In Minnesota, antenuptial agreements (also called “prenuptial agreements” or “preunps”) are useful tools for a number of reasons. One such use is to protect assets acquired before marriage. But depending on the language of the antenuptial agreement, not all of the asset may be protected from division in divorce. Law schools teach that property should...

On May 29, 2013, in the case of Haefele v. Haefele, the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed the Minnesota Court of Appeals and held that when calculating a self-employed parent’s income for purposes of determining child support, the court must first identify the self-employed parent’s business’s total gross receipts, costs of goods sold, and ordinary and necessary...

On May 14, 2013 Minnesota officially became the 12th U.S. state to approve same sex marriage when Governor Mark Dayton appeared before a crowd outside the state capitol in St. Paul to sign a marriage equality bill into law. HF 1054 makes Minnesota’s marriage law gender neutral. The legislation also contains language for exemptions based...

Reading your divorce decree is not exactly a fun task.  Not only is reviewing the document dissolving your marriage emotionally difficult for many people, the documents are usually full of “legalese” and not always drafted with any eye toward making the document easy to read.  For complex cases, there may be more than one document...

In Minnesota divorce cases, trial judges have significant power to determine when and how to award marital assets.  Rarely are their decisions overturned on appeal. Even before a divorce is final, judges have the power to permanently divide or dispose of marital assets.  If a judge believes it is necessary to preserve marital assets, the judge can order a sale...

No business wants to be sued by an employee or former employee. It is expensive to defend employment lawsuits. In addition, such litigation is time consuming for management and may decrease company morale. There is a means by which employers can minimize employee lawsuits. Your company can require that employees sign arbitration agreements and thus...

Many time, a significant discussion needs to occur early on in a divorce case about the possible benefits of securing expert witnesses to help with the divorce. In divorce cases, the expert witnesses needed may vary.  Expert witnesses can include real estate appraisers, forensic accountants, business evaluation experts, and vocational experts, among many others. Many clients want to hold off on retaining...