Legal Help with Family Law and Divorce in Minnesota and Wisconsin

Printer Friendly View
Add To Favorites

Skilled Twin Cities Attorneys Guiding You
through Divorce and Family Law Concerns

At the law firm of Bock & Battina in Minneapolis, our divorce and family law attorneys are sensitive to the stresses you are facing when you have a family law concern. As "counselors at law," we know that people benefit from clear, understandable, and compassionate legal guidance when confronted with new and difficult family situations, such as divorce, paternity suits, and child custody cases.

You can count on the family law attorneys of Bock & Battina to provide you with the legal help you need to move forward with your life—as we protect your interests and your family. Contact our Minneapolis law office for a free initial consultation. Learn more about how we can help you with:

• Divorce and separation agreements
• Child custody and visitation, as well as modification of child custody orders
• Child support, modification of child support orders, and enforcement of child support orders
• Alimony / spousal support
• Establishment of legal paternity
• Prenuptial / premarital agreements

Divorce and Child Custody

In order to file for divorce in Minnesota courts, at least one person must have lived in Minnesota for 180 days prior to the divorce. To begin the process, a Summons and Petition is filed by the person initiating the divorce, and the other party may counter petition within 30 days.

A temporary hearing will take place to determine who will live in the home, have legal and physical custody of children, and receive financial support (if any) during the period of separation when the couple are negotiating, mediating, or litigating their divorce.

In order to reach decisions about marital property division and spousal support, your Bock & Battina divorce lawyer will gather information through a process called "discovery," gathering written information and/or conducting interviews. This is an informal process unless you suspect your former partner of hiding assets. If that is the case, a more formal discovery process will be needed to ensure you get the property and assets that you are legally entitled to.

If you and your partner do not agree on child custody, we will seek input from a professional custody evaluator.

Once complete information has been gathered, negotiations can begin—or mediation if you and your partner want to use a mediator. In most cases, a divorce agreement will eventually be reached without needing to go to court. A settlement agreement, called a "Marital Termination Agreement" (MTA), can then be written by an attorney and signed by both parties.

Only one of the parties will need to appear at a brief court hearing so a family court judge can review and approve the agreement and enter a "Judgment and Decree" (J&D). This is the formal document that terminates the marriage.

If an agreement cannot be reached, your divorce case will need to go to family court, where a judge or referee will hold a pre-trial or settlement conference to discuss areas of agreement and disagreement. A trial date will then be set when you and your Bock & Battina divorce lawyer can call witnesses to testify before a judge, who will make the final decision.

Establishment of Legal Paternity

When a child is born outside a marriage, a paternity action is needed to formalize the father-child relationship and to establish parental rights and responsibilities for child support, child custody, and visitation.

Domestic Abuse and Restraining Orders

If you have been the victim of abuse, you CAN get help from the courts. We can file with the court asking for an order for protection. A temporary restraining order will then immediately go into effect for two weeks, and a full hearing will take place within 14 days to determine if that order will stay in effect for up to a year.

At Bock & Battina, we focus on providing every client with the personal attention they need to resolve their family law concern. We invite you to contact our law office to speak directly with an attorney in a free initial consultation.