Divorce proceedings often involve financial considerations, including spousal maintenance and child support. In cases where one spouse is unemployed or underemployed, Minnesota courts may consider a vocational evaluation to assess their earning capacity. This raises the question: Can a Minnesota divorce court require a party to participate in a vocational evaluation? The answer lies
Minnesota’s Spousal Maintenance Statutes Amended for Clarity and Predictability
Minnesota’s family law statutes underwent significant revisions effective August 1, 2024, introducing changes to spousal maintenance awards.
Spousal maintenance, also referred to as alimony or spousal support, has long been a contentious issue in divorce cases. Historically, Minnesota’s laws provided limited guidance on spousal maintenance awards, giving judges broad discretion and resulting in inconsistent outcomes
Spousal Maintenance in Minnesota: Five Common Methods of Resolution
Spousal maintenance is an emotionally-charged issue in divorce. I’ve handled many cases requiring a trial because the parties could not agree on whether alimony was appropriate, or the amount and duration of spousal maintenance. Maintenance is tricky because, unlike child support, there are no formal guidelines or formulas to assist divorce litigants in determining what
Retirement and Spousal Maintenance
Spousal maintenance (or alimony) can be a temporary or permanent order. A temporary spousal maintenance order outlines the specific obligations for support – such as how many months or years the alimony must be paid. For a permanent spousal maintenance order there are a few reasons that will allow you to modify the award. As
Court of Appeals Reverses Denial of Maintenance Modification for Injured Laborer
On March 12, 2018, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed denial of a request to modify spousal maintenance. The decision in Chadwick v. Chadwick is an interesting read; it’s been a while since we’ve reviewed a chain of opinions with such contrast among the lower and higher court.
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Do Women in High Net Worth Divorces Really Get More Than They Deserve?
We’ve all seen the clips on entertainment shows or read the headlines of magazines in the checkout line at the grocery store about spouses of celebrities, sports figures and business leaders receiving multi-million dollar settlements.
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Minnesota Stay-at-Home Spouses May Need to Go to Work After Divorce
Many people receive alimony (also known as spousal maintenance) awards as part of MN divorce decrees, but these awards are less common than they were many years ago, and they may be temporary in nature. While our Minnesota alimony lawyers have helped many clients obtain the full support they need after divorce, we have also learned that individuals often discover numerous experiential benefits from going back to work.
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How Does the IRS Treat Spousal Maintenance and Child Support?
It is important to know how the IRS treats spousal maintenance and child support to ensure that both are considered correctly on your income tax return. Generally speaking, spousal maintenance is tax deductible to the payor, but the payee (recipient) must pay taxes on it. Child support is not tax deductible to the payor, and the payee does not have to pay income tax on it. While it is easy to determine what is characterized as “child support,” it can be a bit more complicated to determine what qualifying “alimony” is. Alimony, in order to be tax …
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Spousal Maintenance in Minnesota : A Quick Guide
Spousal maintenance is a factor-based award in Minnesota. In this quick guide, find key information concerning spousal maintenance awards in Minnesota: Need: The party seeking spousal maintenance must establish a need. This is determined by comparing the party’s projected monthly budget against the party’s ongoing income. Ability to Pay: If a party establishes a need for spousal maintenance, the other party’s ability to pay will be examined. This is determined by comparing the party’s projected monthly budget against the party’s ongoing …
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