Category: Family Law
What Happens to My Business During a Divorce in Minnesota?
May 9, 2013 | Elizabeth A. SchadingIf you opened or created a business during a marriage in the state of Minnesota, the business is marital property. That means that it counts as one of the assets that will be factored into the divorce settlement. If you continued to work at a business created prior to the marriage, the business will have aspects of non-marital and marital value, which may be tricky to determine. Minnesota law demands that marital property be divided equitably (though not necessarily equally). This does not mean you will necessarily lose your business, however. It simply means that the business is an asset which must be taken into account. Business valuation is a complicated process. It’s complicated even when you simply want to sell the business. It can get even more complicated during a divorce. You have to understand this because your business value may be larger or smaller than you think it is. Business valuation takes many factors into account, including the company inventory, the company assets, the income received by the business, and even intangible factors like “customer goodwill.” Two business valuation agents may not even entirely agree on what a business should sell for, even if they look at the same set of books and the same set of factors, all things being…
Read MoreWhat Happens to Retirement Accounts during a Divorce in Minnesota?
May 6, 2013 | Elizabeth A. SchadingWhen you are divorcing, it’s natural to wonder what happens to retirement accounts. It can be a little discouraging to learn that any money you put into the account during your marriage is generally considered to be marital property, even if the account itself pre-dates the marriage. However, as we’ve discussed before divorce always means making some financial sacrifices. You’re better off fairly and accurately reporting your assets. If a judge finds out that you’re trying to withhold information it will not reflect well for your case. Minnesota law is going to entitle your spouse to a “just and equitable share” of your retirement accounts, even if the account is only in your name and even if you were the only one who was working at the time. If you did contribute to the plan prior to your marriage, then you may have a non-marital interest which should be stated so that the pre-marital portion is awarded solely to you. Remember that “equitable” distribution does not mean “equal” distribution. You won’t always have to make a 50-50 split and you aren’t necessarily going to have to give up half of your current account balance. Having a good divorce attorney is helpful in this regard. A good attorney can help you bring certain aspects…
Read MoreDoes Minnesota Allow Couples To Cancel Their Divorce?
May 3, 2013 | Elizabeth A. SchadingIn Minnesota, once the court file has been opened, if neither you nor your spouse want to go through with the divorce, it is fairly easy to stop the divorce from proceeding up to the moment that the final divorce decree is signed. The initiator of the divorce can file to dismiss the petition, or both of you can file a joint petition for dismissal. [maxbutton id=”1″ ] Once you’ve filed the dismissal the divorce is over with and you can get on with the work of repairing your marriage. You can do this up until the divorce decree is signed because you are still married in the eyes of the law until that happens. You can’t do this after the divorce decree is signed, however. There’s no way to cancel the divorce as you’re no longer married under the law once this happens. At that point you’d need to get re-married. Another option, assuming the court file is open, is to put your divorce on “hold” or “inactive status”. This is accomplished by filing a stipulation that both parties wish to put the matter on hold. The court will generally wait 12 months, and if no action has been taken, the court file will be closed. Any new action will require re-filing. …
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