Kruse Family Law

Stepparent adoption can be a daunting proposition, but it involves only three basic steps.

All In The Family: The Process of Stepparent Adoption. Stepparent adoption in Minnesota involves several basic steps: Step 1: Terminating Parental Rights Under Minnesota law, a child may only have two legally recognized parents. Assuming that both biological parents are still alive, this means that before a stepparent can adopt, the parental rights of o...

If your ex doesn't pay child support as ordered, you can docket a judgment and garnish wages or bank accounts.

What If My Ex Doesn’t Pay Court-Ordered Child Support? Under Minnesota law, an unpaid child support obligation becomes a judgement as a matter of law on the day it is due. In other word, if your decree states that child support is due on the first of the month and it is not paid on that date, it legally becomes a judgment that is due. To collect on that...

What happens when you can't agree on dividing your "stuff?"

Who Gets the Sofa?: Dividing Personal Property in a Divorce When you’ve been married for any length of time, you accumulate “stuff,” and the longer you’re married, the more “stuff” you typically have. If you divorce, dividing many of the items may not be problematic, but in many cases, there are at least a handful of things that both parties want...

Halloween marks the start of the holiday season for many people. Although co-parenting at the holidays can be stressful, there are steps you can take to make it less so.

It Doesn't Have To Be Scary: Co-Parenting At The Holidays It is no secret that holidays can be stressful. Divorce simply adds to the anxiety. There are, however, a few tips to help make the season more fun and less traumatic for everyone. 1. Plan and confirm...then confirm again. Discuss holiday arrangements, including gift-giving, with the other parent we...

The sooner you collect necessary documents, the better.

First Steps: Documents to Collect as You Prepare for Divorce If you are considering divorce, have started the process, or have been served with divorce papers, there are a number of documents that you should gather, sooner rather than later. Your attorney will want copies of these documents and the court will need them to properly decide your case. Although t...

If you have a consolidated spousal studen loan…

Congress renews fight to help people trapped in spousal student loans The House is expected to vote on legislation to let borrowers split joint consolidation loans.

If you have (or know) transgender kids, it is important to be supportive in the face of an often hostile world.

To Thine Own Self Be True: Supporting Transgender Youth in a Cis-Normative World. Recent years have seen increased attention to the rights of transgender individuals. The debate over these rights has been especially heated surrounding the issue of transgender youth. The family courts are not immune from this debate and it is likely that disputes regarding how parents treat their....

How to get kids thinking about what it means to be a good citizen From talking about history to volunteering in your community, here's how to get your kids thinking about what it means to be a good citizen.

When divorce was widely banned, desperate women went to South Dakota Most states banned divorce in the late 19th century. So women seeking to end their marriages traveled to Sioux Falls to take advantage of South Dakota's liberal divorce laws.

Kruse Family Law's website has a new FAQ section. Check it out and, if you have any additional questions you think would be helpful to include, let us know. https://www.krusefamilylaw.com/frequently-asked-questions-about-divorce-in-minnesota

Videos of the basics of Minnesota Divorce are now up on the Kruse Family Law website.
Grab some popcorn, invite the neighbors, watch some videos!!

DIVORCE VIDEO SERIES | Kruse Family Law A series of brief videos on various aspects of divorce in Minnesota.

Wishing all in the LGBTQ community and their allies a wonderful Pride month.

When job loss occurs, it is important to address child support obligations as soon as possible.

NOW WHAT? JOB LOSS AND CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS It is no secret that we have weathered some trying economic times in the last few years. Many people who thought that their jobs were safe, suddenly found themselves unemployed or making less money. What happens to a child support obligation when the person paying loses their job or has their income...

Mistakes happen.
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What happens when you want to change your child's name?

New Blog Post A Rose By Any Other Name…: Changing The Name Of A Minor Child In Minnesota.

Family Court: The 5 Mistakes That Will Come Back to Haunt the Narcissistic Parent — Rachel Watson Insight The narcissist will use any given opportunity to extract an emotional reaction from you, the healthy parent. The narcissist knows the child is your Achilles heel and will happily use the child as a pawn to bait and torment you. When the narcissistic parent prevents contact, doesn't allow the child

Disputes regarding Covid vaccines are becoming more common.

