.g., child support, child custody, spousal maintenance, property, etc. The person who files first is called the Petitioner.  The requested relief states the Petitioner’s intentions with regard to custody, child support, parenting time, division of assets and debts, and spousal maintenance (also known as alimony).

After the other spouse receives the Summons and Petitioner he or she has 30 days to respond. The response is called an Answer. Often an Answer is accompanied by a Counter-Petition which sets forth the relief the Respondent requests from the Court.

After an Answer and Counter Petition are submitted to the court, the court will send the parties a Scheduling Order. The Scheduling Order establishes deadlines for completing discovery (discussed below), the time for bringing temporary motions (discussed below), the pre-trail and trial dates.

Divorce Discovery

Discovery is the process by which the spouses request and exchange documentation and information necessary to support their case.  For example, discovery often includes disclosure of income, debt, retirement accounts and other assets, documentation supporting a non-maritial property claim, and the party’s monthly budget. If custody is an issue that is contested, this time is also used to exchange documentation detailing which parent was the primary parent during the marriage.

Because divorces take time, some issues like the child support, spousal maintenance and the sale of a home need to be resolved before the parties are prepared for a final trial. Often times parties can reach an agreement about these temporary issues through the assistance of counsel and a formal Temporary Motion is not necessary. If an interim decision can’t be reached, the parties can go to court by filing a Temporary Motion and ask the Judge to decide these issues on a temporary basis.

Divorce Pretrial

The next step in the traditional divorce process is a pre-trial. Prior to the pre-trial, the parties are expected to attempt to settle all the issues in the case. If resolution is not achieved, the parties inform the judge of the remaining unresolved issues and the case is scheduled for trial. Often times the judge will explain to the parties the advantages of settlement and may even tell the parties how he or she would decide the issues at trial to encourage settlement.

Divorce Trial

If the parties are unable to settle their case, the final step is a trial. Trial requires each party to prove his or her claim for everything he or she is requesting from the court.  Trial is time consuming, costly and emotionally draining.  But if you cannot agree on the terms of your divorce, then a trial is necessary to protect your rights.

Often trial is not the end of litigation but the beginning of post-decree (after divorce) disputes which may involve motions to reconsider or even an appeal of the judge’s decision to the appellate court.  A “motion” is simply a formal request to the court asking a judge to give you what you are seeking.

While this article outlines the traditional process you should know that your divorce does not need to be adversarial. Most people negotiate and settle their case well before trial. In fact, some people have all the details worked out before they even meet with an attorney.

Because this traditional process can be slow and ridged many counties have developed different court processes to help families during a divorce. These include Intial Case Management Coferences and Early Neutral Evaluations.

Call our office with any questions you may have about starting a divorce in Minnesota.

(952) 746-4111

www.cundyandmartin.com