These days, the nuclear family sometimes feels like little more than a myth that we occasionally witness on reruns of classic TV sitcoms. United States Census data indicates that, while 40 percent of 1970 families consisted of two married parents living with children, this arrangement comprised just 19 percent of homes as of 2013. These
Your adult daughter is getting a divorce. Guess who’s likely to be spending more time with the grandchildren? The assumption may be intrusive, but it’s also natural; after all, in a time of crisis like this, to whom else can your daughter turn, especially when childcare becomes an instant need? More importantly, how can
Child in Need of Protective Services (CHIPS) deals with the health, safety, and welfare of children in Minnesota. There are a variety of reasons why a parent may be involved in a CHIPS case. Here’s what you need to know.
1. Who can file a CHIPS petition? Anyone. In Minnesota, if you find yourself accused
Adopting a child with special needs in Minnesota is like adopting any other child, with a few differences. Five things you should know about special needs adoption include:
1. “Special needs” can refer to a variety of issues – Special needs children waiting for adoption may have mental, emotional, physical, or behavioral disabilities. MN Adopt
When a parent fails to make good on child support payments, the negative effects impact not only the children and the other parent but also the entire dynamic of the post-divorce relationship. In some cases, the delinquent parent simply cannot afford to pay. In other cases, the parent deliberately refuses out of a belief that
Of the issues involved in a divorce in Minnesota, child support is generally recognized as the simplest to resolve. That does not mean, however, that the determination of basic support, medical support and daycare support is necessarily easy in every case.
Here are some of the more common questions our child support lawyers are asked
The question most commonly asked of our divorce (and sometimes custody and paternity) clients involves how much support (either alimony or child support) they may receive, or pay, as part of their case.
The the answer to that inquiry can be rather complex, but the starting point in either situation involves a determination of “income”
We’re often asked about how long child support payments must be made. Pursuant to Minn. Stat. Sec. 518A.39, Subdvision 5, a “child support obligation in a specific amount per child terminates automatically and without any action by the obligor to reduce, modify, or terminate the order upon the emancipation of the child.”
The answer, accordingly,
In January of 2007 the Minnesota child support guidelines underwent significant changes. Prior to the enactment of the present legislation found in Minnesota Statutes Section 518A, child support was based soley on the income of the obligor (the paying parent). Today, child support is based upon the relative income of both the obligor and
The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently published an article about the Minnesota child support guidelines that were amended as of January 1, 2007. Seems no one is happy with what was sold as a more equitable approach to calculating child support, despite the legislature’s goal of reducing acrimony among split parents.
Reporter Jean Hopfensperger provides examples