Dying Without a Will (Intestate) in Minnesota
April 8, 2013 | William F. HuefnerDying without a will (Intestate) means losing control of what happens to your assets after death. Here’s what your family can expect if you haven’t taken care of this important detail before your death. In Minnesota the state maintains a sort of will for you in the form of specific formulas that are used to divide up your property in the absence of a will. The assets pass first to your spouse and then to your children. If you don’t have either the state will move on to grandchildren, brothers and sisters, and then other relatives as necessary. The state makes every effort to find heirs. If they can’t, your property reverts to the state. This may not sound so bad, but what if you have property that you want to leave to someone other than your relatives? What if you’d like to give a measure of your estate to charity, or to a dear family friend? This is when a will becomes vital. It’s also very important to have a will in the event that you have minor children. You will want to be the person who makes the ultimate decision about who becomes their guardian. If you haven’t appointed a guardian in your will then the courts will appoint a legal…
Read MoreCan Grandparents Get Court-Ordered Visitation or Custody in Minnesota?
April 4, 2013 | Elizabeth A. SchadingMore and more grandparents are raising the children of their children. And grandparents can often find it very difficult to get time with their grandchildren after a divorce. Courts often lump in grandparent’s time with Mom or Dad’s parenting time. If your son or daughter doesn’t make sure that you get time with your grandkids then you might find yourself in an awkward position. There are many reasons why this happens. Sometimes parents don’t exercise their parenting time rights. It’s also possible that your son or daughter didn’t get much of a parenting time award to begin with, or was denied access due to abuse that you had nothing to do with. The death of a child’s parent may further complicate your ability to see your grandchild. Or you might be estranged from your own son or daughter, which means you have found yourself in a situation where neither parent wants to help you. In Minnesota, there are specific situations where the court might be willing to entertain the notion of grandparent’s custody or parenting time. They are: The child’s parent (your child or the spouse) is deceased. The child’s parents are getting divorced. The child lived with you for over a year. You were involved in certain legal proceedings regarding the children,…
Read MoreHow Does Custody in Mineesota Work When Your Child is Born out of Wedlock?
April 1, 2013 | Elizabeth A. SchadingFamily law in Minnesota isn’t just about divorce. It’s about all kinds of issues that impact all kinds of families. The fact that some children are born out of wedlock is just simple reality. It’s also reality that the fathers of these children might sometimes want custody of them, or at least access to them. We say “fathers” because there’s no custody issue for unwed mothers. Under Minnesota law a mother who has a child out of wedlock has sole legal and physical custody of that child until and unless a court issues a custody order which says otherwise. Child support is a reality also, and it’s not dependent on marriage. The courts can be expected to make decisions based on their perception of the best interests of the children. The children of unmarried parents are just as protected as the children of married parents. Some fathers seek legal protection before the relationship fails. They may, for example, seek to file a joint custody petition while living with the child’s mother. Paternity has to be legally determined before a father has rights to children born out of wedlock. This is accomplished by a Recognition of Parentage statement which both parents have to sign, or a Judgment of Paternity. If you are facing a…
Read More