Woodbury Family Law Blog

The busy summer season can unfortunately add stress to a marriage in Minnesota. For this reason, it is not uncommon for dissatisfied couples to begin exploring the possibility of divorce. Here are a couple of tips for navigating the beginning of a divorce proceeding during the summer months.

First, it is wise for people who are contemplating divorce to take stock of how many financial accounts and credit cards they have. In addition, they should determine what to do with their home and other valuable possessions. It is critical that they begin collecting information about their assets, as this information will prove helpful during the asset distribution process in the divorce proceeding.

During the divorce process in Minnesota, two parents may be most concerned about how their children will cope with their marital breakup. For this reason, child custody can quickly become a bone of contention between them, and unfortunately, this can have an undesirable impact on the children's mental states and emotional well-being. However, they can take steps to protect their children's best interests emotionally once the divorce has been filed.

First, it is a wise move for parents who have gotten divorced to both spend as much time as possible with their children. Doing this is easier if the parents are not more than 20 minutes away from one another. If both parents are actively involved in the children's lives, the children may feel more stable emotionally. In addition, they can easily see both parents and still have time to spend with their friends.

When you decide to dissolve your marital union, one of your chief concerns may be how to go about dividing your assets. Specifically, you may be worried about how to split your retirement savings, particularly if this is one of your biggest assets. Here is a look at how retirement assets are divided during the property division process in a Minnesota divorce proceeding.

Minnesota is an equitable distribution state. This means that any assets that you and your spouse have accumulated over the course of your marriage are considered to be marital property and must be split equitably, or fairly. Based on this principle, your assets will not automatically be split 50/50. Instead, they will be split in a manner that the court deems to be most appropriate based on who has contributed the most financially, for example.

Ending a marriage can be complex, as the process has not only emotional but also financial implications. In light of this, it is easy to forget to tackle some pretty basic items, such as health and life insurance. Nevertheless, being prepared for how these types of insurances will change following one's divorce in Minnesota is critical.

For starters, thanks to COBRA, those who get divorced but were under their spouses' employer-based medical insurance plans can stay under these plans for up to three years. This buys them time to secure their own insurance plan, but the downside is that COBRA coverage is costly. Still, with the Affordable Care Act, more insurance coverage options are available today and thus may be worth exploring first.