She wanted to vaccinate their kids against COVID. He didn't. A judge had to decide A divorced Pennsylvania couple could not agree on whether to vaccinate their children — and ended up in court. Since the vaccine was approved for kids, cases like these have skyrocketed in the state.

Successfully challenging an antenuptial agreement is tough, but it can be done.

On Second Thought...: Challenging Antenuptial Agreements Antenuptial agreements (also called prenuptial agreements) are contracts and are typically used to protect assets that an individual brings into a marriage. Without such agreements, state law sets general rules for such things as dividing property or awarding spousal maintenance (also called alimony...

is often a good choice for couples.

Reaching Resolution: The Advantages of Mediation Most divorcing couples attempt mediation at some point in the divorce process. This involves meeting with a trained neutral to try to come to an agreement with which both parties can live. You can attend mediation with or without attorneys, but if you do so without, you should have an attorney look....

Having a secure password is important. If you have one of those on this list, change it now.

The Most Common Passwords That Have Leaked On The Dark Web, Ranked - Digg A new report from Lookout, a mobile security firm, published the twenty most common passwords that are available on the dark web.

Dividing debt is an important aspect of a divorce.

It’s All About The Benjamins: Dividing Debts in Divorce In a divorce the court decides which spouse pays the various debts incurred during the marriage. Debt is money that one or both of you owe to another person or a company. It includes such things as: credit card debt student loans home mortgage car loans medical bills loans from friends or family Und...

It's a tough, but necessary conversation.

A TOUGH CONVERSATION: TALKING TO KIDS ABOUT DIVORCE When parents decide to divorce, one of the toughest and most-dreaded things they need to do is tell their children. While this is never easy, here are a few tips to help you navigate the process. Work Together If at all possible, you and your spouse should jointly tell your children about the pendin...

The Minnesota Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Peer Breastfeeding Support Program expanded! This makes peer breast/chestfeeding support available to 15% more WIC families statewide. Peers are ready to connect with you and provide information and support as you breast/chestfeed your baby. WIC is here to support you: https://www.health.state.mn.us/people/wic/bf/support.html

Sinking Your Own Ship: Things You Should NEVER Do In Custody Cases. For divorcing parents, issues of custody and parenting time are often of utmost importance. Sadly, parents sometimes undermine their own cases by doing things that they shouldn’t. Here is a brief list of some things you should avoid doing if you are seeking parenting time or custody. 1. Don't igno...

Disputes over vaccines are becoming more common.

Legal Custody and Disputes over COVID-19 Vaccination When parents divorce, one of the major issues that needs to be resolved is that of “legal custody.” Legal custody refers to the right to determine major factors regarding the children’s upbringing, especially in areas of education, religion, and medical treatment. If a parent has sole legal cu...

Wishing you and your loved ones a wondrous and magical holiday season!

What happens when a case goes to ?

Order in the Court: When a Divorce Case Goes to Trial Very few divorce cases go to trial because most cases are settled earlier. If your case does go to trial, the general process is laid out below. Before the trial, the Court issues a Trial Order. This gives details about the date of trial, how long it will last, and when you and the other party need....

Who gets to take the dependency exemptions is often a point of contention in divorce.

Got Your Money: Income Tax Dependency Exemptions It's getting near the end of the year, which means that it will soon by time to start thinking about taxes. If you are getting divorced, one of the things you need to think about is who gets the dependency exemptions for your children. Divorce decrees often address which parent is allowed to take th...

https://www.krusefamilylaw.com/post/it-s-the-most-wonderful-and-stressful-time-of-the-year-co-parenting-at-the-holidays

It's The Most Wonderful (and Stressful) Time Of The Year: Co-Parenting At The Holidays It is no secret that holidays can be stressful. Divorce simply adds to the anxiety. There are, however, a few tips to help make the season more fun and less traumatic for everyone. 1. Plan and confirm...then confirm again. Discuss holiday arrangements, including gift-giving, with the other parent we...

Good news for in (at least in NY)

Animal Instincts: New York now requires courts to consider the best interests of pets in divorces New York recently enacted a law changing the way pets are treated in divorces. Instead of treating pets the same as a table or bed, the law requires judges in divorce proceedings to consider the animals’ best interests when deciding which spouse gets custody. For example, the court might consider ...