When Does Child Support End in Minnesota?
May 13, 2013 | Elizabeth A. SchadingWhile you might feel like your child support obligation is going to go on forever there is an ending date. In Minnesota, your child support will end when all of your children from the marriage have turned eighteen, or when they graduate from high school, whichever is later. Child support obligations do not extend past the age of 20 even if the child has not graduated from high school. There’s only one exception to this: if you have a special needs child that is unlikely to be physically or mentally capable of meeting his or her own needs. Each of these cases is determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration receipt of social security or other financial benefits available to the child. [maxbutton id=”1″ url=”https://bgs.com/contact-us/?july” text=”Get Legal Help Now” ] What about college? You and your spouse might agree to send a child to college together, but you’re not obligated to do so unless you and your spouse signed something to that effect during your divorce settlement. Child support ends automatically. You don’t have to go back to court. You can simply stop paying the support unless you had an income withholding order. If you did, you’ll need to make sure that your case manager knows the child’s 18th birthday or high…
Read MoreWhat 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 MoreEmployee Spotlight: Sarah Thies, Legal Administrative Assistant
May 7, 2013 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.As our clients already know, one of the greatest assets of Barna, Guzy & Steffen is our staff. We are not just a collection of 27 lawyers – we are a team of 64 individuals who are also important members of our community. Periodically we highlight one of our staff and the community organizations that they support. Today, the spotlight is on Sarah Thies. Sarah is the legal administrative assistant in our municipal, labor and employment group. Sarah has been with BGS for over 20 years. She is a monthly platelet donor at Memorial Blood Center and a regular volunteer at the Brooklyn Park Eidem Homestead historical farm. Sarah also volunteers and is on the Board of Directors for Stable Pathways. Stable Pathways is located at Bunker Park Stables in Coon Rapids. It provides equine-assisted activities for people living with physical and cognitive challenges under the careful direction of either a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International Certified Instructor or a Minnesota licensed Occupational Therapist. Sarah says that therapeutic horseback riding helps riders “organize” body and brain. Sarah explained that the horse’s gait is most similar to a human gait so riding provides a connection to a natural rhythmic movement from the horse that stimulated the rider’s body and brain. Sarah says…
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