If you are filing for a divorce in the state on Minnesota, there are a few things you should know. If you know the basics of the process before you start, you’ll be prepared and will probably find the process smoother. Here are some of the basic facts that you should know.


The initial document that needs to be filed with the Minnesota court when requesting for a divorce is called the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The filing spouse will have to use this document to request the court to terminate the marriage under certain specific grounds. If both parties submit the petition jointly as Co-Petitioners it eliminates the necessity for the use of summons or for service of process.


Dissolution of marriage is governed by state law and it is essential that anyone filing for a dissolution of marriage in the state of Minnesota should meet specific residency requirements.


Minnesota Property Division Factors


Minnesota is an ‘equitable distribution’ state. While most debt and property issues are typically settled between parties by a signed Marital Termination Agreement, in the event that the parties are unable to reach an agreeable settlement, the District Court will first determine which debt and property is to be considered as marital. After assigning a monetary value to this marital property and debt, the court will distribute the marital assets between the spouses in an equitable fashion. Equitable in this case does not necessarily mean the assets will be equally distributed between the parties but rather it will be allocated according to what is deemed fair by the District Court.


The court bases its decision on several factors including the length of the marriage, age, health, occupation, employability, needs, liabilities, amount and sources of income of each party, opportunity for future acquisition of capital assets and any prior marriage of a party. The court also takes into the consideration the contribution of a spouse as a homemaker or the contribution of each in any acquisition. It is presumed that both spouses contributed substantially to the acquisition of property and income while they were married.


Minnesota Child Custody Factors


When deciding child custody issues pertaining to a divorce, the children’s best interest is the primary concern of the court. The court prefers if the parents can decide on the custody issues amicably, failing which the court bases its custody decision taking into consideration several factors including the reasonable preference of the child if the child is deemed to be old enough to express a preference. Other factors include the intimacy and interaction between each parent and the child; the child’s adjustment to school, home and community and the physical and mental health of all the individuals involved.


Minnesota Child Support Factors


Factors for determining child support include the financial resources, income, earnings and assets of the parents; the standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the marriage was still intact and the educational needs of the child as well as the child’s emotional and physical condition.

Prior to the creation of the No Fault divorce method, a party needed to show some wrong doing of the other person such as adultery or abuse to get a divorce. The guilty spouse was penalized by receiving a smaller portion of their property or being denied custody of their children while the faultless spouse was rewarded by getting more of the property or custody of their children.

Minnesota is a No Fault state for purposes of divorce. No Fault divorce is a divorce process where a party can seek a divorce without having to present some basis of wrong doing of the other party. A divorce will be authorized if either party thinks that the marriage is over and harmony is not likely. Neither individual is punished in the division of property or award of guardianship rights on the basis of fault.

Because fault is not mandatory to procure a divorce, the reasons the marriage ended generally are unsuitable and will not be allowed to be introduced in the proceeding. This is very hard for some parties to acknowledge especially in those cases where adultery is the reason the marriage ended. In a recent publication by the Minnesota Judicial Branch entitled “From the Judges of Family Court: What to Expect…Divorce in Minnesota”, the contributors reaffirmed that the law does not admit the courts to be used as an instrument for disciplining the cheating spouse or allow judges to make amends for emotional wounds in most cases. Since emotionally driven cases seem to be the most difficult cases to work out and therefore the most expensive, it is hugely important for the lawyers in these types of cases to determine the issue in the beginning so that the client may be counseled and redirected before settlement becomes doubtful.

Divorces are a stressful experience for everyone including the divorce lawyers. IN this article we will discuss the important Aspects of Minnesota Divorce Laws that one must have an idea bout. There are two types of Minnesota Divorces. Absolute divorce and limited divorce. The former is a judicial termination of marriage based on marital misconduct or other types of causes that have cropped up after marriage is legalized. Here after divorce both the people are considered single again. Limited divorce laws are different in each state. They are commonly called separation decree. Here the right to live together is terminated but marriage is not dissolved and status of both parties remains unchanged.

The first important aspect is that to apply for divorce in Minnesota courts it is compulsory that one of the spouses must have been a resident of Minnesota for at least 180 days immediately before the petition for dissolution of marriage has been filed.

Legal Grounds for Divorce in Minnesota could either be `No Fault Divorce’ which includes living separate and apart for 180 days, visible and obvious marital discord affecting the attitude of 1 or both of the spouses toward the marriage adversely. Then there is General Divorce: where irrevocable breakdown of the marriage is the only ground for dissolution of marriage under Minnesota Divorce laws.

The grounds for a legal separation in Minnesota are that the divorce will be granted if the court finds that the spouses really need a legal separation. One of the spouses must have been a resident of Minnesota for at least 6 months before the petition for legal separation is filed as mentioned in the beginning. According to Minnesota Divorce Laws the petition may be brought by both husband and wife jointly as Co-Petitioners. This procedure eliminates the need for service of process or the use of a summons etc.

Another important aspect of Minnesota divorce laws include divorce mediation or counseling requirements which means mediation in the divorce may be ordered in cases where custody of children is also contested. Exceptions are where history of spousal abuse or physical or sexual child abuse is being found or suspected.

Then there is property issue which is a crucial aspect of Minnesota Divorce Laws appropriately termed as Divorce Property Distribution. Minnesota is an “equitable distribution” state and so is the law related to divorce. Each spouse retains his or her non-marital property, like, Property bought before the marriage, gifts and inheritances, and property exchanged for such non-marital property.

Then there are other aspects like Alimony and Spousal Support, Spouse’s Name after Divorce, Child Custody after Divorce, issues related to Child Support after Divorce etc. Each aspect related to Minnesota divorce laws covers the issue in detail.