Insights

Minnesota Supreme Court Weighs in on Spousal Maintenance Modifications
On May 26, 2021, the Minnesota Supreme Court filed its decision in Honke v. Honke. In that case, ex-wife received post-divorce cash gifts from her parents of $500,000.00 during the time she was also receiving spousal maintenance from her ...Read More

Mitigating Employer Risk Through Documentation
Documentation is one of the easiest ways for an employer to preserve evidence in a case. Ideally, employers should document every action and decision taken concerning incidents, complaints and disciplinary actions in the workplace, no matter how small the ...Read More

Case Law Update: Dishonest Debtors in Settlement Negotiations
The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently decided a case involving a dispute between two financial institutions that may have important impacts on how to approach settlement negotiations with defaulting borrowers going forward. The lawsuit involved Student Loan Finance Corporation ...Read More

The Difference an Attorney Makes in Estate Planning
Estate planning is often overlooked until it is too late. Our recent article, Where There’s a Will, There’s a…Wait, discusses the negative effects of waiting too long to plan for the future. These include increased expense, court involvement, ...Read More

Third Round of PPP Funding Open, Banks with Assets of $1 Billion or Less Start Friday, January 15, 2021
Late Wednesday, January 13th, the SBA announced that banks with $1 billion in assets or less can start making Third Round PPP loans Friday, January 15th. Banks above that threshold will be able to start Tuesday, January 19th. CDFI ...Read More

State Court Receivership: A Powerful Creditor’s Tool
A receivership is often labeled as the state court’s version of bankruptcy, though there are many differences between the two. The device of receivership is primarily a creditor’s remedy and is typically invoked in various circumstances including the collection ...Read More

Planning For Medical Assistance: A Starting Point On What You Need To Know
Medical Assistance, Minnesota’s version of Medicaid, provides more than 600,000 Minnesotans with coverage monthly. Many of these individuals are seniors. When looking forward to retirement, it is important to consider future health care needs as well as how such ...Read More

Marshaling of Assets: Old Doctrine Learns New Tricks
As the economy enters into a recession and debtors’ assets are losing value, dwindling or disappearing, the doctrine of marshaling assets is appearing in more and more collection actions and appellate decisions. The increased use of marshaling assets is ...Read More

Desperate Measures Call for an Extraordinary Response: Emergency Collection Actions
A seriously dishonest or desperate borrower, even if relatively rare, can be the cause of the biggest losses a lender may face. Many loans are extended on the assumption that the bank has sufficient collateral—whether real estate, equipment, receivables, ...Read More

Marital Liens Can Help Resolve Farm Divorce Disputes
When Minnesota farmers divorce, often there are insufficient liquid assets to allow the non-farming spouse to be immediately paid in full for his or her fair share of the marital estate. When that happens, the non-farming spouse is often ...Read More