Shareholders at Barna, Guzy & Steffen Elect New President at Annual Meeting
April 1, 2014 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.The law firm of Barna, Guzy & Steffen held its annual meeting on March 29, 2014 in Coon Rapids, MN. The meeting included a gathering of the Board of Directors, a State of the Firm given by Jeffrey S. Johnson and reports from the Practice Group Managers. After twenty-four years as President, Jeffrey S. Johnson decided not to seek another term. The shareholders at Barna, Guzy & Steffen elected a new firm President, William F. Huefner . Bill is a Shareholder who focuses his practice on Estate Planning. He joined the firm in 1991 as a Law Clerk while attending law school at Hamline University. Upon completion of law school and admittance to the Bar in 1993, Bill was hired as an associate in the firm’s Litigation department. Prior to attending law school Bill was a CPA who worked in the banking industry as well as working for five years with the Internal Revenue Service. The Board of Directors re-elected Jeffrey S. Johnson as Chairman of the Board; Charles M. Seykora was re-elected as Treasurer, and current Board member Bradley A. Kletscher was elected to serve as Secretary. Newly elected to the Board of Directors were Adriel B. Villarreal and Tammy J. Schemmel. Re-appointed as Practice Group Managers were Jon P. Erickson (Consumer),…
Read MoreWho Gets Custody if a Spouse Cheated?
March 17, 2014 | Elizabeth A. SchadingMany people assume that the conduct of the spouse leading up to the divorce is a big factor in who gets custody. The truth is more complex than that when it comes to divorce and Minnesota family law. Minnesota Divorce Laws Minnesota is a no-fault divorce state. That means that the court isn’t really concerned with the reasons behind the divorce. You will not get custody automatically just because your spouse cheated. However, your conduct during the divorce does matter. If you are spending more time with the new beau or belle than you are with your children then you can expect this behavior to have an impact. If you are inviting the new beau or belle to sleep overnight while the children are in the house then you can expect this behavior to have an impact as well. Adultery isn’t the issue. Parenting is the issue. Most divorce attorneys will tell you that the courts want to see that you are able and willing to be a responsible, loving parent and a good role model to your child. Dealing With Adultery in Divorce If your spouse is the cheater then you should know that you can’t take custody for granted. You still need to do everything that you can to put your best…
Read MoreExpungement Law Update
March 17, 2014 | Jon P. EricksonA bill to reform a number of aspects of the existing expungement laws has been drafted and filed with both the Minnesota House and Senate. On March 5th I sat in on a hearing before the Judiciary Committee of the House on the bill. What’s in the Bill? A summary of the bill describes the bill as “expanding judicial expungement authority over juvenile expungements; requires business screening records to keep their criminal records current; allows for eviction records to be expunged at the time of judgment; expands the scope of statutory expungement in chapters 609A; creates a path to expungement without petitioning the court; amends the factors for a court to consider in granting a statutory expungement ; amends the law governing access to expunged records; and creates additional notice requirements for expungement orders.” A couple of amendments were offered on the floor which were not opposed by the bill’s author, and the law as amended was passed out of the committee and sent to the House civil law committee. It is not expected to have much if any opposition in that committee. This is all good news. The bill is moving forward at a fast pace. No one who testified at Wednesday’s hearing testified in opposition to the bill. The current bill…
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