No, however; once you have agreed that you are the father in a legally binding way, it is difficult to change. Common ways of agreeing that you are the father are signing a Recognition of Parentage (which is sometimes referred to as a ROPE and is usually singed at the hospital) or admitting that you are the father in a court preceeding that results in a formal order on paternity. A ROPE or an adjudication of paternity gives you the right to seek custody or visitation with the child; it also makes you financially responsible for the child.

Regardless of marital status, an ‘assumed father’ is any biological father of a child for whom paternity has been established by either the admission of the father or paternal testing. Assumed fathers are required to pay child support. Additionally, a man who never marries a child’s mother, but welcomes the child into his home and supports the child as his own may gain a ‘presumed’ father status, and typically, the presumption of paternity holds the same rights and responsibilities of an assumed father, in regard to parental liability and monetary support.

Every parent has a financial obligation to support their children and child support should never be confused with custodial or visitation rights. There is no state which permits a parent to withhold child support because of disputes over custody or visitation. If a non-custodial parent believes their rightful child visitations are being disrupted, it is recommended to contact an attorney to file a claim against the custodial parent in a court of law, rather than stop making child support payments as a form of retaliation. However; in the event of parental kidnapping, in which the custodial parent completely disappears with the child, any wage garnishments or income attachments as made for child support on behalf of the non-custodial parent would cease. For more information about complicated child custody and visitations issues in Minnesota, contact our office.

Yes, you (along with your attorney) can reject the terms of your spouse’s offer. On receiving an objection to the establishment of a family law attorney’s settlement, the Minnesota divorce court may at its own discretion determine whether the case involves complex or substantial issues of fact or law related to property rights, visitation, custody or support. If the Minnesota divorce court finds that the case involves one or more of these complex or substantial issues, the court may implement a case management plan.

The debts get divided along with the property in a just and equitable manner. Unlike the prevailing trend to divide marital property 50/50, there are more variations on how debts are split.

If you acquired those assets during the marriage, they are considered marital property that is subject to a just and equitable division. In the vast majority of cases, the court divides the value of marital property 50/50.

There is one exception to the rule that assets acquired during the marriage are marital property. Assets that meet the definition of nonmarital property would most likely be returned to you. Some examples on nonmarital property are assets owned by you prior to the marriage, assets acquired using an inheritance that was made to you and you alone, gifts made to you and you alone, and proceeds from lawsuits representing permanent personal injury to you. These are just a few examples. In very exceptional cases, the court can award up to 50 per cent of your nonmarital property to your spouse.

In some cases, the answer is yes. When one spouse is required to contribute to the other spouse’s income, the court makes an award of spousal maintenance. Maintenance is awarded when one spouse cannot meet his/her own needs and the other has the ability to pay. The amount and period of time is based on factors such as the length of the marriage, the standard of living during the marriage, the reason why the requesting spouse cannot be self-supporting.

Yes. If you start the divorce, you control the point in time when the court has the power to make binding orders over the two of you. This may be important if you need a temporary order.

The biggest variable in the cost of dissolution is the amount of attorney time that you use, cases that settle early on with little attorney time cost substantially less than cases that go to trial after many court appearances.