Case Experience
Over the last thirteen years, our lawyers have assisted nearly a thousand individuals through the divorce process. We've helped clients from all socio-economic backgrounds - from homemakers, union construction workers, mechanics and truck drivers to professors, doctors, accountants, engineers and even other lawyers - through some of life's most difficult challenges.
Though we make every attempt to cost-effectively resolve cases through a fair settlement, we are ready to fight in the courtroom when necessary. We are experienced and effective trial lawyers who have a record of success.
Here are a few of the results our lawyers have obtained:
Child Custody
Our client was a stay-at-home mother of two young boys. She suffered from postpartum depression, which did not affect her ability to effectively parent the children. However, she attempted to take her own life just prior to the separation of the parties and about one month following separation, under stress of marital conflict.
Following her treatment and release, husband refused to allow the children to return to her care, claiming it was "unsafe" for them. For over a year, husband limited her interaction with the children. Our experts opined that she did not present a danger to herself, or the children, and that the root cause of her breakdown involved being prescribed the wrong type of medication for her depression.
After 18 months of contentious litigation and a three day trial, our client was granted sole physical custody of the children.
Child Custody
We represented a mother of two teen children. The relationship of the parties was extremely strained. Husband had committed multiple acts of domestic abuse upon our client during the marriage, frequently drank and smoked marijuana, and alienated the children against their mother. At trial, the children testified that they wanted to live with their father. Our expert opined that mother should be granted sole physical custody. Husband was represented by a prominent divorce attorney.
Following a two day trial, the judge, in a very unusual move, issued a custody award in favor of our client right from the bench.
Child Custody
Our client was a police officer and father of a special needs child. His schedule afforded him lots of time with his son prior to the dissolution of his marriage. Wife petitioned Anoka County (known for declining an award of joint physical custody - especially when the parties don't agree on it) for sole physical custody.
The case settled on a full and final basis in favor of our client after our lawyers convinced the court to award joint physical custody at a temporary motion hearing.
Child Custody
We represented the mother of two young boys. Husband moved our client, and the children, to Minnesota from Colorado under the pretense that it was for the purpose of being "closer to his family." In reality, he was having an affair with his high school sweetheart, and wanted to live near her. Not six months after the move, husband served our client with divorce papers. Our client immediately took the children to Arizona, to be near her family.
At trial, we presented recordings of husband's mistreatment of our client in front of the children, husband's abusive conduct directed toward our client's family (such as spitting on her wheelchair-bound mother during a visit to Arizona), and making the children feel guilty for living so far away from him. Husband testified, under oath, that he not done any of these things. He didn't know about our recorded evidence, which was subsequently presented to impeach him.
After a three day trial, our client was allowed to remain in Arizona with the children and was awarded sole physical custody.
Child Custody
Our client was the mother of three young children that she home-schooled. Husband committed acts of domestic abuse upon our client, and the youngest of the parties' children, during the marriage. Despite evidence to the contrary (such as being arrested for assaulting our client and being charged with driving drunk with the children in the car), husband would not admit that he had an alcohol abuse problem or issues controlling his anger. Husband sought an award of sole physical custody of the children, with the support of a custody evaluator.
After four days of very damaging testimony against husband, and our cross examination of he, and his witnesses, husband elected to settle. He agreed that our client would receive sole physical custody and sole legal custody of the minor children. Further terms called for him to exercise a graduated supervised parenting time schedule, on the condition that he complete alcohol abuse treatment, be subject to random breath tests and complete a domestic abuse program.
Child Custody
We represented the mother of a two-year-old boy. Father was addicted to cocaine and continued to use and sell drugs in the presence of the child, including driving the child while under the influence. Husband was represented by a well-known divorce attorney. Before trial, it was agreed that our client would receive sole physical and legal custody of the child. Husband's parenting time was agreed to be supervised only.
Child Support
Our client was the father of two teenage boys who were experiencing mistreatment by their mother and her new husband. As a result, they elected to stay primarily with dad. Our client was under a court order to pay the wife child support, even though the boys rarely saw their mother. Despite that fact, wife sought to enforce the support provisions in the divorce decree. She also sought retroactive support of over $42,000.
Following multiple motion hearings, our client prevailed in full and wife was ordered to pay him ongoing child support for the two boys. All our client's arrears were forgiven by the court.
Child Support
Our client was the mother of two. The parties stipulated that husband would pay an upward deviation from the child support guidelines as part of their divorce. Six months after the entry of the divorce decree, husband was demoted because he was having an affair with a subordinate. He moved the court to reduce his child support obligaiton in light of his pay decrease.
Our attorneys argued that he was not entitled to a support reduction for two reasons. First, the agreement to deviate upward was specifically negotated and supported by contractual consideration. Second, husband's own misconduct lead to his reduction in income. The court agreed on both counts and denied husband's motion.
Property & Debt Division
We represented the husband in a divorce proceeding. Wife owned an import business, but claimed that the business had no value. We retained a business valuator and, with his assistance, obtained a substantial property settlement in favor of husband.
Property & Debt Division
Our client owned an auto repair business. Wife worked as the business manager, but secretly opened an individual bank account and funneled more than $40,000 away from the business. Wife was represented by a prominent family lawyer. She denied under oath that any such account existed. We were able to obtain an ex parte injunction that prohibited wife from the business and uncovered various acts of misdealing on her part. The case settled before trial.
Spousal Maintenance
Our client divorced her husband several years before we were retained to represent her. He owned a portion of a successful litigation consulting business that generated annual income in excess of $200,000 for husband. Husband also received an annual bonus in excess of $300,000.
The divorce decree indicated that husband would pay our client ongoing spousal maintenance of $7,000 per month and 25% of his annual bonus income for ten years. This was partially based on need, and partially based on our client's agreement not to demand her equity in the business at the time of divorce.
A few years after entry of the divorce decree, husband sought to amend the decree, based on the claim that he "never expected that his bonus income would be so substantial." Husband was represented by high-profile lawyers from two different law firms at the hearing.
During the course of litigation, we uncovered pre-dissolution evidence that presumed his bonus income would actually exceed that which he actually received. At the hearing we argued the complex principles of the parol evidence evidence rule permitted the receipt of this evidence into the record. The court agreed.
The court denied husband's request to modify. The value of our client's ongoing maintenance award exceeds $1,000,000.
Spousal Maintenance
We represented a husband who earned in excess of $200,000 per year. The marriage was over 15 years in length. Wife, represented by a well-known divorce lawyer, sought an award of permanent spousal maintenance of over $6,000 per month from our client.
After months of litigation and ongoing negotiation, the wife agreed to an award of $6,000 per month for just two years. In our opinion, our client's exposure was for much more. We believe we saved our client at least $500,000 in alimony payments over the ten years he had left to work.
Pure Default Judgment
Our client was the mother of two children. She was a citizen of Paraguay. Husband married our client, had children with her and brought the children to the United States under the pretense that he would "send for his wife" when they got settled. He subsequently married another woman in the United States, without dissolving his marriage to our client, and withheld the children from our client.
After years of false promises, our client decided to take matters into her own hands. She traveled through Mexico and entered the United States in southern California. She arrived in Minnesota a week later, and discovered what her husband had done. She retrieved the children and settled in the Twin Cities. Her immigration status was cleared under the Violence Against Woman's Act.
Husband was served with divorce papers, but made no effort to communicate in the case. He failed to show up for court on multiple occasions and we were able to obtain a pure default judgment against him.
